At a Glance
- Tasks: Lead service design and presales for innovative Managed Services, shaping customer solutions.
- Company: Join a forward-thinking tech company focused on collaboration and innovation.
- Benefits: Enjoy remote work flexibility, competitive salary, and opportunities for professional growth.
- Other info: Be part of a culture that values innovation and continuous improvement.
- Why this job: Make a real impact by designing scalable services that meet customer needs.
- Qualifications: 5+ years in Service Design or Presales Architecture with strong ITIL knowledge.
The predicted salary is between 70000 - 90000 € per year.
Location - Remote with occasional travel to customer sites.
The Service Design and Presales Architect is a senior, hands-on role responsible for defining, positioning and shaping our Managed Services. You will lead the service design workstream across bids and proposals, translating customer needs into clear, compelling, and operationally sound service models. The role includes designing repeatable and scalable services, including service scope, levels, governance, and supporting commercial viability. You will collaborate with Sales, Bid Management, Delivery Practice, Operations and Solution Architecture to ensure proposed services are deliverable and effectively transitioned into operations.
Accountabilities and Key Responsibilities:
- Presales, Bids & Customer Engagement
Lead the service design and presales workstream across RFIs, RFPs, ITTs, CQs PQQs and tender responses, ensuring all service-related documentation is accurate, high quality, and clearly demonstrates customer value, benefits and outcomes. Engage with customers and internal teams to validate requirements, translating these into clearly defined, realistic service models, customer journeys, and operationally viable solutions. Lead the creation of high-quality, comprehensive Statements of Work, ensuring clarity, operational feasibility, and alignment with customer requirements. Take ownership of the document approval process, including securing internal sign-off and obtaining customer agreement/signature, to ensure all commitments are formally validated and fully actionable. Take responsibility for end-to-end costing and resourcing of Managed Services, including labour, tooling, licensing, capacity planning, onboarding effort, and ongoing operational effort. Work closely with Finance, Commercial, Product, Operations, Legal, and Solution Architecture teams to ensure assumptions, risks, dependencies, and delivery requirements are fully understood and reflected in cost models and pricing structures. Develop and articulate win themes and value propositions that demonstrate how proposed services meet customer requirements and deliver measurable value and collaborate with Sales and Bid Management to structure proposals, align with customer priorities, and address gaps or weaknesses. Represent the organisation as the senior presales authority in customer meetings, workshops and deal review boards. Lead qualification, scoping, and progression of opportunities, confidently presenting our propositions while articulating the service model, delivery approach, commercial structure, and expected outcomes. Provide strategic guidance, address complex customer requirements, and influence decision-making to secure commitment and strengthen long-term relationships. Proactively challenge assumptions, identify opportunities for innovation, recommend improvements to service design and delivery approaches, and ensure all customer commitments are realistic, deliverable, clearly documented, and properly transitioned into operational teams via SMEs with appropriate governance approvals. Drive the continuous evolution of the Managed Service presales strategy, taking a proactive role in analysing win/loss outcomes, identifying trends, and recommending targeted improvements. Maintain a deep and authoritative understanding of our Managed Service portfolio, go-to-market strategies, capabilities, and key service areas to qualify opportunities effectively, provide strategic guidance to the business, and maximise revenue generation potential. Take full accountability for the end-to-end presales lifecycle for assigned opportunities, ensuring each engagement is expertly managed from initial qualification through to formal closure and seamless transition into BAU support. Act as the senior presales authority, ensuring all commitments are deliverable, aligned with operational capabilities, and positioned to secure long-term customer success. Support Sales during contract negotiations, renewals and change controls, providing service design insight to ensure agreements remain deliverable, aligned with the proposed service model and commercially sound.
- Service Design & Proposition Development
Design and document high-quality, repeatable and scalable Managed Services, defining scope, service levels, roles and responsibilities, processes, expected outcomes and value delivered. Create clear supporting materials and service descriptions that explain how each service works, what the customer can expect and the value it provides, ensuring content is accessible to both technical and non-technical audiences. Develop comprehensive Operational Service Designs and Service Descriptions covering workflows, supporting processes, reporting, escalation models, tooling requirements and service governance, ensuring services can be delivered consistently, efficiently and in line with operational capability. Work closely with Solution Architects, Product Teams, Operations, Delivery, Finance and Commercial teams to confirm services are technically feasible, operationally viable and aligned with company standards, strategy and commercial objectives. Contribute to cost modelling by identifying the operational activities, resources and tooling required, ensuring these are fully considered in pricing discussions. Support the creation and continual improvement of standard service components, templates and frameworks, including service catalogues, Statements of Work, diagrams and onboarding processes, to drive consistency and reusability across customers. Continuously improve service design by capturing operational feedback, identifying risks and constraints and refining processes to enhance quality, efficiency and the overall customer experience. Identify opportunities for innovation that differentiate the service offering, improve effectiveness or introduce additional value. Ensure all service designs incorporate performance measures, reporting requirements, compliance considerations and clearly defined customer obligations. Monitor market trends and emerging customer needs to inform portfolio development and recommend new services or enhancements that strengthen the offering.
