Data Specialist

Role Overview

The Data Specialist is a pivotal role that bridges the gap between the technical depth of our data capabilities and the strategic needs of our clients during pre-sales and early delivery phases. As a member of the Solution Leadership Team, you will support business development efforts by contributing technical expertise to pre-sales conversations, creating compelling bid and proposal content, and facilitating seamless handovers to delivery teams. This role is ideal for someone who thrives on collaboration, storytelling with data, and being at the forefront of shaping data solutions and strategy that meet real-world client needs.

Key Responsibilities

1. Pre-Sales Engagement Support
   1. Collaborate with Sales and Data Offering Leads to understand client needs, shape associated strategies, craft tailored data solution narratives, and contribute technical insight to client conversations.
   2. Provide subject matter expertise during early-stage discussions, workshops, and discovery engagements.
   3. Participate in qualification, shaping, and scoping of new opportunities.
2. Proposal Writing & Solution Design
   1. Own and contribute to the technical and solution-oriented components of proposals, RFP responses, and client presentations.
   2. Ensure that proposed data solutions are fit-for-purpose, aligned to relevant strategies and best practices, and clearly communicated.
   3. Support the creation and refinement of reusable templates, boilerplate content, and accelerators.
3. Collaboration with Delivery Teams
   1. Act as a liaison between pre-sales and delivery to ensure smooth handover of solution context, risks, assumptions, and customer expectations.
   2. Participate in early-stage delivery activities (e.g., onboarding, kick-off, or workshops) to support continuity and establish trust with the client.
   3. Maintain visibility on engagements to provide on-going ad-hoc support where necessary.
4. Knowledge Management & Continuous Improvement
   1. Capture lessons learned from pre-sales efforts and delivery outcomes to refine approaches and improve future engagements.
   2. Contribute to the evolution of the Data Practice by maintaining knowledge and promoting awareness of emerging tools, platforms, and methods in the data space.
   3. Share knowledge across the organisation through internal communities, collateral, and training support.
5. Strategic Mindset
   1. Contribute to the shaping of Version 1’s Data go-to-market strategy by identifying opportunities for growth across technologies, sectors, and partnerships.
   2. Support the Data Sales Specialist and Data Lead in recognising emerging vendors and strategic plays that align with client needs and Version 1 capabilities.

Expected Experience & Skills

1. Data Solution Knowledge
   1. Working knowledge of modern data architectures, vendor data platforms (e.g., Azure, AWS, GCP), and data disciplines (e.g., engineering, data  lakes, data warehousing, analytics, data science, machine learning and governance).
   2. Experience shaping or delivering data solutions in a consultancy, pre-sales, or technical advisory role.
   3. Knowledge and experience of one or more of the following key data technologies; Azure Fabric, SQL Server, Databricks, Snowflake, AWS Amazon Sagemaker, Oracle or equivalents.
2. Proposal & Communication Expertise
   1. Strong written and verbal communication skills, with a proven ability to articulate complex concepts to technical and business audiences.
   2. Experience of contributing to high-quality proposals and solution narratives in response to client needs.
3. Client-Facing Collaboration
   1. Comfortable interacting directly with clients and internal stakeholders at various levels.
   2. Ability to understand, interpret, and translate customer requirements into viable solutions and impactful content.
4. Teamwork & Handover Agility
   1. Proven ability to work collaboratively across sales, pre-sales, and delivery teams.
   2. Skilled at documenting, transferring, and maintaining continuity of solution knowledge across phases of the client journey.
5. Initiative & Adaptability
   1. Self-starter who thrives in a dynamic environment and proactively seeks opportunities to add value.
   2. Able to juggle multiple priorities, work under pressure, and manage ambiguity in a fast-paced setting.
6. Strong Networking
   1. Skilled in building and maintaining professional relationships with clients, partners, and internal stakeholders.
   2. Demonstrated ability to foster collaboration and open up new opportunities through proactive engagement within partner ecosystems and industry networks.

Why Version 1?

At Version 1, we believe in providing our employees with a comprehensive benefits package that prioritises their wellbeing, professional growth, and financial stability.

• Share in our success with our Quarterly Performance-Related Profit Share Scheme, where employees collectively benefit from a share of our company's profits.
• Strong Career Progression & mentorship coaching through our Strength in Balance & Leadership schemes with a dedicated quarterly Pathways Career Development programme.
• Flexible/remote working, Version 1 is tremendously understanding of life events and people’s individual circumstances and offer flexibility to help achieve a healthy work life balance.
• Financial Wellbeing initiatives including; Pension, Private Healthcare Cover, Life Assurance, Financial advice and an Employee Discount scheme.
• Employee Wellbeing schemes including Gym Discounts, Bike to Work, Fitness classes, Mindfulness Workshops, Employee Assistance Programme and much more. Generous holiday allowance, enhanced maternity/paternity leave, marriage/civil partnership leave and special leave policies.
• Educational assistance, incentivised certifications, and accreditations, including AWS, Microsoft, Oracle, and Red Hat.
• Reward schemes including Version 1’s Annual Excellence Awards & ‘Call-Out’ platform.
• Environment, Social and Community First initiatives allow you to get involved in local fundraising and development opportunities as part of fostering our diversity, inclusion and belonging schemes.