Practice Group Lead

At Lantern, our company culture stands as the bedrock of our success and a source of pride for our teams. We firmly believe that a culture founded on trust forms the basis for enduring relationships with clients, colleagues, and partners.

Within this culture, we nurture an environment of respect, inclusion, and belonging, fostering collaboration among inspired teams. We prioritize the well-being of our colleagues, the success of our clients, and our positive impact on society.

Embracing a growth mindset where curiosity thrives, we celebrate excellence and value individuals who inspire and mentor others, elevating the collective. Our driving force lies in personal and business growth. We go above and beyond to surprise and delight our clients, delivering tangible business value. In facing challenges, we make tough choices and solve complex problems to positively influence our clients, their customers, and the world at large.

As a Microsoft services partner, we hold ourselves to the highest standards of technical excellence. This commitment to quality is evident not only in our work but also in how we support and empower our employees. At Lantern, our culture mirrors our core values and unwavering dedication to realizing our purpose and vision, making it a dynamic and fulfilling workplace. Together, we transcend the ordinary and achieve extraordinary results.

The Practice Group Lead (PGL) is a critical leadership role within the Digital Studio, responsible for overseeing multiple Practice Leads to align their activities with Lantern's strategic goals. This role reports to the Digital Studio Executive (DSE) and will have a primary focus on driving growth, profitability, and fostering a positive culture within the studio. 

This is a key role for unlocking growth across each of the Studio's Practices. The PGL will lead and support each Studio Practice Lead and their efforts across the People, Technology, Delivery, and Go-to-Market & Sales Support activities.  This role will support the pursuit of growing the business, establishing and optimizing the practice's structure and processes, ensuring the culture is positive/inclusive, and that the practices are appropriately structured/staffed to realize the growth ambitions of the company. 

Finally, the PGL is expected to ensure the complement of studio practitioners appropriately reflects current and near-term demand, both from a competency and communication perspective. As with all members of the Digital Studio Leadership Team, this position will be focused on enabling accelerated business growth while realizing the agreed-upon operational and financial parameters of the business. 

Key Responsibilities

Business Development & Sales Support 

• Define and support Go To Market strategies (GTM) across the Practices, working with the Marketing team collaboratively, as well as independently in order to showcase and utilize the talent in the studio while also driving practice growth 
• Develop and maintain key client relationships, understanding their strategic goals and challenges, and providing value-added solutions and advice 
• Pursue new business opportunities, generate leads, proposals, and contracts, and expand the firm's presence and market share, working with Lantern's Commercial team as well as the Microsoft Partner Ecosystem 
• Enhance Lantern's reputation and brand in the market by showcasing capabilities, achievements, and thought leadership by participating in industry events, forums, and social media. 

Studio Leadership 

• Provide leadership presence both internally and externally by ensuring projects are solutioned and estimated properly, delivered  profitability, and meet client expectations 
• Attract, develop, and retain top talent for the studio by creating a positive and engaging work environment, providing learning and development opportunities, and recognizing and rewarding performance 
• Collaborate with other senior leaders and stakeholders across Lantern to ensure alignment and integration of the studio with Lantern's overall objectives and operations. 

Operational Leadership 

• Drive the growth and profitability of the studio by setting and monitoring key performance indicators, managing budgets and resources, and identifying and implementing best practices 
• Serve as a teammate and partner to others on the Digital Studio Leadership Team to help realize Lantern's vision and overall strategic goals, to not only be a growth organization but also help define and support opportunities to drive business predictability and efficiency 
• Oversee and coordinate the activities of multiple Practice Leads and their teams, providing strategic direction, guidance, and support 
• Ensure the alignment of the practice groups with Lantern's strategy and vision, and foster a culture of collaboration, innovation, and excellence.

What we are looking for

Candidate Profile 

The Practice Group Lead will be an accomplished professional services leader with 12 to 15 years of proven successful practice management expertise in a Microsoft-focused organization. You will have demonstrated success growing and leading a mid-sized, profitable technology practice. You will have career experience operating in small company environments that are entrepreneurial and lack institutional methods to achieve growth, be receptive to ideas and methods to operate a scaled business. You combine this delivery, technical and sales expertise with a strong network and deep understanding of the consulting/services business. You have a clear understanding of solution offering development and you have managed a portfolio of client relationships. You possess the following competencies: 

Domain Knowledge 

• Driving Growth/Commercial savvy 
• Your professional management experience includes distinct evidence of not only operating and growing a technology services practice. 
• Your success in growing a practice includes increasing the level of rigor and sophistication of the solutioning and delivery discipline. 
• You model a sense of urgency in executing against an aggressive growth plan. 
• You are a naturally competitive person, enjoy fast-growth environments, and have the energy and endurance to lead this next growth phase. 

Building Relationships / Communications 

• You are unquestionably a strong market-facing leader, having operated successfully at senior levels with proven experience driving high-impact customer and alliance relationships. 
• You bring the gravitas and confidence necessary to be viewed as a peer at the leadership level within the organization's customer base and have an associated ability to influence the customers' views. 
• You have the finesse, sophistication, and communication skills necessary to be successful and acquire credibility working in a multinational organization where the caliber of leadership is high. 
•  You have experience and confidence representing the organization with external stakeholders and constituents in Edmonton, Toronto, and within the Microsoft technology community  
• You have a proven collaborative approach and share information openly as well as listen to others' perspectives. 

Benefits

• A culture that both wows our customers and employees; 
• Variety of challenging projects, and the ability to work with leading-edge technologies; 
• Competitive salary & group benefits; 
• Generous training and education opportunities; 
• Diverse team social events;
• Be part of a team that believes in diversity, inclusion, and a fun atmosphere

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