Head of Pre-Sales

Sonata One is a rapidly scaling, regulated fund services and technology (fintech) business. We're The Private Funds Clearinghouse, connecting more than 53,000 investors with 6,500 funds and 180 fund managers around the globe. Our vision is to change the paradigm of private markets investing through harmonising the end-to-end investment process within one platform. Investors benefit from a seamless, one & done experience across the fund lifecycle (from fund selection and subscription through to settlement and reporting) underpinned by a globally compliant KYC passport and 24/5 support. Fund managers can raise capital faster at a lower cost from a wider pool of pre-approved investors. Founded in 2015, Sonata One has a presence in eight locations worldwide including the US, UK and Luxembourg, Guernsey, South Africa and Mauritius.

We operate as #OneGlobalThread in line with our values: We challenge the norm, we change the way we think and work, by connecting systems and people, while committing to our vision and each other. We are now looking to recruit an experienced Head of Pre-Sales to join our global team.

Position Overview:

We are hiring an experienced, commercially minded Pre-Sales leader to create and shape the function across Sonata One's global commercial organisation. This is a highly strategic role sitting at the intersection of Sales, Product, Operations and Technology . You will be responsible for translating complex client requirements into compelling, process maps and workflows that demonstrate the value of Sonata One's platform.

You will work closely with our Sales teams throughout the entire enterprise sales cycle, from discovery and qualification through to solution design, demonstrations, RFP/RFI responses, commercial proposals and contract close . The successful candidate will be equally comfortable engaging with senior commercial stakeholders and highly technical audiences , including CFOs, COOs, Heads of Operations, Fund Operations leaders, Compliance, Technology and Transformation teams.

You will become a trusted subject matter expert on Sonata One's platform, and broader technology stack, understanding both the capabilities of our technology, and the operational challenges faced by participants across the private market’s ecosystem.

This role combines traditional service setup, product demonstration and acting as a strategic solution consultant , helping clients understand how Sonata One can transform complex fund and investor onboarding processes. There will also be a strong internal focus to ensure client requirements are translated into actionable technology and operational solutions.

Pre-Sales Leadership

Own and develop Sonata One's global pre-sales strategy and function, establishing best practice across the commercial organisation

Partner closely with the managing director – Global growth, Head of New Business sales, and the new business team to develop winning strategies for complex large scale global client opportunities

Lead the pre-sales process across strategic opportunities, ensuring a consistent and high-quality client experience from discovery through to close

Develop a scalable approach to solution consulting, demonstrations, discovery, RFP/RFI responses and technical proposals

Establish frameworks, methodologies and content that enable the wider commercial team to communicate Sonata One's proposition effectively

Coach and embed a pre-sales mindset across the organisation

In due course, scale a pre-sales team to manage an increasing number of client engagements. This role will not start with any direct reports.

Service Consulting & Client Engagement

Jointly lead discovery sessions with prospective clients to understand their strategic objectives, operational workflows, technology environments and pain points

Help understand complex client requirements and provide suggested template workflow that guides prospects into best practice of implementing Sonata One

Deliver sophisticated, tailored product demonstrations and presentations to senior stakeholders

Develop demonstrations around specific client use cases. This includes creating test users, and user environments to show prospects how we tailor to their needs, within the S1 service framework and process maps.

Engage directly with economic, operational and technical buyers, adapting communication to different stakeholder groups

Articulate how Sonata One's platform can improve efficiency, control, compliance, scalability and the overall private markets investment experience

Challenge client assumptions where appropriate and identify opportunities to redesign inefficient processes

Act as a trusted advisor throughout the sales cycle, providing insight into private markets operating models, technology and industry trends

Private Markets Expertise

Demonstrable understanding of the private market’s ecosystem, including:

General Partners (GPs) across private equity, private credit, real assets and venture capital

Fund structures, investor onboarding and subscription processes

Transfer Agency and fund administration workflows

KYC, AML, FATCA and CRS requirements

Investor servicing and ongoing investor management

Fund operations, middle office and finance processes

Relationships between GPs, LPs, fund administrators, custodians and other intermediaries

Technology and data challenges across the private markets investment lifecycle

The operational and regulatory friction experienced by private markets participants

Technical & Commercial Solution Design

Work with clients to understand their business, operational and technical requirements

Translate requirements into clear solution designs, workflows and proposed operating models

Partner with Product, Technology, Operations, Compliance and Legal teams to validate proposed solutions

Assess integration, data, implementation and technical considerations as part of the sales process

Identify product gaps and communicate structured feedback to Product and Technology teams

Support the development of business cases, ROI propositions and commercial proposals

Help Sales teams position Sonata One against alternative approaches, incumbent providers and competing solutions

Ensure proposed solutions are commercially viable, operationally deliverable and aligned with Sonata One's product strategy

RFP / RFI & Enterprise Sales Support

Own the pre-sales contribution to complex RFPs, RFIs, tenders and enterprise sales processes

Develop compelling written responses that clearly articulate Sonata One's capabilities and differentiation

Coordinate input from Product, Technology, Operations, Compliance and other internal stakeholders

Support commercial negotiations by providing appropriate technical and solution-based context

Participate in senior-level client presentations, workshops and proof-of-concept / proof-of-value exercises

Help develop reusable proposal content, case studies, solution materials and sales enablement assets

Commercial Profile

Proven experience in Pre-Sales, Solution Consulting, Sales Engineering or a similar client-facing role, ideally within fintech, financial services, SaaS or enterprise technology

Experience supporting complex, consultative enterprise sales cycles with multiple stakeholders and extended buying processes

Strong ability to bridge the gap between commercial objectives, operational requirements and technical solutions

Comfortable working alongside senior Sales leaders and taking ownership of strategic opportunities

Demonstrated ability to influence complex buying groups and build consensus across multiple stakeholders

Strong commercial judgement with the ability to understand both client value and business case

Experience operating within a high-growth environment where products, propositions and processes continue to evolve

Strong understanding of: