Purpose: The Senior Functional Consultant enables the delivery of company's strategic objectives by optimally leveraging the use of key technologies based on the Microsoft Power Platform – Dynamics CE, Dynamics Sales and other related software.
This involves the application of in-depth expertise and system knowledge to understand stakeholders' vision and translate those strategic requirements to design and deliver best practice solutions.
As the Technical Authority for Dynamics 365 it means providing architectural direction and support for the creation of improved and new business processes.
The role is responsible for scoping, designing, developing, implementing and supporting the system change that is delivered by the team.
Landscape: The Senior Functional Consultants report into the Head of Enterprise Applications and they line manage the other functional roles in the team.
The role is a key interface to stakeholders of all levels across all business areas, particularly those in Customer & Product and Chief Operating Office.
Other key relationships include those with colleagues in Assessment Technology, Architecture, Security & Risk and external suppliers.
The Senior Functional Consultant works with business teams and senior decision makers to help them understand how Dynamics 365 / Power Platform can unlock business efficiencies and solve complex business problems by designing and delivering best practice solutions to ensure maximum cost-benefit impact.
These solutions address both immediate business needs for our customers and the longer-term roadmap.
Activities: Collaborates and engages with stakeholders throughout the business (up to Exec level) to ensure understanding of Dynamics CE/ Power Platform capabilities and the specification of comprehensive sets of requirements aligned to business and customer objectives with clearly defined benefits Provides in-depth expert knowledge of the Microsoft Dynamics CE and Power Platform applications and evaluates the business processes against the standard functionality (Gap/Fit).
Applies technical understanding of the system to provide best practice advice for all required business processes Influences and guides stakeholders through the customisation, configuration and deployment of Power Platform components, aligning solutions with organisational strategies Technical Authority for Dynamics 365 in their solution domain area Responsible for the whole Dynamics 365 application lifecycle, from solution design through to testing and ongoing support Takes ownership of escalated issues and progresses to resolution, engaging with external parties (suppliers/ partners) as necessary Manages and co-ordinates delivery of the team activity pipeline using appropriate tooling (Azure DevOps) Models leadership behaviours and gets the very best from direct reports and teams by providing clarity, feedback, coaching, mentoring and development, while continuously seeking to enhance performance in line with business objectives Sets challenging targets and support staff to achieve them whilst managing performance effectively Ensures the cost effective use of the systems by cost impact assessments and usage of appropriate licence profiles Leads implementation activities, change control and release planning Project manages the Dynamics/ Power Platform solutions delivery, including the planning, scheduling of resources and execution of activities.
Proactively provides the expert voice on Power Platform/ Dynamics 365 to other company's technical and business teams, including senior management and Executive.
Stays abreast of industry trends and Microsoft updates, utilising this knowledge to provide thought leadership and strategic insights Supports and enforces the maintenance of data quality and integrity within the system Assesses the impact of new functionality available in Microsoft releases and identifies technical opportunities to support existing or future business requirements, to support both current delivery plans and future roadmap plans.
Also manages any deprecation risks Advocates for low code/ no code approaches to solve business problems Manages and retains oversight of any solutions delivered through 3rd parties Actively manages the applications to ensure they remain efficient, effective and streamlined Demonstrates commercial flexibility by undertaking other responsibilities which are of a commensurate level as business needs change Ensures Company is safe and legally compliant by applying Company's policies and other legislative/ regulatory requirements.
Proactively manages relevant risks accordingly Adopts a continuous improvement approach to ensure the ongoing optimisation of the solutions and service being delivered to the business Need to know (to be successful in this role, you will need to know): Experienced Dynamics 365 professional who has a strong understanding and extensive hands on experience of building power platform solutions, including integration with other systems Excellent communicator – able to consult, influence, challenge and negotiate effectively with stakeholders and partners, both technical and non-technical to achieve desired outcomes.
This includes senior leader and Director/ Exec level stakeholders.
Analytical skills to identify, analyse and document complex requirements and produce precise technical specifications Exceptional problem solving and analytical skills with a keen understanding of the intersection between technology and business strategy Proven ability to manage issues, risks and problems from identification through to resolution Strong project manager skills with successful track record of managing delivery using standard methodologies Ability to translate a vision into achievable goals and provide clear direction to achieve organisational objectives Strong influencer, able to build stakeholder confidence, plus manage ambiguity and competing priorities to deliver in line with business need Proven track record of change delivery to improve customer experience and process efficiency Experience of managing the full change cycle using appropriate software development methodology (including Agile) and tooling (preferably Azure DevOps) A proactive change oriented leader who can inspire others with a commitment to continuous improvement and innovation and the delivery of results In depth knowledge of Dynamics 365 and the Power Platform and how it fits into the wider Azure environment Strong understanding of relevant data management principles and their effective application to software Agile and resilient – able to make pragmatic decisions and deliver at pace Solid understanding of project methodologies and ITIL principles (certification desirable) Microsoft Professional certification desirable Effective leader of people Proactive in resolving issues and driving change proactively and pragmatically in a complex organisation through cross-organisational working Have a "step up" mindset – use sound judgment and take accountability for actions Experience of writing test plans and coaching users in writing and executing UAT scripts.