Commercial Solution Architect in Cheshire, Warrington

Hybrid 3 days per week in the office Hours: Full-time, 37.5 hours per week Reporting to: Head of Technical Services Since our inception, the Dataspire team have always been passionate about education, almost as much as were crazy about IT. Our focus has been simple: to work in partnership with schools of all sizes in creating dependable and high-performing IT environments which ensure staff have total confidence in using ICT to deliver outstanding learning outcomes for their students. You will lead technical discovery and design end-to-end solutions covering networks,cloud platforms, identity, security, safeguarding, endpoints, backup and management tooling forstandard and moderately complex school or MAT opportunities. You will collaborate closely with Sales, Implementation Services and Systems Operations to ensure a smooth transition from proposal to live service. Lead technical discovery workshops with IT leads, school leaders and internal stakeholders including site assessments and current-state documentation. Design end-to-end solutions across networks, wireless, servers, virtualisation, Microsoft 365, Google Workspace, identity, security, safeguarding, endpoints, backup and management tooling using Dataspire reference architectures and DfE, NCSC and KCSIE guidance. Produce high-quality proposal content including solution overviews, HLDs, scope boundaries, assumptions, acceptance criteria and SOW input. Work with Sales and Finance to size, price and package solutions balancing commercial constraints with scalability, supportability and margin. Present solution options clearly to both technical audiences and non-technical school leadership. Collaborate with Implementation Services before proposal submission to validate deliverability, effort and sequencing. Capture lessons learned from delivered projects and feed improvements back into standards. Network and connectivity: Servers and virtualisation: Microsoft Windows Server, Hyper-V, VMware (ESXi, vCenter), Dell EMC, HPE ProLiant. Microsoft 365, Google Workspace for Education. Autopilot, SCCM, Intune, Google Endpoint Management, JAMF, Lightspeed, MDM. Apple platform management: macOS, iPadOS, iOS, JAMF. Remote access and voice: RDS, VPN, 3CX, Microsoft Teams. Good breadth across networking, Microsoft 365, Entra ID, Intune, Windows Server, backup, security, wireless or endpoint management. A collaborative \"One Team\" approach working alongside Sales, Implementation Services and Systems Operations. An education-sector background or experience designing IT solutions for schools or MATs. What matters most is your ability to apply IT best practices to educational environments. Hybrid working 3 days a week in the office. ~32 days holiday each year inclusive of bank holidays. ~ Additional paid Christmas shutdown day. ~ Birthday off. ~ On-site parking. ~ Optional branded workwear. ~ Employee Assistance Programme available to support colleagues with wellbeing, mental health, legal, financial and personal advice. Continuing Professional Development (CPDs) aligned to our financial year. Vendor-led training where needs identified. Our mission is to create dependable, high-performing IT environments that give teachers confidence in using technology and help young people access outstanding learning experiences. In this role, every solution you design will directly influence how teachers teach, how students learn and how schools operate safely and efficiently. Dataspire is a Mental Health at Work Committed organisation and a Disability Confident employer.