Are you ready to seize an opportunity to work with established and innovative enterprises in a long-term relationship? Looking to work closely with top Line of Business and IT Executives in large Enterprises, to accelerate the achievement of business objectives through a roadmap of pragmatic technology adoption? Can you do this in a heterogeneous IT environment involving multiple platforms and technologies? Want to connect the solutions you envision to the business and measure impact to the bottom line of your customer? Interested in leveraging your abstract thinking skills and employing strong business and architectural skills to create innovative solutions for the largest organizations in the world?

Team/Department Mission

Microsoft Services helps customers realize their full potential through accelerated adoption and productive use of Microsoft technologies. We are a global team of exceptional people who deliver world-class services with partners, earning customer confidence, trust, and loyalty by improving the overall customer-and-partner experience, serving as the customer advocates within Microsoft and driving customer-centric product improvement.

Role Purpose

In this strategic role in the Enterprise Strategy business, you’ll deliver advisory and planning services to Microsoft’s top enterprise customers. The Enterprise Architect enables 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 their strategic technology initiatives so that they align with their broader business goals in an innovative fashion. You will provide industry proven practices and elevate the likelihood of successful integration of Microsoft technologies that may include integration and interoperability in a heterogeneous environment. In addition to building your own personal network of contacts, you’ll be provided an extensive network of colleagues with complementary competencies and whose expertise you can draw on to enhance the overall service provided by Microsoft to customers. The sections below identify the key areas and offer insight into the more common activities:

Key Accountabilities

Relationship-driven differentiation: As the primary delivery resource for the Enterprise Strategy business, what you provide is unique and available only from Microsoft. You’ll advocate on behalf of the customer back into the Microsoft organization and maximize the value delivered from the relationship. Core activities include:
•Developing a close relationship with your CTO/CIO. This could also include facilitating IT staff development amongst their reports.
•Orchestrating Executive briefings and bi-directional connection with Microsoft Product Development Groups as well as 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. You’ll also have access to ‘the Library’, a catalog of reference architectures, industry insights and field-driven Intellectual Property (IP) examples that all provide unique value.

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 formal program of 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 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 the customer’s broader 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 Architect’s individual engagement. This can range from formal Solution Architecture through to general technology consulting and beyond. Likewise an Architect may be called on by colleagues to contribute from their area of specialization in other large engagements or to work jointly with the Microsoft support team around specific customer initiatives.

Practice development

In this role you’ll contribute to the growth and maturity of the local and international communities by providing leadership, mentorship, fostering IP development/knowledge transfer, and through leading by example. In addition, opportunities exist to contribute to IP development and reuse initiatives and drive proven practices in architecture, planning, and customer relationships.

Business development

In this role you’ll also have the opportunity to bring your years of experience and expertise to bear on local business development opportunities and contribute to thought leadership within and across both your local Microsoft business and more broadly across other Microsoft businesses.

In addition to the above activities, it is expected that the successful candidate will have significant experience in at least one specialization from the three categories below:

Industry

Experience in one or more of the following Sectors/Industries: Central and Regional Government; Capital Markets, Retail Banking, Telecommunications, and Professional Services.

Microsoft Strategic priorities

Cloud/S+S; Enterprise level / Mission Critical Applications; Optimized Desktop; Unified Communications and Collaboration

Enterprise Architect Specializations:

Business Value Analysis and Benefits Management
IT Portfolio Lifecycle Optimization
Organizational Change Management
IT Governance
Enterprise Architecture
IT-Led Business Innovation
Business Architecture
Information Architecture
Organizational Design

Key Success Criteria

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. With IT sponsorship, you’ll develop relationships with key line-of-business executives, putting the customer in a 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 business, technology and solutions.

Knowledge, Skills and Experience

1)Essential Experience

Proven related business and IT consulting experience
Must have a proven record of working with executive levels, defining and delivering business value from Information Technology
Operated as an Enterprise Architect (or equivalent roles) in a number of scenarios including defining and advising on IT strategy and architecture
Must have a proven record of delivering business value from Information Technology at an executive level
Candidates must have a deep understanding of markets, industries, business, customers, and technology. Work experience should involve a mix of business and technology consulting across the lifecycle of Information Technology (examples may include assessment and analysis, design, business case development, architecture, envisioning, planning, deployment, benefits analysis, and management)
The ability and background experience to provide leadership and a demonstrated effectiveness in consulting and client management
Executive-level interpersonal, verbal, written and presentation skills
Experience forming and leading virtual teams

2)Technical/Functional Skills

Business Value analysis and benefits management
IT Portfolio Lifecycle Optimization
Organizational Change Management
IT Governance
Enterprise Architecture
IT-led Business Innovation
Business Architecture
Information Architecture
Organizational Design

3)Qualifications

Must have a degree (Computer Science, Social Science or Business), and / or equivalent work experience