Advanced Customer Support (ACS) is a business unit within Oracle that establishes long-term service relationships with many of Oracle's largest customers. ACS Service Solution Architects are focussed on supporting ACS’s continued growth in leading edge, large scale and complex service requirements for Oracle cloud, on-premises and hybrid engagements.ACS Service Solution Architects have a proven track record in successful delivery of IT services for mission critical environments in major organisations. In addition to a specialisation in the area of cloud, they possess extensive, broad-based expertise in the area of mission critical production operations, support and managed services. They have proven experience in industry standard service management and project management best practices. In addition to extensive broad based experience of IT services and technologies, each individual Service Solution Architect has deep expertise in specific services & technology areas, and acts as the subject-matter lead in those areas within the team.All ACS Service Solution Architects have extremely strong customer facing presentation and interaction skills, are capable of engaging at senior management and C-level, articulating service and technology solutions in terms of business value and risk.SCOPE:Location: Cairo, EgyptGeographic area of responsibility: Middle East and Africa (MEA). The main area of focus is East Africa, however, could be assigned to support Sales across MEAReports to: MEA Services Solutions Architect DirectorLanguages: Fluent spoken and written English and Arabic language capability requiredCustomer facingHas no direct reports, but often leads and/or guides the activities of virtual teams to build service solution propositions for customersWorks with multiple customers across all sectors/countries in the ACS MEA region, in collaboration with Oracle ACS and Oracle cross-line-of-business (xLoB) teamsWorks on services related opportunities across the entire lifecycle of all Oracle cloud and on-premises products. ACS opportunities typically involve extensive Oracle xLoB collaboration, and require the ACS Service Solution Architect to work within xLoB teams covering Oracle product and services requirements across design, deployment, migration, operations/management and supportWorks with the local ACS Sales and xLoB teams to:Identify, build and win leading edge/large scale services opportunities across existing and new Oracle ACS customersBuild and articulate compelling ACS service solutions for each opportunity that address identified customer business needsEnsure the service requirements, risks and costs associated with each ACS service proposition are fully understood and addressedProvide subject matter expert input into contract and commercial documentation and negotiationAssist in closing opportunities in a timely fashionAssist ACS to achieve its growth targets and strategic initiativesWork with appropriate Oracle Partners, i.e. resellers, SIs, partners, and alliances RESPONSBILITIES:To identify, foster and define Oracle ACS services solutions for specific customer opportunities and assist in the sale alongside the local ACS team consisting of sales representative, ACS pre-sales and ACS deliveryWork with the customer, ACS management and the xLoB account teams to:Understand the customer’s business and IT strategic requirements and identify large scale ACS opportunities to assist the customer achieve its strategic goalsGather and assess customer needs, both business and technical and translates these into ACS service solutionsBuild and lead virtual teams associated with these large scale opportunitiesEffectively communicate with customer to CxO levelBuild customer loyalty through achieving a trusted advisor relationshipWork proactively to build and leverage an effective and extensive network across Oracle xLoBs – be seen, respected and in demand across Oracle as a high value asset and an SME in service solutionsCollaborate effectively internally and externally to ensure effective service solution design and developmentDrive compelling proposals, presentations, and other customer and internal communications and discussions during opportunitiesDrive service solution costing & pricing associated with specific opportunities and ensure that service solutions proposed are appropriately shaped to meet the commercial and contracting requirement of OracleEffectively communicate and articulate the details of the service components in a proposed customer solutionDemonstrate a strong understanding of the services competitive marketplace to anticipate and plan for competitive threatsWork with disparate groups including, but not limited to, sales, delivery, customers, risk management, business development, contracts, product managementWork with ACS delivery to ensure a smooth transition from sales to deliveryNavigate Oracle internal tools and processes to effectively participate and enable ACS salesProduce appropriate and timely opportunity reporting/tracking information for ACS managementTransfers knowledge to other participant roles on the deal, account teams, delivery and across the ACS Service Solution Architect community Experience:This is a senior role. ACS Service Solution Architects at this level typically have 20+ years of experience in relevant IT services, across a wide range of technologies and customer sectors.A typical experience profile for successful individuals in this role would include most if not all of the following:15+ years of IT services, including significant direct experience in services roles within multiple external IT services providersBroad understanding of typical enterprise applications and IT infrastructures including public and on-premises cloud, including but not limited to Oracle technologiesExtensive experience of working in a services presales role within an IT services providerExtensive experience in IT services, service operations and service management, including managed services/outsourcingLarge scale IT project and programme management, including major transformation, migration and solution deployment projectsCommercial and contract management, including construction of TCO analyses and pricing for complex service offersSales and complex deal negotiationArchitecting, implementing and delivering complex service solutions for large scale, mission critical IT environmentsConsulting and trusted-advisor roles to C-level within major customer organisations in relation to IT servicesProven ability to construct and deliver compelling presentations and propositions to C-level and large audiences