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Job Category: Services & Consulting
Location: Johannesburg, ZA
Job ID: 866083-134039
Division: Retail Stores
Portuguese speakers apply
The Enterprise Architect in Enterprise Services delivers advisory and planning services to Microsoft’s top enterprise customers. The role enables Advisory Services customers to achieve their most challenging business and organizational goals while leveraging value from their current and future investment in the Microsoft Platform. Through a programmatic approach and objective assessment of the customer’s existing business imperatives and IT investments, the Enterprise Architect systematically plans, orchestrates and contributes to the development and execution of the customer’s strategic technology plan to align with the broader business goals in an innovative fashion. They will provide advice on industry best practices and boost the likelihood of successful integration of Microsoft technologies involving interoperability in heterogeneous environments. In addition to building their own personal network, they will be provided an extensive network of colleagues with complementary competencies. Throughout their customer engagement they will be enabled to draw on these resources’ expertise to enhance the overall service provided by Microsoft to customers. This includes but is not limited to objectives such as:
Relationship-driven differentiation: What this role provides to customers is unique and available only from Microsoft. They advocate on behalf of the customer back into the Microsoft organization and maximize the value delivered from the relationship. Core activities include:
•Arranging Executive Briefing Center visits and bi-directional connection with Microsoft Product Development Groups and many other teams and communities
•Facilitating the customer’s uptake of Technology Adoption Programs for early advantage from pre-released Microsoft Products
•Harnessing insights from groups like Microsoft Research, one of the largest sponsored technology research organizations worldwide. The role also has access to the ‘Library’, a catalog of reference architectures, blueprints, industry insights and benchmark data that adds unique value
•Facilitating customer IT staff development
Business-driven portfolio value management: The role takes a principled approach first to understand the customer’s needs and then to develop roadmaps of change that realize value from their Microsoft investment across a heterogeneous IT environment. Activities include:
•Creating business case development and benefits management programs that define, track and report accrued value through the optimal application of IT to business challenges
•Orchestrating and/or designing and architecting solutions that leverage both the investment made in the Microsoft Enterprise Agreement and the customer’s current heterogeneous IT environment in the best interests of the customer, driven through a program of orchestrated change and drawing from the collective know-how of Microsoft
•Providing portfolio governance and oversight to drive lifecycle optimization and alignment across all Microsoft-related strategy and planning initiatives
•Teaming to accelerate value: When a Microsoft customer invests in an Enterprise Agreement license with Microsoft, the Enterprise Architect accelerates the time-to-value by aligning the technology deployment and business adoption plans with customer organizational objectives
Activities to support this objective include:
•Creating architectural and technology roadmaps that result in stronger business/IT alignment and that drive adoption and value from the Enterprise Agreement
•Orchestrating the use of the Microsoft network of resources formally from within the Advisor’s individual engagement. This can range from formal Solution Architecture through to general technology consulting and beyond. Likewise an Advisor may be called on by colleagues to contribute from their area of specialization in other large engagements or to team with the support team around specific customer initiatives
•Practice development: This role will contribute to the growth and maturity of the local and international communities, provide mentorship, foster knowledge transfer, and lead by example. In addition, opportunities exist to drive IP development and reuse initiatives and drive best or proven practice in architecture, planning, and customer engagement
•Business development: The Enterprise Architect will be expected to, and have the opportunity to, bring their years of experience and expertise to bear on local business development opportunities and contribute to thought leadership within and across both their local Microsoft business and more broadly across other Microsoft businesses.
The Enterprise Architect understands interoperability issues and the strengths and weaknesses of platforms and products, and is able to provide a trusted voice at the decision-making table. Typically with IT sponsorship, they develop relationships with key line-of-business executives, putting them in position to translate early business needs and insights into actionable IT strategy and assist IT in driving these initiatives to early results and business value. This work encompasses a solid understanding of business and IT strategy, a principled approach to broader architectural challenges and opportunities, and a great grasp of technology and solutions.
Architecture Skills
•Client Consulting for IT Architects
•Project Management Fundamentals
•Business Intelligence Solutions
Technical Skills: Business Analytics and Optimization:
•Define technical solution strategy
•Develop Application and Information Architectures
•Define infrastructure requirements, assess impacts and develop infrastructure gap analysis
•Outline solution requirements and solution design
•Develop Storage Management Plan
•Develop Business Cases and Requirements
•Perform Analysis Technique and Business Modelling
•Advise on Data Extraction Methods and Tools
•Develop Data Conversion Plan
•Advise Logical and Physical Data Models
•Advise on Data Standards & Modelling
•Advise on Metadata Management
•Packaged Applications
(Siebel, SAP, CRM)
•Develop Application Architecture
•Develop Information Architecture
•Develop Integration and Migration Plans
•WebSphere
•MS CRM
•Identity Management
•Custom Application Development
•ANSI C, C++
•Microsoft .NET Visual Basic, C#
•Microsoft VBA
Databases
•SQL
•Oracle
•DB2
Qualifications:
•Experience-8 - 10 years of related experience
•Education- Must: Bachelor’s Degree (B.S./B.A.)
Preferred: MBA, Master’s Degree
Training and Certificates:
Must have a combination of a degree (Computer Science, Social Science or Business),and equivalent work experience.
•At least 8 - 10 years related IT experience
•Work experience should involve a mix of business and technology consulting across solution design, envisioning, planning, deployment, benefits analysis and management
•Must have a proven record of delivering business value at an executive level
•Experience in business process, financial concepts and executive level interpersonal skills
•Experience at forming and leading virtual teams
•Role Specific Characteristics May Include
Candidates must have a deep understanding of markets, customers, and technology; have the background to provide leadership in the practice and a demonstrated effectiveness in consulting and client management.
Candidates must have deep understanding of customer and partner business and IT environment, and have demonstrated skills creating architecture and deploying technology to solve business problems.
Candidates must have depth in industry leading knowledge, and have demonstrated analysis and communication skills connecting technology and business problems.
Knowledge, skills and abilities:
Services Competencies:
•Analytical Problem Solving
•Building Customer/Partner Relationships
•Confidence
•Cross-Boundary Collaboration
•Impact and Influence
•Interpersonal Awareness
•Services Project Management
•Strategic Insight
•Product & Technology Expertise
•Value Selling
Professional Skills:
•Dealing with ambiguity
•Overall enterprise architecture skills
•Ability to influence the adoption of Microsoft products and Partner ecosystems solutions
•Critical analysis
•Portfolio analysis and asset management skills
•Business development skills
•Strategic thinking & Consultative selling and questioning
•Market understanding
•Business writing
•Presentation & facilitation skills