The IBM Brand Technical Specialist role within the sales process for federal government is to fully understand a prospect’s agency mission and construct a solution around that mission leveraging the IBM StreamSets and watsonx.data integration Software.
The Brand Technical Specialist exhibits a high level of sales and business maturity, operates independently in pre-sales activities and has the proven ability to quickly understand complex agency requirements and find the appropriate IBM Data Integration technology offerings and differentiators tailored to federal government standards and regulations.
The Brand Technical Specialist (BTS) represents the highest degree of technical architecture and design expertise within the IBM technologies, process and data integration solutions space.
Objectives:
· Prospect Qualification: The BTS aids in qualifying federal prospects to assure they are well-aligned with IBM’s go-to market product and solution capabilities adhering to federal acquisition regulations and policies.
· Presales Lifecycle Management: The BTS provides high-quality, business-oriented, and technical support to the sales and pre-sales team during the federal sales cycle, ensuring strong alignment between IBM's offerings and the agency's objectives throughout the process. This includes understanding and addressing security, compliance, and other unique requirements inherent to federal projects.
Prospect and Customer Facing
· Own and progress opportunities through qualification, definition, proof/evaluation, proposal, and closure stages of the sales cycle with attention to timelines and federal acquisition regulations.
· Respond to functional and business requirements and capabilities sections of RFIs, RFPs, and other agency-specific documentation.
· Engage with federal account executives and prospects to ensure a prospect's mission needs can be addressed with IBM's go-to-market capabilities while complying with federal regulations.
· Listen, understand, and analyze the prospect's mission requirements and compose, validate, and present the best possible IBM solution tailored for the federal market.
· Define POC/POV or custom demonstration scenarios and map functions of IBM products to prospects' needs while adhering to agency security guidelines.
· Lead team on implementation of Data Integration POC/POVs and custom demos, ensuring the demonstration fulfills the prospect's requirements and highlights differentiating IBM StreamSets and watsonx.data integration capabilities.
· Define the prospect's target integration architecture that fulfills their mission objectives, working with the Account Executive to structure proposals meeting the prospect's target architecture while adhering to federal standards.
Customer-Oriented Skills
· Experience engaging with senior leaders on various solutions and business problems within the federal government context. Ability to listen and analyze agency requirements and present compelling value messages of proposed solutions, focusing on solutions selling tailored for the federal market.
· Demonstrated ability to present technology solutions to executive levels with a focus on solutions selling in the federal space.
· Ability to craft, review, and augment Proof of Concept documents, SOWs, and various project plans involving IBM technologies while adhering to federal documentation requirements.
· Ability to define architecture, design, and oversight of key national projects, providing guidance and knowledge transfer to field resources within the context of federal acquisition regulations.
· Able to work independently and multi-task while managing multiple opportunities at a time in compliance with federal regulations.
· Ability to guide and consult customers on various levels of the organization while maintaining adherence to federal security guidelines.
Business and Leadership Skills
· Demonstrate a team attitude and leadership, understanding the unique dynamics of federal projects and partnerships.
· Ability to act as a mentor due to outstanding character, judgment, and knowledge within the federal government context.
· Excellent written and verbal communication skills tailored for engaging with federal clients.
· Proven ability to manage time and deliver on deadlines while adhering to federal contract requirements.
· Experience developing and presenting clear, concise product briefings tailored for the federal market.
· Proven ability to unearth business requirements & drivers within the context of federal agency missions.
· Proven ability to map business drivers & initiatives to technology offering & differentiators in alignment with federal acquisition regulations.
· Ability to lead Discovery and Customer First Assessment Meetings to identify business value and ROI for complex business challenges within the federal government context.
Technology and Consultative Skills
· Strong understanding of IBM's Data Integration Products, including their applicability and compliance with federal standards (e.g., FedRAMP).
· Strong experiences with implementing IBM technologies in customer projects or Proof of Concepts within the federal government space.
· Provide planning, architecting, and managing of solutions to highly complex federal problems and challenges while adhering to security and compliance guidelines.
· Expert in providing best practices to customers and helping with IT Strategy and implementation planning – capacity, servers, deployment, etc., tailored for the federal market.
· Strong understanding and speaking knowledge about IBM's platform or related platforms in the federal market.
· Lead customer and internal Technical and Business meetings to guide attendees to a common goal within the context of federal projects.
Experience
· 5+ years of practical architecture and design experience with Data Integration technologies, preferably within the federal government space.
· 3+ years in Consulting management role, including business development, mentoring, technology solutions development, basic marketing, and relationship management tailored for the federal market.
· Understanding of business infrastructure technology, network architectures, and distributed computing within the context of federal projects.
BS Degree in Computer Science, Mathematics, Engineering
Experience with StreamSets or other Data Integration products.
Experience working with the Federal Government as well as State and Local agencies.
Relevant certifications, such as Certified Federal IT Professional (CFITP) or equivalent, are highly desirable for this role within the federal government space.