Are you an experienced solutions consultant or architect who can confidently present to school and trust leadership, translate complex IT into plain English, and shape solutions that genuinely improve teaching and learning? If you love both the technical detail and the bigger picture impact on young people’s lives, this could be the role for you.
About the role
As a Senior Solutions Consultant, you will lead the discovery, design, and presentation of IT solutions for schools and multi‑academy trusts, covering networks, cloud, identity, security, and managed services. You will own medium to large opportunities, such as multi‑site network and cloud transformations or trust‑wide managed services, ensuring they are robust, deliverable, and aligned to education‑sector standards.
You will be a key technical voice in customer meetings, bid responses, and solution reviews, working closely with Sales, Implementation, and Service teams to ensure what we propose is both technically sound and operationally realistic.
Key responsibilities
* Lead technical discovery with schools and trusts, including stakeholder workshops, site assessments, and requirements gathering.
* Design end‑to‑end architectures across network, server/virtualisation, Microsoft 365/Azure, Google Workspace, and security, using reference architectures and DfE/NCSC guidance as guardrails.
* Produce clear, high‑quality proposal content (solution overviews, diagrams, statements of work, scope/assumptions, responsibilities, acceptance criteria).
* Present and defend solutions to SLT, governors, and trust leadership, adjusting your language for both technical and non‑technical audiences.
* Support bids and tenders, ensuring our technical responses are compelling, compliant, and commercially balanced.
* Collaborate with Implementation and Operations leaders to validate feasibility, effort, and risk, and to shape migration, rollout, and handover approaches.
* Mentor and coach more junior members of the Solutions team in discovery, design quality, and presentation skills.
* Capture lessons learned from live projects and services and feed these back into design patterns, templates, and standard offerings.
Technologies you’ll design with
* Networking & Connectivity: Campus and edge networking, Enterprise Wi‑Fi, and perimeter security (HPE Aruba, Cisco, Firewalls).
* Identity & Cloud Productivity: Microsoft 365, Google Workspace, Active Directory, and Azure AD / Entra ID.
* Platforms & Virtualisation: Windows Server, Hyper‑V, VMware, and Apple platform management.
* Endpoint Management: SCCM, Intune, and Google Endpoint Management.
* Security & Safeguarding: Web filtering, safeguarding platforms (DfE/KCSIE compliant), and secure remote access (VPN, RDS).
* Storage & Resilience: Enterprise storage (SAN/NAS) and backup/DR platforms like Redstor.
What we’re looking for
* Significant experience in an MSP or similar environment, designing and/or delivering multi‑technology solutions (network, cloud, identity, security).
* Strong architecture capability: comfortable working with reference architectures, design principles, and end‑to‑end solutions spanning infrastructure and cloud.
* Exceptional presentation and communication skills, with a proven ability to present confidently to SLT and senior stakeholders, explain concepts to non‑technical audiences, and dive into technical detail with IT managers.
* Demonstrable experience in presales or bid support, including shaping solutions for RFPs/tenders and collaborating with sales/finance on pricing.
* Strong documentation skills: concise proposals, clear diagrams, and structured statements of work.
* A proactive, collaborative approach, comfortable owning opportunities end‑to‑end while working as part of a wider “one team”.
* Nice to have: Previous experience working in or closely aligned to the education sector (understanding NCSC/DfE standards). If not, your ability to understand educational outcomes and translate them into effective IT solutions is what counts.
Why this role matters
Our mission is to create dependable, high‑performing IT environments that give teachers confidence in using technology and help young people access outstanding learning experiences. In this role, every solution you design will directly influence how teachers teach, how students learn, and how schools operate safely and efficiently. If you are motivated by the idea of using your architecture and presentation skills to make a tangible difference in education, this is the role for you.
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