Fast Facts

Join Ellucian as a Higher Education Strategic Services Sales Support Architect, where you'll bridge Sales and Professional Services to create effective technical proposals and professional service components for the higher education sector.

Responsibilities: Provide end-to-end services pricing for technical proposals, engage with customers during presales, manage the proposal development process, and ensure timely submission of high-quality bid responses.

Skills: Experience in enterprise/SaaS sales cycles, strong analytical and organizational skills, proficiency in proposal development and management, and knowledge in ERP systems and cloud technologies.

Qualifications: Minimum of 5 years in ERP implementation or software solutions, with presales experience preferred; experience with Student Information Systems and creating SOWs is highly desirable.

Location: Remote within the United States; potential for domestic and international travel may be required.

Compensation: Not provided by employer. Typical compensation ranges for this position are between $100,000 - $150,000.

About Ellucian

Ellucian is a global market leader in education technology. We power innovation for higher education, partnering with more than 2,800 customers across 50 countries and serving over 20 million students. Ellucian's AI-powered platform, trained on the richest dataset available in higher education, drives efficiency, personalized experiences, and strengthened engagement for all students, faculty and staff. Fueled by decades of experience with a singular focus on the unique needs of learning institutions, the Ellucian platform features best-in-class SaaS capabilities and delivers insights needed now and into the future. These solutions and services span the entire student lifecycle, from student recruitment, enrollment, and retention to workforce analytics, fundraising, and alumni engagement. Ellucian's innovative solutions, vast ecosystem of partners, and user community of more than 45,000 provide best practices leading to greater institutional success and achieving better student outcomes.

Values Rooted in Purpose

We embrace the power to lead, the courage to innovate, and the determination to grow. At our core, we believe in humanizing our approach, recognizing that our people are our greatest strength. With a shared vision of transformation, we endeavor to shape a brighter future for higher education.

About the Opportunity

Our North America Professional Services organization is looking for Strategic Services Architect to support Ellucian’s fast revenue growth trajectory. This position will support the North America Professional Services Solution Team, reporting to the Director of Professional Service, Global Services Solutions. The Global Services Solutions team is comprised of seasoned experts in Ellucian products with in-depth expertise on how to implement our market-leader solutions in the Higher Education sector. This is a high-impact role as it is a critical link between the Sales organization and the Professional Services team responsible for delivery of services included in proposals (SOWs). This individual must bring a can-do attitude to work and be able to prioritize among multiple initiatives. The Strategic Services Architect is responsible for providing end-to-end services pricing for all technical proposals.

The Strategic Services Architect will partner with the Sales and Professional Services teams in North America to validate customer requirements, allowing the Solution team to create consistent and profitable SOWs. He or she must add value and help the Sales teams strategize and execute a software deal's professional services components, helping drive profitability, minimize risks, and achieve customers’ objectives through compelling, best-of-class SOWs.

The ideal candidate must have experience in the sales cycle in enterprise/SaaS software companies. This includes the establishment of a winning strategy, ongoing qualification, identification of required technical resources, prioritization of tasks, management of the proposal development, and support for the Sales teams in negotiations and closing activities as required.

We are looking for an individual that is highly organized with an analytical mind and a passion for business development.

Where you will make an impact 

• Work closely with customers during presales to understand business requirements and map outcomes to Ellucian product capabilities
• Work with executives, business stakeholders, and technical teams to translate business needs into solution proposals
• Work with cross functional Ellucian teams to understand technical architectures and system architectures for future state solutions
• Scope and estimate implementation roadmaps as inputs into SOWs
• Manage the end-to-end process of developing proposals (SOWs) setting realistic expectations with stakeholders
• Manage responses for RFI/RFP/ Qualified opportunities, with end-to-end ownership to drive the overall proposal (requirements, scope, deliverables, timelines, effort, risk management, terms and conditions, and price among others)
• Coordinates, reviews, and builds solutions/proposals based on inputs from the customer and stakeholders involved in the sales process
• Define the financial aspects of the proposal based on efforts and risk mitigation, working closely with the Finance and Legal teams as needed
• Identify risks and reflect the respective mitigation actions in each proposal/SoW
• Identify critical elements required for successful deal pursuits
• Ensure that bid responses are created to the highest quality and submitted on time
• Own and manage proposal reviews, including obtaining appropriate functional sign-off and ensuring quality and consistency review before final release to the Sales organization
• Manage learning reviews held for appropriate bids to promote growth and development of the Solution’s Team
• Maintain a Bid Plan detailing the key steps and milestones involved in complex bids and ensure complete buy-in from the Sales organization to the Bid Plan
• Transition of the negotiated contract into the Project Delivery team in North America

What you will bring

• A minimum of 5 years, professional experience in areas including but not limited to ERP implementation, application development, systems architecture, cloud technologies (AWS, Google, Azure, etc.); Preferred – higher education or information technology; > 1 year of presales or deal construction experience
• Functional experience in Student Information Systems, ERP (HR, Finance)
• Experience architecting, designing, and implementing Banner solutions
• Experience leading large scale software implementations (Banner preferred, other SaaS packages considered e.g. SFDC, SAP, Oracle, Dynamics 365)
• Experience in writing SOWs for fixed-price and T&M projects
• Proven capacity to effectively manage complex proposal development processes
• Teamwork attitude and experience working cross-functional: Sales, Legal, Product, Project Delivery, Operations, Finance, Deal Desk, Cloud Operations, and R&D
• An excellent understanding of all areas involved in bid/proposal / SoW creation: technical, operations, commercial, legal, etc.
• Willingness to take part in negotiations of contract terms & conditions alongside Legal and Account Management
• Experience in managing multiple stakeholders and setting expectations with the Sales organization
• Proven ability to work creatively and analytically in a problem-solving environment – internally and with clients
• Relevant professional experience in project management, including project management of solution implementation is a plus
• Ability to work under pressure and complete work according to deadlines
• Commercially aware with solid business development and financial management skills
• Confident, ambitious, and energetic with a persuasive manner and the ability to use your initiative to drive continuous improvements
• Excellent English language fluency (oral and written)
• Good communication and interaction with key stakeholders involved in the preparation of SOWs
• An excellent working understanding of technical/software implementation services
• Commercial acumen and negotiation skills with an understanding of deal structures and risk management for technical projects
• Willingness to learn and adapt to changing needs of the organization, able to multitask and work under pressure and tight timelines
• Must mirror working hours for the supported Sales teams
• Must be flexible with work hours according to business needs
• Ability to travel domestically and internationally

What makes #Ellucianlife

• Comprehensive health coverage: medical, dental, and vision 
• Flexible time off 
• Thrive Flex Lifestyle Account (LSA) that allows you to contribute towards your health, financial or learning interests
• 401k w/ match & BrightPlan - to help you save for the future
• Parental Leave
• 5 charitable days to support the community that supports us
• Telemedicine
• Wellness
• Headspace Care (mental health)
• Wellbeats (virtual fitness classes)
• RethinkCare & Wellthy– caregiver support
• Diversity and inclusion programs which provide access to internal employee resource groups 
• Employee referral bonuses to encourage the addition of great new people to the team
• We Foster a learning culture with:
• Education Assistance Program 
• Professional development opportunities

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