Solutions Consulting Manager, Coats Digital

Role Purpose 

The Solutions Consulting Manager will be an expert on one or more of the Coats Digital software suites keeping pace with development and will have contextual understanding of the application to the fashion industry.  The Solutions Consulting Manager will lead a team of product experts providing consultancy to all relevant teams and provide support and validation of solution design during Pre-Sales activities and Implementation Blueprinting.

Principal Accountabilities and Key Activities 

Reporting to the Director, Professional Services, the primary responsibilities include:

• Lead a team of Product Experts providing consultancy services to the teams in Professional Services, Customer Success, Pre-Sales and Support. 
• Liaise with external and internal clients to analyse existing systems and workflow
• Occasional workshop sessions on site with selected prospects or clients where known product functionality is unlikely to cover all required aspects of the project and through this to both guide the proposed solution and to scope out the required product development.
• Via project team and with some direct liaison with clients to understand and interpret requirements into a Coats Digital software blueprint and workflow.
• Identify options / configurations within the existing Coats Digital software for an optimised solution focusing on end user efficiency
• To present solution proposals to clients in conjunction with and in addition to the Project Teams including an element of pre-sales assistance.
• Provide a solution validation checkpoint alongside the Product Team for Project Teams prior to presentation to clients.
• Assess where current product limitations may be encountered and identify where and when changes to business practices or new software modifications are required as appropriate to deliver a “Best Practice” solution
• Work closely with the Development and Product teams to help specify modifications and provide input to product direction.
• Create functional specifications and assist in creating technical specifications for software enhancements including assistance with development team in the estimation of development time/cost required.
• To train and educate other Customer Service team members in analysing and writing functional specifications
• Provide internal and external training to users of a new solutions and workflows.
• Work with Knowledge Services to improve processes and product knowledge across Coats Digital
• Ensure that personal knowledge of Coats Digital products keeps pace with development and through documentation and training ensure this is disseminated to both PS and commercial teams.

Education, Qualifications and Experience

Essential

Desirable

You must excel at:

Technical Expertise

• Expert knowledge of one of more Coats Digital Software products including understanding of UI and Database Schema.

• Understanding of solution design best practice and application to the Fashion Industry

Leadership

• Strong team management and leadership skills to ensure the Technical Services Team provide excellent service to both internal teams and to customers

• Provide regular feedback to team members on performance and progression.

• Work closely with the Customer Services and Commercial teams to ensure quality and validity of solution design.

• Provide continuous feedback to improve internal processes and product suite.

• Work closely with Knowledge Services to improve processes and product knowledge across Coats Digital.

Analysis

• Draw out client requirements utilising a variety of techniques including:

• Direct questioning
• Pain-chain analysis
• ‘Is, does, means’
• Business process walk-throughs
• Extracting from client-own documentation
• Visio diagram mapping

• Understand client requirements and design solutions based upon best practice, validity, and end user efficiency.

Solution Delivery

• Lead and support the solution design of Coats Digital software involving all relevant stakeholders and ensuring technical feasibility, best practice, and end user efficiency.

• Successfully run internal and client workshops and evidence output.

• Present to clients the Coats Digital solution, demonstrating a strong understanding of the client and industry issues it helps to solve, and ‘bringing the solution to life’.

• Discern the need for escalation and suggest solutions where appropriate.

• Support multiple client projects and prospect Pre Sales, equally maintaining a professional approach to, and quality management of, each of the clients.

• Assist in continuous improvement initiatives and execute client facing activities to ensure clients continue to get the most from the Coats Digital solution.

• Assist Support Teams with expertise relating to Coats Digital software to ensure issue resolution according to SLAs.

Communication & Relationship Building

• Be able to communicate clearly and effectively in English, Cantonese, and Mandarin.

• Communicate effectively and build strong working relationships with clients and internal employees at all levels.

• Articulate and document technical requirements to the development team, ensuring the solution meets the client requirements and is delivered in the most effective manner.

• Good stakeholder management client-side and internally.

• Give compelling presentations up to and including board level.

Documentation

• Write, own, and support internal and client-facing documentation. Ensure any key documentation is kept up to date, version controlled and formatted in a professional way meeting the agreed Coats Digital guidelines.

• Product excellent solution design, process mapping and workflow documentation and presentations.

Desirable Industry and Contextual Experience and Skills

• Other SEA reading, writing and speaking language skills an advantage