As a Consulting Enterprise Strategist (ES) supporting Education enterprise and majors accounts, you serve as the enterprise-wide, multi-practice strategic and architectural authority guiding complex education-sector organizations through long-range digital transformation. This role represents Security, Hybrid Infrastructure, Digital Experience, and Digital Infrastructure, aligning academic, operational, and public-mission priorities to scalable IT strategies.
The Enterprise Strategist engages with CIOs, CISOs, CTOs, Presidents/Chancellors, and Superintendents, operating within executive-level, long-cycle, multi-practice sales motions. Acting as the technological strategist for large, institution-wide pursuits, helping customers modernize safely while navigating governance, funding, regulatory, and stakeholder complexity.
Your core objective is to align institutional mission and business outcomes with integrated IT strategy, translating educational objectives-such as student success, research enablement, digital equity, safety, resilience, and operational efficiency-into actionable IT roadmaps and multi-year transformation programs.
The Consulting Enterprise Strategist ensures Education customers receive cohesive, outcome-driven architectures, not siloed point solutions. This role bridges strategy, architecture, governance, and execution, supporting institutions that operate under:
- Shared governance and decentralized decision-making
- Multi-year budget cycles and constrained funding models
- Regulatory, privacy, and compliance requirements
- Diverse stakeholder communities (academic, IT, finance, public leadership)
The Enterprise Strategist partners closely with Client Executives (CEs), Solution Executives (SEs), and practice teams to co-plan accounts, align engagement models, and deliver coordinated, enterprise-scale outcomes.
What you will do:Enterprise Strategy & Architecture (Education)- Lead enterprise-wide, multi-practice strategy and architectural engagements across higher education systems, large universities, and K-12 districts.
- Translate institutional goals-student success, research enablement, digital access, security, resilience, and operational efficiency-into integrated IT roadmaps and future-state architectures.
- Design high-level designs (HLDs) and scalable architectures supporting campus, district, or system-wide modernization initiatives.
Executive Engagement & Sales Motion- Serve as a trusted advisor to executive leadership, including CIOs, CISOs, academic and operational leaders, aligning technology strategy to mission outcomes.
- Operate within an executive-level, long-cycle, multi-practice sales motion typical of Education.
- Act as the technical quarterback for complex, cross-practice pursuits-driving clarity, alignment, and forward progress across long decision cycles.
Account & Opportunity Leadership- Co-plan strategic Education enterprise and major accounts with CE and SE teams to ensure orchestrated engagement and sustained value delivery.
- Shape, qualify, and accelerate large, institution-wide opportunities that span multiple practices and funding periods.
- Guide partner and ecosystem alignment, including OEMs, cloud providers, and software partners appropriate for public-sector environments.
Cross-Practice Orchestration- Own alignment across sales, presales, delivery, partners, and leadership for multi-practice Education engagements.
- Standardize enterprise solution approaches while respecting institutional autonomy and governance models.
- Navigate internal processes, approvals, and public-sector procurement dynamics to reduce friction and enable execution.
Business Outcomes & Value Creation- Build multi-year roadmaps, business cases, and formal proposals (SOWs, LOEs, RFP responses) aligned to measurable education outcomes.
- Support financial impact and value modeling appropriate for grant-funded, bond-funded, or operating-budget initiatives.
- Drive outcomes such as integrated architecture, modernization at scale, security posture improvement, digital equity enablement, and operational resilience.
Thought Leadership & Enablement- Act as a thought leader for the Education enterprise strategy, mentoring presales and delivery teams on large-scale institutional engagement.
- Represent CDW in executive briefings, workshops, advisory councils, and industry forums relevant to higher education and K-12.
- Bridge insights between clients, presales, delivery, and corporate strategy to inform capability evolution and innovation.
What we expect of you:- Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, Engineering and 7+ years of experience in IT architecture and engineering, spanning at least 2 technology practice areas OR equivalent experience.
- 3+ years of experience designing multi-practice solutions for complex customer environments.
- Strong understanding of CDW's portfolio (Cloud, applications, data, security, modern infrastructure, DevOps, SaaS technologies, and AI).
- Proven ability to influence Key stakeholders at the executive level (CIOs, CISOs, CTOs, Presidents/Chancellors, and Superintendents, Superintendents, CTO, EdTech, Cybersecurity Coordinators and CBO)
- Demonstrated success building and delivering enterprise technology roadmaps and digital transformation strategies.
- Certifications across multiple disciplines (e.g., AWS Solutions Architect, Azure Architect Expert), a plus.
- Background in vertical-specific architecture (e.g., Education HiEd and K-12), a plus.
- Strategic Mindset: Anticipates future trends and implications, translates vision into executable strategies, a plus.
- Executive Presence: Communicates with confidence and clarity to influence diverse executive audiences, a plus.
- Cross-Domain Expertise: Applies a systems-level view to architecting integrated technology solutions, a plus.
- Innovation & Agility: Thinks creatively to develop novel solutions and thrives in fast-paced environments, a plus.
- Collaborative Leadership: Works seamlessly across sales, engineering, delivery, and partner ecosystems, a plus.
- Outcome-Driven: Anchors all recommendations in measurable client value and business impact, a plus.
Pay range: $121,450 - $170,010 depending on experience and skill set
Annual bonus target of 25% subject to terms and conditions of plan
Benefits overview: https://cdw.benefit-info.com/
Salary ranges may be subject to geographic differentials
CDW is committed to being an AI-fluent organization
We're looking for people who bring curiosity, a learner's mindset, and a willingness to engage with ever-evolving technology and tools. We value adopting AI as a partner, openness to experimentation, and a shared interest in learning together on AI. Our goal is to create a culture where AI enhances-not replaces-human creativity and decision-making. You don't need to be an expert today; what matters is your readiness to explore, adapt, and grow with us as we integrate AI responsibly and effectively into our work.
Additionally, CDW is committed to fostering an equitable, transparent, and respectful hiring process for all applicants. During our application process, our goal is to understand your experience, strengths, skills, and qualifications. As an AI forward company, we see AI not just as a tool, but as a catalyst for new ways of thinking, creating, and communicating. We encourage candidates to embrace an AI mindset, one that's curious, adaptive, and ready to explore what's possible. We welcome thoughtful use of AI to expand your perspective and elevate how you share your story, while ensuring your application remains rooted in your own background, judgment, and voice.