- Stakeholder Collaboration
Facilitate the seamless transition of agreed services into operational delivery, ensuring all stakeholders fully understand the service model, obligations, and customer commitments, and providing guidance to resolve any ambiguities or gaps. Act as a trusted advisor and service design subject matter expert, influencing stakeholders to make decisions that balance customer needs, operational capability, and commercial viability. Participate in continuous improvement by identifying opportunities to enhance service offerings, standardise processes, optimise documentation, and improve the overall quality, efficiency, and consistency of service delivery. Work with internal SMEs, Operations, Legal, Commercial, Delivery Practice Leads, Sales, Account Managers and Delivery Teams ensuring service designs are accurate, realistic, and deliverable. Customer requirements are viable, achievable and costings are reflected accurately. Lead and coordinate with the Transition Team to ensure the seamless onboarding of successful Managed Services awards into operational support. Take full accountability for the handover process, ensuring all service artefacts, commitments, and operational requirements are clearly documented, understood, and implemented.
- Innovation & Continuous Improvement
Promote a culture of innovation by encouraging colleagues and stakeholders to contribute ideas and solutions that improve services, processes, and the overall customer experience. Continuously refine service standards, templates, processes, and documentation to improve efficiency, clarity, consistency, and operational effectiveness, ensuring changes deliver measurable value. Monitor evolving market trends, emerging customer needs, and industry best practices in Managed Services, benchmarking offerings against competitors and proactively recommending enhancements, new services, or process improvements to strengthen the overall service portfolio. Identify opportunities to leverage technology, automation, and digital tools to streamline processes, enhance service delivery, and increase efficiency. Drive innovation and continuous improvement, aligning initiatives with organisational strategy and customer outcomes while identifying new approaches, tools, or models that differentiate the offering and enhance value.
Knowledge and Experience
Significant experience (5+ years) in Service Design, Presales Architecture, or Managed Services design within a technology services, MSP, or consultancy environment, including developing repeatable, standardised service offerings for scale and efficiency. ITIL 4 Managing Professional accreditation, or at least five years’ experience operating within an ITIL aligned service management function with demonstrable application of service management practices. Demonstrable experience producing high-quality bid, tender, and service response documentation, translating technical solutions into customer-facing service models and value propositions. Strong understanding of operational service delivery, ITIL-based service models, SLAs/OLAs, managed service lifecycle principles, and how to align ITIL practices with service design, bid responses, and operational models for Managed Services. Solid understanding of customer requirements including service availability, transparency, security, governance, support, and business continuity. Excellent commercial awareness with experience contributing to cost models, evaluating risks and assumptions, and supporting the creation of commercially sound proposals. Strong stakeholder management skills, able to collaborate effectively across Sales, Delivery, Product, Operations, and Executive teams.
Senior Service Design and Presales Architect in Reading employer: Trustmarque
Join a forward-thinking company that values innovation and collaboration, offering a dynamic remote work environment with occasional travel to customer sites. As a Senior Service Design and Presales Architect, you will have the opportunity to shape impactful Managed Services while benefiting from a culture that prioritises employee growth, continuous improvement, and a commitment to delivering exceptional customer value. With a focus on professional development and a supportive team atmosphere, this role is perfect for those seeking meaningful and rewarding employment in a rapidly evolving industry.
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We think this is how you could land Senior Service Design and Presales Architect in Reading
✨Tip Number 1
Network like a pro! Reach out to your connections on LinkedIn or industry events. We all know that sometimes it’s not just what you know, but who you know that can get you in the door.
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Prepare for interviews by researching the company and its services. We want you to be able to speak their language and show how your skills align with their needs. Practice common interview questions and have your own ready to go!
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Showcase your expertise! Bring examples of your previous work to interviews. We love seeing how you’ve tackled challenges and delivered value in past roles. It’s all about demonstrating your impact!
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Don’t forget to follow up after interviews! A quick thank-you email can keep you top of mind. We appreciate candidates who show enthusiasm and professionalism, so let them know you’re still interested!
We think you need these skills to ace Senior Service Design and Presales Architect in Reading
Some tips for your application 🫡
Tailor Your Application:Make sure to customise your CV and cover letter for the Senior Service Design and Presales Architect role. Highlight your experience in service design and presales, and show how your skills align with what we’re looking for. This is your chance to shine!
Showcase Your Achievements:Don’t just list your responsibilities; share specific achievements that demonstrate your impact in previous roles. Use metrics where possible to quantify your success, like how you improved service delivery or increased customer satisfaction.
Be Clear and Concise:When writing your application, keep it clear and to the point. We appreciate well-structured documents that are easy to read. Make sure your key points stand out, and avoid jargon unless it’s relevant to the role.
Apply Through Our Website:We encourage you to apply directly through our website. It’s the best way to ensure your application gets into the right hands. Plus, you’ll find all the details about the role and our company culture there!
How to prepare for a job interview at Trustmarque
✨Know Your Service Design Inside Out
Make sure you have a solid grasp of service design principles and how they apply to the role. Be ready to discuss your experience in creating repeatable and scalable services, and how you've translated customer needs into operationally sound models.
✨Prepare for Customer Engagement Scenarios
Think about potential customer scenarios and how you would engage with them. Prepare examples of how you've validated requirements and created compelling service models that demonstrate clear value and benefits.
✨Showcase Your Bid Management Skills
Be prepared to talk about your experience with bids and proposals. Highlight specific instances where you've led the service design workstream, ensuring high-quality documentation that aligns with customer priorities and addresses any gaps.
✨Demonstrate Stakeholder Collaboration
Collaboration is key in this role. Share examples of how you've worked with various teams like Sales, Operations, and Solution Architecture to ensure proposed services are deliverable and meet customer expectations.
