Solutions Lead

The Solutions Director is a key role in the Cloud Infrastructure Services (CIS) Pre-Sales organization involved in medium to large, multi-tower opportunities.

Key responsibilities:

Typically involved from Deal Qualification to Contract Signature, Sales to Delivery Handover and for a limited period in the execution to provide continuity

Responsible for development of the end-to-end solution (Transformation, Transition and Run) covering multiple service lines and/or technology domains

Owns internal stakeholder management and visibility of core solution related metrics to approvers

Supports Sales Lead in pre-qualification activities, including ROM costing and early solution shaping as appropriate

Develops solution & response strategy, standard versus non-standard approach, aligned to the sales strategy. Clearly communicates to all bid team members.

Ensures all client requirements are analyzed and distributed for solutioning, without gaps or duplication

Designs the solution and ensures the relevant solution artefacts are completed in line with global process

Excellent understanding of the competitor landscape, providing insight into the sales plan on how to beat competition

Provide expertise on commercially structuring deals to differentiate from the competition

Works with Deal Analyst to set up ADMT and create pricing structure; communicates structure & tagging strategy

Convert Price to Win into Cost to Win by Tower

Reviews and inputs to the contract schedules, SoW and SLA among other documents

Supports Tower Lead with 3rd parties’ direct engagements when needed

Contributes to proposal writing and guides the bid team on alignment to sales strategy, themes, scoring mechanism

Ensures Solution Approval in a timely manner in line with the Global Solution Approval Process and supports towers when required with their approvals providing an end-to-end view for their approvers

Leads the solution team in all client facing interactions

Supports Commercial Lead with negotiation of solution related schedules (SoW, SLA etc.)

Manages solution team and ensures solution related deliverables are completed

Identifies and adds to the response and other capabilities that will bring value to the opportunity and/or show Capgemini capability

Ensures the solution and commercials are sustainable for the future, with ability to grow and upsell

Identifies and documents potential areas for upsell that have been discussed with client and handover to Account Team

Key skills:

Customer Engagement:

Requirement for client facing skills will vary with an entry-level Solution Lead being required past client-facing experience to a senior Solution Leads having executive client-facing experience

Able to articulate both transformational and managed services elements of deals

Strong presentational and communication skills; ability to lead / anchor client conversations; ability to pitch at right depth to different internal/external audiences

Ability to articulate value, benefits, storyline to client

Strong writing skills

Management:

Leadership of the solution team on deal; ability to coach, steer, challenge, guide – support in case of challenges or if tower lead is struggling

Strong team leader to manage and coach team through tough deadlines

Stakeholder management, engagement and socialization; Senior solution leads have strong skills in handling organizational conflict across various parts of Capgemini (i.e. GBLs, BUs)

Technical/Portfolio:

Across all towers; typically, some depth within 1 or 2 towers (via previous role); ability to challenge & understand responses across the technical landscape.

Commercial:

Ability to link technical aspects of solution with commercial response,

Ability to understand contracts & schedules and ability to draft solution related contract schedules,

Risk identification, treatment and management,

Negotiation skills (including with subcontractors),

Financial:

Support Client business case creation,

Support price shaping, benchmarking, pricing models

Cost analysis, drive competitiveness

Cost breakdown & what-if analysis