About Us Always open. Our code, our culture, our opportunities. Leading open innovation without limits. We are SUSE. SUSE is a global leader in innovative, reliable and secure enterprise open source solutions, including SUSE Linux Enterprise (SLE), Rancher and NeuVector. More than 60% of the Fortune 500 rely on SUSE to power their mission-critical workloads, enabling them to innovate everywhere – from the data center to the cloud, to the edge and beyond. SUSE puts the “open” back in open source, collaborating with partners and communities to give customers the agility to tackle innovation challenges today and the freedom to evolve their strategy and solutions tomorrow. We are open in our roots and open in our approach, striving to be the most trusted open innovator in the World. Openness extends beyond our technology. Our vibrant community thrives on diversity and connectivity without borders. Solution Architect Leader - Northern Europe Job Description Manages a group of presales professionals in one or more of the Presales Functions (Technical Consultant, Technical Client Consultant, and Enterprise Architects). Responsible for setting the direction, managing the deliverables of the assigned group, and achieving revenue and expense objectives. Resolves customer problems and contributes to customer satisfaction. Responsible for representing assigned area to all levels of sales and other company management. Where appropriate, seeks to build strategic executive relationships with external clients and internally within company, and partners with internal and external resources to develop best-in-class solutions for customer. Manages the performance of individual contributors and the team overall, and grows and develops talent within the organization. Responsibilities: Managing the Business Directs overall Presales operations in assigned area of responsibilities. Resource management & Intra- Region support - Translates business goals into actionable presales utilization plans that reflect the requirements and opportunities within area of control. Proactively addresses regional presales coverage gaps and leverages presales technical expertise where warranted to win opportunities for the company. Partnering with Sales & acct. planning - actively engages in driving sales strategy; collaborates within the company and with the field to prioritize, facilitate and direct the use of resources; proactively assesses sales pipelines in area of control to ensure appropriate and timely utilization of presales support. Collaborates effectively across organizational boundaries to ensure a positive "voice-from-the- field" presence in business decision making and product design. Business acumen Continuously monitors, troubleshoots, and improves area-of-control operations to ensure alignment with the company's business direction, the quality of business practices, optimum organizational performance and a highly motivated presales force. Exhibits authoritative business, financial and legal acumen to develop meaningful business recommendations. Understands what it takes to manage a business and uses these insights to gain better understanding of a client's/customer's needs and to position the value of the company's offers. Leading & Managing Presales People Coaching - Assesses and manages employee performance to ensure individual and group excellence; counsels and supports individuals through selling challenges; manages performance and results of high and low performers. Leadership - Applies understanding of team dynamics to work effectively in teams, achieve goals and successfully plan & execute activities; Effectively facilitates remote team collaboration; develops methods for supporting innovation and change across the organization. People development - Nurtures and advances the talent required to maintain company sales force excellence within area of control; anticipates new skill requirements from changing industry or market indicators; sponsors and directs skill building activities to increase the productivity and accomplishments of the presales force; ensures strong technical acumen across the group needed to support sales. Selling as a Presales Manager Focus on strategic direction - articulates the company's technology vision and direction directly to customers in support of key account sales or complex deals. Consultative selling - strategizes with and coaches their team on how to apply consultative-selling techniques to advance opportunities that result in ongoing profitable revenue growth for the company; Compellingly positions the company as the vendor of choice for strategic partnering for enterprise-wide IT solutions; Identifies the measurable value or impact of company offerings and clarifies for customers the key differentiators that distinguish the company's solutions from those offered by its competitors. Financial selling - employs a financial selling approach to meet customer needs; works with team to build business cases that link proposals to customer's goals, strategies and relevant business metrics, and that demonstrate industry and competitive proficiency; Develops an accurate business need profile and demonstrates an understanding of related issues. Education and Experience Required: University or Bachelor's degree; advanced or Master's degree preferred. Typically 10-12 years experience in sales. Directly related management experience and work results including success in managing the achievement of progressively higher quota or other sales related goals. Demonstrated results in managing resources to support complex, strategic sales and/or business objectives. Knowledge and Skills: In addition to core technical skills: Business Management Strategic Planning/ Execution. Forecast/Budget Control. Operations Building/ Improvement. Resource Brokering/ Allocation. Management of complex processes. Business Development Strategic Account Support. Negotiation skills within the company and with C-level clients. Consultative Selling Presentation and communication skills. Ability to develop strong executive level relationships. Consultative, solution selling and business development skills. Business case development skills. Workforce Planning & Development Workforce Planning. Career Planning & Development. Workforce Management Coaching & Supervision; timely management of low performers. Skill Development/ Enhancement. Performance Management. Change Management Develops methods for supporting innovation and change across the organization. Job Sales What We Offer We empower you to be bold, driving your career to create the future you want. We celebrate and reward your achievements. SUSE is a dynamic environment that is evolving rapidly, thus requiring agility, strong entrepreneurship and an open mind. This is a compelling opportunity for the right person to join us as we continue to scale and prosper. If you’re a big thinker, obsessed by execution and thrive in a dynamic environment in which you can tangibly create a lasting legacy, then please apply now We give you the freedom to be yourself. You will work in a global community of unique individuals – like you – with different backgrounds, talents, skills and perspectives. A truly open community where everyone is welcome, has a voice and is encouraged to reach their full potential regardless of age, gender, race, nationality, disability, sexual orientation, religion, or any other characteristics. Sounds like the right fit for you? Click A pply to submit your resume. A recruiter will contact you if your skills match our current or any future positions. In the meantime, stay updated on the latest SUSE news and job vacancies by joining our Talent Community. SUSE Values We are passionate about customers We are respectful and inclusive We are empowered and accountable We are trustworthy and act with integrity We are collaborative We are SUSE