Lenovo

As a Deal Engagement Lead in our Solutions & Services Group, you will be responsible for managing the Deal Desk operation across your assigned geography, owning the success of the bid and proposal management and deal governance functions. Within this role, you will be tasked with driving deal velocity and win rates across our portfolio of complex and custom services deals, whilst ensuring end to end compliance. To be successful in the role, you should demonstrate deep experience in the management and execution of large deals within IT Services (End User Compute, Digital Workplace Solutions, Hybrid Cloud Solutions) and exceptional communication and stakeholder management skills. Within this role, you will be responsible for leading a team, therefore should demonstrate strong leadership skills and a track record in driving outcomes through collaboration.

You tasks will include:

• Drive a robust Deal Qualification framework, ensuring best possible use and allocation of resource.
• Implement a programmatic approach to deal assurance, ensuring governance steps and commercial reviews are facilitated in a timely manner and in accordance with policy.
• Oversee the management of a regional portfolio of bids, enabling regular cadence to manage deal progression, maintain oversight of critical risks and issues, and remove roadblocks.
• Establish and continuously improve the playbook for the Deal Engagement Manager and Deal Desk Analyst functions, ensuring adoption of global quality standards across the team.
• Establish and continuously improve the Deal Desk content library by providing direction and feedback to the content managers/writers, with a focus on process, proposal and graphics.
• Regularly review key measurements such as Deal Cycle Time, Win Rates and Deal Compliance Adherence and demonstrate continuous performance improvement through documented action plans.

Team Leadership

• Provide strong leadership and guidance to team members, setting clear expectations and objectives to drive the execution and success and complex and custom services bids.
• Develop and nurture a high-performing team by providing coaching, mentorship, and ongoing feedback to foster professional growth and development.
• Monitor team performance, identify areas for improvement, and implement strategies to address performance issues effectively.
• Effectively allocate resources and manage workloads to ensure optimal team productivity and project delivery.
• Foster a collaborative and inclusive team environment by promoting open communication, teamwork, and knowledge sharing among team members.
• Address conflicts and issues within the team in a timely and constructive manner, promoting a positive and respectful work culture.
• Act as a primary point of contact for key stakeholders within your assigned geography, ensuring effective transactions and value delivery for all concerned teams.
• Ensure compliance with company policies, procedures, and standards, promoting a culture of accountability and integrity within the team.
• Identify potential risks and issues related to project delivery and develop mitigation strategies to minimize their impact on project timelines and outcomes.

Continuous Improvement

• Maintain current knowledge of industry best practices, proposal trends and evolving client demands.
• Seek feedback from sales teams, clients, and internal stakeholders to improve bid execution quality, effectiveness and win rates.
• Identify opportunities to streamline and automate the bid execution process.
• Develop and continuously update a centralized repository of proposal content

Qualifications for the role: 

• 10+ years of progressive sales focused business experience in the information technology sector.
• Accomplished bid leader with demonstrable success managing IT services opportunities in a fast-paced environment with tight deadlines.
• Experience in managing and tracking multiple time-phased activities.
• Ability to facilitate business activities including workshops to develop compelling messaging and winning solutions that deliver client outcomes.
• Familiarity with proposal management software and tools.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite (Word, PowerPoint, Excel), graphic design and/or desktop publishing an advantage.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills to effectively collaborate with cross-functional teams.
• Ability to work as part of a global team which may require engaging across distances, cultures and time zones in a matrix organizational structure.
• APMP Practitioner Certification or possession of skill set and experience to acquire certification required.
• Experience leading and managing effective teams with demonstrated ability to motivate and inspire team members to achieve their full potential.