Solution Architect Manager
Chicago, IL

Job Description

Main role / Job Objective:

In the role of Team Manager you will provide leadership to a regional solution architect team which ensures the successful, profitable, on-time delivery of software solutions at our Consumer Goods, Pharmaceutical & Retail clients.

You will be responsible for managing and delivering on the overall project pipeline in your team/region, maintaining strong daily management that ensures:

* A timely response to incoming customer deployment projects
* The most effective utilization of the team/resources
* High levels of customer satisfaction
* A passion for coaching and mentoring team members

You will maintain awareness of the status of all active projects, contributing personally to key projects in addition to your management tasks (though max 50% target to that of the SAs). You will become the key contact internally, representing your team, its status and needs to the wider Esko population.

As Team Manager your main responsibilities are:

* To ensure a high level of customer satisfaction through the delivery of consistently high-quality projects within agreed timeframes and budgets.
* To build, maintain & improve standard work for our projects' statuses & funnel (incoming and active), ensuring correct prioritization, resource utilization and timeliness of response.
* To ensure standardized Project and Technical delivery methodologies (SOPs) are fully embedded into, and utilized, as part of daily standard work across the team.
* To coordinate resource planning and deliverables, ensuring that customer commitments are met.
* To advise and coach direct reports during active projects to ensure Esko Brand Solutions deployment team exudes professionalism, effectively building a rapport with clients and project teams.
* To recruit and retain high quality talent within your team, ensuring highest levels of job satisfaction as evidenced by our yearly engagement survey.
* To liaise with your alternates in other regions, plus leaders in pre-sales, sales, project management, finance and aftercare to ensure smooth handovers and happy customers.
* To work as a consultant within the company, looking for new areas to build standard work and increase our efficiency.
* Act as escalation point to customer deployment teams for any issues affecting projects and project deployment; ensure issues are resolved with no / minimal customer impact.
* To interact with our R&D teams to share ideas & feedback from the market that ultimately contribute to the continued improvement of our solutions
* To work, with your team on active projects as needed.



Qualifications and professional knowledge:

* Proven ability to work in multi-functional teams, networking effectively with others to achieve desired goals


* 5 years' experience (or equivalent) in areas such as, but not limited to:


* Business process or asset management technology solution architecture, ideally in a marketing or packaging domain


* Providing software and/or services to consumer goods, pharmaceutical or retail customers


* Software user training (e.g. workflow building, system configuration, system admin, developing key users up to a professional/expert level)


* Software support (e.g. registering, administering, diagnosing and resolving customer support requests)


* Other technical services domains (e.g. application engineering, enterprise level software installation)


* Bachelor or Master degree (or equivalent professional qualification)


* Fluent in English, both written and spoken. Additional languages appreciated.



Esko Inc. is an equal opportunity employer. We evaluate qualified applicants without regard to race, color, national origin, religion, gender, age, marital status, disability, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity, or any other characteristic protected by law.