Strategic Solution Consulting Director

Join the Team Making Possibilities Happen

If you've ever used an ATM, paid a bill through your phone, sent money to a friend or shopped online, chances are your transaction was safeguarded and processed using our software. Now it's your turn to serve the payment needs of organizations and people the world over.

The Strategic Solution Consulting Director plays a key role in the progression of sales opportunities by understanding ACI's customers' key challenges and defining the ACI Solutions that best fit the customer needs. This role ensures that our customers and prospects understand how they can maximize value through long-term utilization of ACI's Solutions.

The Strategic Solution Consulting Director contributes to the qualification of prospects, ensuring a good fit of ACI Solutions to the business problem of potential customers. This role, working as part of a sales team, is heavily involved in customer/prospect contacts in pre-sale and post-sale to drive add-on value. As part of the sales cycle, the Strategic Solution Consulting Director collaborates with the new business developers and account executives by leading the business, functional, and technical solution selling activity.

The Strategic Solution Consulting Director has deep expertise in the payments ecosystem (industry, market players, and technology), multiple ACI Solution(s), and the internal processes at ACI required to fluidly move through a sales engagement. As part of the role, he/she will also orchestrate Product Management, Segment Managers, Product Development, Delivery & Operations Management teams (SaaS and Customer Managed), and third-party partners to drive the right ACI Solution proposal. A primary responsibility of the job is to position ACI, its solutions, and its services such that we achieve a solution win for aspects including ACI as a leading technology company, the value of the ACI Solutions, and the quality of ACI's technical and support services.

The Strategic Solution Consulting Director role requires in-depth payments business insight to advise ACI's customers of all sizes and complexities on the most effective and beneficial ACI Solutions deployment and usage strategy. The Strategic Solution Consulting Director is a source of market and business intelligence for Product Management. He/She proactively evaluates and provides feedback on roadmap requirements from individual customer engagements.

He/she also consolidates input from multiple opportunities globally which constitutes key market demand trends and works actively with product management to create new solution business cases for presentation to the executive team as part of operational planning activity.

The Strategic Solution Consulting Director is considered one of the senior members of the group and is responsible for expanding solution knowledge by helping upskill other Solution Consultants across the global solution consulting team using a methodical & replicable training/mentoring approach.

The Strategic Solution Consulting Director is considered an experienced and global leader and will be assigned initiatives and projects for the general improvement of the Solution Consulting operational framework, including documenting sales artifacts templates and solution consulting sales engagement best practices.

The Strategic Solution Consulting Director has demonstrated consistent and successful 5 years' experience leading consulting key initiatives or regional go-to-market sales programs and is accountable for orchestrating cross-functional teams to deliver on the objectives of such initiatives/programs. The Strategic Solution Consulting Director has reached the highest level of expertise in leveraging corporate processes and tools and upon assignment, will be asked to represent the Global Solution Consulting team as part of corporate strategic development initiatives.

Essential Functions and Responsibilities

Sales & Implementation

• Contributes to the development of go-to-market strategies based on industry trends knowledge, including territory and account planning, and execution of pipeline building activity.
• Contributes during the entire sales cycle as the leading solution knowledge expert and co-owner in the development of specific opportunities. Owns the solution selling (functionally & technically speaking).
• Being one of the most experienced team members with industry knowledge and often in the customer relationship, the Strategic Solution Consulting Director proactively provides advice on how to shape the account's best sales strategy to achieve a successful deal closure.
• Gathers information from the prospect to understand the business & technical functional requirements.
• Leads in-depth analysis, alignment, definition, and documentation of functional and business requirements provided by prospects or customers, to minimize the need for Customer Specific Modifications (CSMs).
• Articulates and presents appropriate solutions (including solution strategies, product roadmaps, and opportunity-specific value propositions) to our customers and prospects with the aim of achieving sales targets.
• The Strategic Solution Consulting Director role leads the definition of ACI's solutions demonstration needs during the sales cycle to achieve accurate validation of functional and business requirements provided by prospects and customers.
• Participates in Cross-Functional collaboration efforts with Product Management, Professional Services, and all other required departments within ACI to build a standard, efficient, and effective delivery framework for prospects and customer's functional and business requirements.
• Is a core collaborator in the development of sales support materials, proposals, product recommendations, RFx responses, etc.
• Actively collaborates on effective link and continuity between pre-sales, closing, and post-sales processes, delivery, and GTM – through comprehensive and detailed understanding of the proposed solution, including proposed services support and creation of appropriate documentation (SSD).
• Is a core participant and key collaborator in the process to build and/or strengthen the foundations of a mutually beneficial commercial relationship with prospects and customers respectively during the sales cycle. Is actively involved in building strong and direct customer relationships particularly in technical and operation functions, with the goal of becoming a Trusted Advisor to both decision influencers and decision makers.

