Dir Solution Consulting

ACI Worldwide • United States,

3d • Hybrid

About The Position

The Director Solution Consulting reports to the Head of Global Solution Consulting and leads a multi-regional team of solution consultants, driving major efficiency, performance, and change management programs for the Solution Consulting function globally. As a senior member of the commercial leadership team, this role collaborates with multi-regional and multi-functional counterparts to define and execute a commercial strategy that maximizes sales and revenue growth. The Director leverages industry expertise and market trend understanding to guide commercial strategy and define pipeline generation and sales execution plans. This role orchestrates the assignment of direct solution consulting team members across various commercial activities, including marketing campaign content creation, sales artifact preparation, pipeline/account planning, and sales opportunity pursuit. The Director oversees the solution consulting team's efforts throughout the sales cycle, from discovery to solution win, engaging with prospects and customers to understand their business and technology needs, design solutions, convey value propositions, and demonstrate benefits to convince customers of ACI's technological superiority. The Director proactively monitors sales and revenue reports, participates in sales pipeline reviews and forecasting, ensures alignment of solution consulting activity prioritization, identifies opportunities for revenue growth, and champions proposals for change to leadership peers. Close collaboration with client delivery/onboarding services leadership ensures efficient information exchange between pre- and post-sales teams, optimizing profitable solutions, pricing, customer satisfaction, and value growth. As part of the Global Solution Consulting leadership team, the Director defines team KPI targets, ensures necessary tools and procedures are in place, and monitors team KPIs, implementing improvement measures as needed. For corporate-level programs, the Director defines target KPIs, monitors performance, and adjusts activities to maximize results. The Director strategically defines resource and skillset realignment needs to corporate objectives, proposes role evolution, organizational constructs, and team knowledge growth plans. They actively work with corporate functions like sales operations and learning services to deploy new global solution consulting training programs and champion knowledge growth. Understanding global market insights, the Director leads collaboration with Product Management to influence solution strategy for long-term revenue growth, deploying enhanced collaboration processes and tools. The Director champions the responsible adoption of AI-enabled tools, automation, and data-driven practices, fostering innovation and continuous learning to equip team members to leverage AI capabilities while maintaining compliance.

Requirements

• BS/BA degree. Advanced degrees (MS, MBA) would be an asset or equivalent experience.
• 12 - 15 years consultative selling of on-prem and/or SaaS enterprise software solutions.
• 12 - 15 years in relevant industry sector.
• At least 5 – 7 years leadership experience, managing a geographically dispersed team.
• 5+ years actively leading cross functional initiatives.
• 5+ years preparing and presenting business proposals to internal C-Level executives.
• International business experience.
• Experience leading technology transformation, digital enablement, AI adoption, or operational improvement initiatives across commercial or customer-facing organizations.
• In-depth knowledge of payments industry and markets.
• Working business and high level technical knowledge of related industry software and services.
• Strong knowledge of payment industry products and processor business models.
• Clear understanding of enterprise software implementation and technical services, sales, customer management and support services requirements.
• Executive level verbal, written and presentation communication skills.
• Strategic organizational, leadership, motivational, planning and management skills.
• Highly effective relationship and interpersonal skills with ability to relate to C-Level customer objectives.
• Excellent analytical and problem solving skills with ability to define, monitor & interpret management KPIs trajectory, and financial reports.
• Proactive and independent decision making skills.
• Excellent teamwork and lateral management skills with proven ability to lead cross functional initiatives to address complex business issues.
• Must be customer focused, demonstrated attention to detail and ability to exercise excellent judgment.
• Change agent with an agile, innovate and team empowerment mindset
• Demonstrated ability to lead organizational adoption of AI-enabled tools and technologies to improve business outcomes, team productivity, and operational effectiveness.
• Ability to work in high pressure, politically sensitive environments.
• Ability to use a personal computer with proficient skills in business applications.

Nice To Haves

• MS Azure Fundamentals Certification is a plus

Responsibilities

• Leads a multi-regional team of Solution Consultants in accordance with corporate and functional goals and objectives.
• Identifies organizational and skillset risks and strategically address to achieve objectives.
• Engages, develops and manages talent to maximize team efficiency and support individual development.
• Provides regular feedback and conducts performance appraisals.
• Provides mentoring to team and less experienced functional peers.
• Establishes and monitors performance measures and incentive programs for team.
• Develops and manages budgets across several cost centers, with no assistance.
• Actively participates in the definition of a multi-regional commercial strategy and defines related solution consulting sales execution plans.
• Oversight for the solution consulting team efforts throughout the sales cycle from discovery through to the solution win stage, including the identification and presentation of appropriate solutions and product roadmap to customers/prospects with the aim of establishing the team as a trusted industry partner, achieving sales targets, and maintaining or improving customer satisfaction and value growth.
• Guides the team in providing advice to prospects/customers on design options for modifications, impacts of modifications on the existing system and how to establish and operate related aspects of their business, and in providing sales-orientated product demonstrations.
• Guides the team with preparation of sales artifacts including generic and customer specific RFx responses, solution presentations and product demonstrations.
• Collaborates with the Solution Consulting shared services leader to create an evolving roadmap of product demonstration use cases that best fit to the sales strategy and to innovate with new tools that help secure the customers confidence in the solution & technical capabilities.
• Represents ACI in industry groups and events to create internal and external awareness of ACI's Solutions.
• Builds and maintains effective C-Level relationships with major customers, prospects, industry trade associations, regulators and key industry partners.
• Acts as a Senior market advocate of ACI’s mission, vision and transformative strategy.
• Keeps current with new trends, products, and technologies in the payments industry
• Leads the design of global education and training programs for solution consulting and sales personnel on sales, customer services, products, and marketing objectives.
• Proactively monitors working methods and sales pursuit approaches, and identifies, expands or leads the deployment of new solution consulting best practices that adapt to highest value generating and complex sales opportunities.
• Actively orchestrates the development and/or improvements of tools, systems, processes, and procedures to increase team or functional efficiency and effectiveness.
• Proactively defines and leads initiatives that improve collaboration and partnership with cross-functional internal partners, including multi-regional sales, demand generation and professional services.
• Proactively defines and leads collaboration programs with the Product Management team to influence the solution strategic investment and roadmap decisions.
• Proactively drives the commercial leadership the team to define, prepare and present new solution or new market entry strategies that can accelerate the regional sales growth.
• Acts as the lead Commercial team representative as part of designated corporate strategic initiatives.
• Leads the adoption and effective utilization of AI-enabled tools, automation, and emerging technologies to improve solution consulting productivity, sales effectiveness, knowledge sharing, and customer engagement.
• Performs other duties as assigned.
• Understands and adheres to all corporate policies to include but not limited to the ACI Code of Business Conduct and Ethics.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior