Services Partner

Job description

AHEAD builds platforms for digital business. By weaving together advances in cloud infrastructure, automation and analytics, and software delivery, we help enterprises deliver on the promise of digital transformation. At AHEAD, we prioritize creating a culture of belonging, where all perspectives and voices are represented, valued, respected, and heard. We create spaces to empower everyone to speak up, make change, and drive the culture at AHEAD. We are an equal opportunity employer, and do not discriminate based on an individual's race, national origin, color, gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, religion, age, disability, marital status, or any other protected characteristic under applicable law, whether actual or perceived. ***We embrace all candidates that will contribute to the diversification and enrichment of ideas and perspectives at AHEAD.*** The AHEAD Services Partner works directly with assigned clients to help define objectives, build compelling cases for change, and maximize the value of investments in technology and digital transformation. The Services Partner serves as a trusted advisor and represents AHEAD’s consulting, technical, and managed-services capabilities to create practical paths to measurable business outcomes. The Services Partner is responsible for developing and executing a strategic direction for each assigned client and for driving services growth in partnership with the Client Director and sales organization. The Services Partner owns the content and integrated value proposition for strategic opportunity pursuits and orchestrates the end-to-end solution across practices, service lines, account teams, partners, and delivery resources. This is a sell-plus-deliver role. The Services Partner grows strategic client relationships, identifies and shapes services opportunities, leads pursuit teams, provides oversight of sold services engagements, and helps ensure alignment among scope, solution quality, delivery approach, economics, and client expectations. The role balances commercial outcomes, utilization and delivery alignment, client satisfaction, and sustainable account value; specific incentive measures are governed by the approved bonus plan. You will succeed at AHEAD if you are fearless, resourceful, collaborative, and bring expertise in client relations, technology consulting, executive communication, and strategic growth. You are able to lead through influence, make sound decisions in complex situations, and build strong, productive relationships with clients, partners, AHEAD, and your team. ### Duties & Responsibilities **ACCOUNT MANAGEMENT – 40%** - Grow and maintain AHEAD’s services engagement and strategic relationship within assigned clients. - Develop and execute account strategies aligned with client priorities, business outcomes, services needs, and revenue targets. - Build and leverage relationships with internal and external stakeholders across client, account, sales, delivery, partner, and practice teams. - Partner with the Client Director to identify white-space opportunities, expand buying-center relationships, and increase account penetration. - Maintain a forward-looking view of client initiatives, technology investments, organizational priorities, and potential cases for change. - Engage assigned clients regularly to identify incremental business benefits and opportunities for further AHEAD support. - Monitor account health, pipeline coverage, executive relationships, delivery risk, and client satisfaction. **CLIENT / RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT – 25%** - Serve as the client’s trusted advisor and senior point of contact for client stakeholders. - Develop an in-depth understanding of client business needs, technology environments, operating challenges, and strategic objectives. - Engage credibly with senior client leaders on major services initiatives and transformation programs. - Translate client needs into clear outcomes, decision criteria, roadmaps, solution approaches, and value propositions. - Build and maintain productive relationships that strengthen client confidence and translate to services growth. - Monitor and maintain client satisfaction, resolving client concerns efficiently by coordinating the appropriate AHEAD leaders and resources. - Communicate proactively, make time-sensitive decisions, and manage escalations with sound judgment and executive presence. **PORTFOLIO MANAGEMENT – 20%** - Partner with and provide oversight of services engagements sold to clients. - Orchestrate cross-practice teams to align scope, solution quality, staffing, delivery approach, economics, and client expectations. - Monitor portfolio performance, delivery quality, commercial risk, client outcomes, and opportunities for improvement. - Work with delivery and service-line leaders to ensure engagements are sold and delivered as designed. - Identify trends across engagements and feed client insights into offering development, delivery methodology, reusable assets, and capability priorities. - Collaborate with consulting leaders, account management, business development, and enabling functions to improve portfolio health and growth. - Support a balanced operating model that connects booked margin, delivery utilization, customer satisfaction, and sustainable client relationships. **DEVELOPING SOLUTIONS – 15%** - Consult with clients to review technology usage, services, department-specific initiatives, and future needs. - Identify, forecast, and shape opportunities where AHEAD capabilities can address client challenges and create business value. - Scope consulting and technical professional services engagements in partnership with the appropriate practices and service lines. - Prepare and present proposals, executive briefings, solution narratives, statements of work, and other pursuit materials. - Own the content and integrated value proposition for strategic opportunity pursuits. - Partner with pursuit teams to identify, qualify, shape, and close complex services opportunities. - Connect capabilities across Data Center Operations, Cloud Computing, End User Compute / VDI, Application Development / DevOps, Data Analytics, SecOps/InfoSec, ESM, monitoring, Enterprise Service Desk, Networking / SD-WAN, virtualization, containerization, and related technology domains. - Collaborate internally to grow and develop offerings in response to client needs, industry trends, and emerging technology demand. - Perform other job duties as assigned. ### Education and Experience **Education and Experience** - Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, Business, or a related field; Master’s in Business Administration or a related advanced degree preferred. - 12+ years’ experience in information technology, including project management, business analysis, technology consulting, or related client-facing services leadership. - 5+ years’ experience directly managing or leading teams with technical resources. - Experience structuring, negotiating, and closing large, complex services deals. - Experience building strategic working relationships with client leadership and internal peers. - Experience in technology consulting at a top-tier firm or boutique IT firm with a proven record of successfully managing and growing a significant services business. - Strong background in sales and account management tied to a book of business of approximately $5–10MM or more. - Experience delivering complex technology solutions, including effective program and project management. - Direct operational experience managing IT infrastructure organizations, budgets, and project execution is preferred. - Consulting experience with professional services engagements and managed services, including experience serving government clients, is preferred. - Experience engaging at the senior executive level on major services initiatives and leading the execution teams for those initiatives. **Knowledge, Skills, Abilities** - Knowledge and experience leading IT projects across technology spheres including Data Center Operations, Cloud Computing, End User Compute / VDI, Application Development / DevOps, Data Analytics, SecOps/InfoSec, ESM, monitoring, Enterprise Service Desk, Networking / SD-WAN, virtualization, and containerization. - Ability to consult with clients to review IT usage, services, technology, and department-specific projects in order to identify, forecast, and develop IT needs. - Ability to scope consulting and technical professional services and prepare and present proposals for consulting and professional services engagements. - Ability to gain an in-depth understanding of client business needs and challenges and offer proactive, outcome-oriented solutions. - Ability to own pursuit content and orchestrate cross-practice teams through qualification, solutioning, proposal development, negotiation, and close. - Ability to align sold work to delivery quality, client expectations, economics, utilization, and customer satisfaction. - Ability to build trusted relationships with client managers, directors, vice presidents, and executive leaders appropriate to the account and opportunity. - Demonstrated problem solving, structured thinking, prioritization, and time-sensitive decision-making. - Natural entrepreneurial and commercial sense. - Strong collaboration skills and the ability to work with diverse practices, solution and account teams, partners, and client organizations.