Head of Presales (resales - Cloud and Network)

Job Title: Head of Presales

Salary range: c£65,000 per annum negotiable depending on experience

Jisc grade:PRS4

Job Type:Permanent

Hours: 35 hours per week

Reports into: Director of Presales, Professional Services and Delivery

Working style: Hybrid - A blend of working from home and your nominated hub office. We have hubs located in London, Bristol, Manchester and Oxford.

About Jisc

For 30 years Jisc has pioneered digital solutions for UK education and research, transforming how knowledge is created, shared and used. We are uniquely positioned to protect, promote and lead the sector in digital and data transformation, making a difference to students, communities and society. Together, we are working to build a better digital future for education and research. Raise your potential at Jisc through our culture of lifelong learning. At Jisc, we're all about growth, so embrace new challenges, sharpen your skills and shape a career that excites you.

About the Role

Head of Presales – Shape Solutions. Lead with Impact. Deliver Outcomes. We’re looking for a collaborative, forward-thinking Head of Presales to lead and evolve our presales function—someone who is as comfortable guiding strategy as they are supporting teams and contributing hands-on. This role is central to how we create meaningful customer experiences. You’ll bring people together across Sales, Product, Delivery, and Onboarding to shape thoughtful, outcomes-led solutions and ensure a smooth journey from first conversation through to mobilisation. Your work will help ensure every solution is not only compelling, but practical, deliverable, and set up for long-term success.

Responsibilities

• Lead the Presales function, driving a supportive, high-performing team culture
• Work closely across teams to ensure solutions are customer-focused, realistic, and aligned to measurable outcomes
• Guide your team to produce high quality, consistent, delivery-ready outputs, with clear visibility of risks and decisions
• Strengthen and build collaboration with colleagues across Jisc, specifically in Sales, Product, Delivery, and Onboarding to improve experiences for both customers and colleagues
• Support and develop your team to adapt to with the needs of the organisation, and helping individuals grow their skills, confidence, and impact
• Drive continuous improvement, evolving processes in ways that make work clearer, smoother, and more effective
• Act as a trusted partner in key customer engagements, bringing both technical credibility and commercial understanding

Qualifications

• Relevant degree, professional qualification, or equivalent practical experience.
• Desirable: certification/training in cloud, cyber security, service management, agile/lean improvement, or project/programme delivery.

Required Skills

• Proven experience leading a Presales, solution consulting, or technical consulting team in a customer-facing environment.
• Able to lead through difficult situations, including ownership of complaints, complex challenges and sensitive conversations, bringing sound judgement, professionalism and a calm approach to issue resolution.
• Demonstrable ability to deliver team transformation and continuous improvement (clarifying roles/standards, improving ways of working, and raising quality and pace).
• Strong data and performance management capability: defining metrics, creating dashboards, and using insight to prioritise action and track impact.
• Expertise in qualification, shaping customer requirements, and producing delivery-ready scopes/proposals (assumptions, dependencies, risks, acceptance criteria).
• Experience operating a consistent “one door” approach and managing handoffs to delivery/onboarding teams to reduce rework and late-stage surprises.

Preferred Skills

• Strong governance mindset: able to run prioritisation, service levels, and expedite/escalation routes with clear decision rights and transparency.
• Excellent communication and influencing skills—able to translate technical detail into clear options and decisions for a range of audiences.
• Customer-experience focus with evidence of improving satisfaction and outcomes through better expectation-setting and more consistent engagement.
• Comfortable working cross-functionally with sales, product and delivery teams, and able to handle competing priorities calmly and pragmatically.
• Takes ownership of their work, development, and priorities, managing time in a way that supports both personal effectiveness and team outcomes.
• Seeks out feedback and clarity, using it as an opportunity to learn, grow, and continuously improve.
• Communicates thoughtfully and clearly, adapting approach to different audiences and situations.
• Builds and supports high-performing teams, creating clarity in expectations, sharing knowledge, and helping others develop with confidence.
• Encourages open, respectful dialogue, contributing to healthy debate and navigating challenges in a constructive way.
• Stays dependable and composed, even in fast-moving or uncertain environments.
• Brings a positive, pragmatic mindset, focusing on solutions and helping others move forward.

We know that sometimes people can be put off applying for a job if they think they can’t tick every box, so we encourage you to apply even if you do not meet 100% of the requirements, but if you feel this role is perfect for you. You may be just the right candidate for this or other roles!

Hybrid working:

Specific patterns for working in the office are not mandated, and the frequency of time worked in the office is agreed with your manager. Meeting in person is something we value, so you may need to travel on occasion to any of our hub offices.

Why work for us?

At Jisc, every role is meaningful, and every individual is valued. We foster a culture of continuous learning and personal growth, offering opportunities to develop new skills and make a real impact in education and research. With a strong focus on work-life balance, we embrace flexible working that prioritises outcomes over hours, empowering you to create a rhythm that energises both your professional and personal life.

Equal Opportunity Statement

Jisc believe our people make all the difference in cultivating an inclusive culture that welcomes ideas, encourages innovation, and values belonging. We work hard to create an equitable experience for our candidates and workforce which embraces all aspects of their identity including race and ethnicity, religion and belief, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, trans identities, age, class, disability, neurodivergence, or veteran status.

Sponsorship:

Jisc has an active sponsor licence to recruit on a Skilled worker visa basis. Candidates wishing to apply who require sponsorship should determine the likelihood of obtaining a Certificate of Sponsorship for the role by assessing their circumstances against the relevant Home Office criteria. Jisc does not offer any financial re-imbursement towards the applicant costs, such as re-location, skilled worker visa and dependant costs or the immigration health charge.

No agencies please.