Microsoft Pre-Sales Consultant

First Technology

About Us

First Technology Group is a South African ICT solutions provider and Microsoft partner, helping enterprise and public sector organisations modernise, secure and get more value from their technology investments. Our Microsoft practice delivers Cloud, Security, Modern Work, and Data & AI solutions – from strategy and design through to deployment and adoption.

Role Purpose

We are looking for a commercially minded Microsoft Pre-Sales Consultant to join our team. You will be the trusted technical advisor in the sales cycle – translating customer business challenges into well-designed, competitively priced Microsoft solutions, and working alongside account managers to win and grow business. The role combines solid technical depth with the confidence to present to both IT teams and executive stakeholders.

Key Responsibilities

Solution Design & Technical Sales

Run discovery sessions and workshops to understand customer requirements, current environments and business outcomes.
Design end-to-end solutions across Microsoft 365, Azure, Security and Copilot / AI workloads.
Deliver solution presentations, product demonstrations and proofs of concept (PoCs).
Act as the technical point of contact for customers and account managers throughout the sales cycle.

Proposals, Scoping & Commercials

Prepare Statements of Work (SOWs), proposals, solution architecture documents and effort estimates.
Build accurate Bills of Materials, including Microsoft licensing (E3/E5, Business Premium, Copilot) and Azure consumption estimates.
Respond to RFIs, RFPs and tenders, including public sector bid requirements.
Identify risks, assumptions and dependencies early so that delivery is set up for success and margin is protected.

Microsoft Partner Alignment

Work with Microsoft account teams and partner managers on co-sell opportunities and joint customer engagements.
Identify and help secure Microsoft funding programmes (e.g. ECIF and partner-led investment offers) to accelerate customer decisions.
Stay current on Microsoft roadmap, licensing changes and Marketplace offerings.

Collaboration & Enablement

Ensure a clean handover from pre-sales to delivery, including scope, assumptions and customer expectations.
Contribute to reusable assets – solution templates, demo environments, pricing calculators and offer packaging.
Support internal sales enablement and share knowledge across the team.

Solution Focus Areas

Solution Area	Typical Scope
Modern Work	Microsoft 365, Teams, SharePoint, Exchange Online, tenant-to-tenant migrations, Intune / endpoint management
Security & Compliance	Microsoft Defender XDR, Entra ID, Conditional Access, Purview, Sentinel, Zero Trust assessments
Azure Infrastructure	Landing zones, migration and modernisation, backup / DR, Azure Virtual Desktop, cost optimisation
Data & AI	Microsoft 365 Copilot readiness and adoption, Copilot Studio, Azure AI, Microsoft Fabric / Power BI
Migration Tooling	Selecting and scoping migration tools (e.g. AvePoint, ShareGate, BitTitan MigrationWiz, Azure Migrate, Microsoft Migration Manager), estimating licences, planning pilot and delta syncs, cut-over and coexistence
Microsoft Workshops	Microsoft partner-led and funded workshops and assessments (e.g. Copilot envisioning, security and threat protection, data security), from qualifying the customer and nominating them for funding through to delivery, reporting findings and turning outcomes into proposals

Minimum Requirements

Relevant degree or diploma in Information Technology, Computer Science or equivalent experience.
[5+] years' experience in Microsoft technologies, with at least [3] years in a pre-sales, solution architect or technical consulting role.
Strong working knowledge of Microsoft 365 and Azure, with depth in at least two of the solution focus areas above.
Solid understanding of Microsoft licensing models and commercial constructs (CSP, EA / MCA).
Proven experience writing proposals, SOWs and solution designs for enterprise or public sector customers.
Valid driver's licence and willingness to travel to customer sites.

Advantageous

Microsoft certifications such as AZ-305, AZ-104, MS-102, SC-100, SC-300, MD-102 or AI-102 (or current equivalents).
Experience with migration tooling (e.g. AvePoint) and Microsoft funding programmes (ECIF).
Exposure to multi-cloud environments.
Experience in the South African public sector, financial services or utilities sectors.