**_Discovery Sales Engineer - South Africa_  
  
Position Overview**

  
EBSCOhost databases and discovery technologies are the most-used, premium
online information resources for tens of thousands of institutions worldwide,
representing millions of end-users. EBSCO Discovery Service™ (EDS) creates a
unified, customized index of an institution's information resources, and an
easy, yet powerful means of accessing all of that content from a single search
box. The ability to create these custom solutions is achieved by harvesting
metadata from both internal (library) and external (database vendors) sources,
and creating a pre-indexed service of unprecedented size, speed, and
customization.

  
  
The Discovery Service Engineer (DSE or a.k.a. Sales Engineer) is the primary
technical resource for the field sales force. The DSE is responsible for
actively driving and managing the technology evaluation stage of the sales
process, working in conjunction with the sales team as the key technical
advisor and product advocate.

  
**Primary Responsibilities:**  
  
•Regional authoritative expert on technology aspects of platform
functionality, markets, trends

•Strive to be an EDS feature expert. Use the product(s) frequently and
thoroughly. Gain continual knowledge progression of the technology platform by
participating in frequent internal technology trainings and product strategy
sessions

•Act as the EDS technology champion for your region. Stay abreast of industry
and technology trends. Conduct market research and competitive intelligence

•Flow of feature enhancement requests from the field into Product Management
and the SDLC process

•Pre-sales customer presentations and meetings, and RFIs/RFP

•Present EDS technology solutions as well as new releases and future feature

•Conduct sales presentations, focus groups, and other consultative customer
requirements gathering exercises via frequent web-based and on-site session

•RFI/RFP support

•Support the trial process and initial post-sales support/nurturing

•Perform administration and configuration of customer interface profiles, and
training when appropriate

•Library web site integration which may include Widget development (small
snippets of HTML and JavaScript code), or use of the EBSCO API within custom
web applications (e.g. PHP)

•Troubleshoot customer specific issues (e.g. ILS integrations)

•Assist the Customer Satisfaction team on key accounts

•Relationships:

•Establish strong relationships with regional Sales and customer support
teams, as well as existing and prospective customers

•Customers tech gurus at key accounts

•Manage relationships with key regional technology partners and vendors, when
necessary

•Create and manage Sales support tools

•Build demos: EDS profiles, library web site integration samples, localized
API app samples (e.g. PHP), widgets (e.g. HTML/JavaScript mini pages), etc.

•Create PowerPoint presentations to convey technology concepts

•Author and assist with documentation to support the regional pre-sales
process

•Assist Customer Satisfaction/Success and Marketing with product marketing
deliverables and authoring content for FAQs, Help, customer communications,
and white papers

•Provide regular updates to Discovery Service Engineering management, keeping
the flow of information and lines of communication open



**Desired Skills and Experience**  
  
**Requirements:**  
  
•Minimum three(3) years of progressive experience in Consulting, Product
Management, Sales or related field

•Minimum three(3) years of experience and excellence in presenting technology,
Internet, or software application products to internal and external audiences
and various levels of Management

•Minimum two(2) years experience with EBSCOhost products, Integrated Library
Systems(ILS), Institutional Repositories, or other closely related web
applications and/or library technology products

•B.S. in Computer Science, Library Science, or a related field

•Ability to travel approximately 60% within to regional and international
locations: customer sites, conferences, and focus groups

  
**Preferred Qualifications:**  
  
•Expertise in Integrated Library Systems (ILS) products and protocols (e.g.
Z39.50, OpenURL, NCIP)

•Experience with institutional repository software and standards (e.g. OAI-
PMH)

•Experience with portal software (e.g. VuFind, SharePoint) and programming
with Application Programming Interfaces (API) in a web application language
(e.g. PHP, Ruby, Java, C#, ASP.Net)

•Proficiency in HTML and JavaScript development

•Proficiency in large data file analysis (e.g. MARC, XML) and manipulation

•Previous experience with the interface usability habits of universities and
research institutions' various types of users such as students, researchers,
faculty, and librarians



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