Internal Coordination

• The Strategic Solution Consulting Director influences ACI's solution strategy and roadmap for best fit to market, by keeping internal stakeholders from Product Management, Technology, Marketing, and Sales Leadership informed on trends in customer's required technology and functionalities, local markets regulations, competition's value proposition offering, and pricing frameworks.
• Key collaborator and participant of Commercial and Product Management & Marketing initiatives responsible for defining unique differentiators in ACI solutions and enhancing our value propositions to prospects and customers.
• Actively contributes to Marketing activities for ACI's own initiatives and for 3rd party reselling partners, by providing industry intelligence content for lead generation campaigns, thought leadership white papers and webinars, tradeshows, and roundtable discussions with clients to generate new pipeline and support existing deal closures.
• In general, a Strategic Solution Consulting Director works on ACI's largest, most complex accounts globally, and accounts with the highest revenue and sales impact.
• To ensure that interests and insights of the Solution Consultant's Regional and Technical teams are accurately represented and successfully influence changes as part of key cross-functional and corporate improvement and change initiatives, the Strategic Solution Consulting Director must have in-depth understanding of the payments ecosystem, market and industry trends, must be highly proficient and knowledgeable of ACI's technology, products, and solutions, must have strong leadership and communication skills and be a highly proactive individual, with a minimum of 5 years' experience.
• Leads / has led either a Global Solution Consulting functional initiative, or regional level GTM/sales program initiative for a minimum of 5 years.

Learning and Development

• Creates and executes against an individual development plan with management support.
• Strives for further competency development.
• Desires and capitalizes on continual development in the workplace within his/her industry discipline.
• Continually maintains and enhances his/her knowledge of the ACI solutions, customers, and the global market. This includes the market prospects and customers, the payments environment, regulation, applications, individuals, corporate goals, culture, etc.
• Mentors less senior Solution Consultants.
• Leads the creation of solution consulting team upskill programs using a methodical & repeatable training/mentoring approach.
• Takes a leadership role in the Solution Consulting team.

Communication and Executive Presence

• Clearly indicates expertise through excellent communication and very strong business acumen.
• Organizes and expresses business value and overcomes customer objections highly effectively, with little preparation.
• Can articulate value and lead conversations with up to C-Level at customers and prospects.
• Can articulate new ideas and action plan proposals with Executive Leadership Team (sales and cross-functionally) within ACI.

Miscellaneous

• Applies discipline in using the functional tools, including sales activity and progression reporting tools.
• Performs other duties as assigned.
• Understands and adheres to all corporate policies including but not limited to the ACI Code of Business Conduct and Ethics.

Qualifications (Education, Experience, Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities)

Education / Certifications

• BS/BA degree. Advanced degrees (MS, MBA) would be an asset or equivalent experience.
• MS Azure Fundamentals Certification is a plus.

Experience

• 15 years as a Subject Matter Expert in specific market segment.
• 15 years in relevant industry sector.
• 10-15 years consultative sales experience.

Knowledge

Expert level knowledge of at least 2 & strong in a 3rd ACI solution area, including with the ability to:

• Explain these solutions in a convincing manner highly effectively, with little preparation.
• Describe generic solution value propositions and customize these for individual prospects highly effectively, with little preparation. This includes being able to demonstrate to customers the value the solution provides in generating potential revenue streams, increase in market share, and cost savings.
• Present and explain competitive differentiators for these solutions highly effectively, with little preparation; demonstrate these solutions in a convincing manner.
• Discuss solutions & product strategies highly effectively, with little preparation.
• Excellent knowledge of the payments industry.
• Excellent understanding of market trends and local/domestic regulation and ability to position high-level business cases to internal stakeholders such as regional leaders and the Product Management team to demonstrate how aligning the solution to buying trends can accelerate sales and revenue opportunities for ACI.
• Strong understanding of current and emerging technologies, including those providing operational cost savings and efficiency when software is deployed in Private or Public Cloud, or offered as a Managed Service.
• Excellent understanding of the sales cycle and customer buying motives and criteria.

Skills and Other Abilities

• Excellent professional written/verbal in English and other languages as applicable.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills.
• Excellent persuasive presentation skills. The solution consultant must be able to speak with authority.
• Excellent active listening skills.
• Excellent analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Highly effectively, with little preparation ability to listen, analyze, discuss and promote solutions with customers and respond to their needs.
• Ability to self-motivate and work independently with little supervision.
• Ability to work under pressure and meet demanding deadlines.
• Creative and innovative in thought, bringing new ideas on how to be successful in changing markets.
• Works effectively in a team environment.
• Good proficiency with MS Office products, in particular Word and PowerPoint.

Work Environment:

• Work From Home

Domestic and/or international travel required up to 50%.

Benefits: In return for your expertise, we offer growth, opportunity, and a competitive compensation and benefits package in a casual work environment.

Are you ready to help us transform the world of electronic payments? To learn more about ACI Worldwide, visit our website at www.aciworldwide.com Job ID(Requisition 15673)

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ACI Worldwide is an AA/EEO employer in the United States, which includes providing equal opportunity for protected veterans and individuals with disabilities, and an EEO employer globally.