Principal Consultant

Principal M365 Consultant

Location: UK-wide | Business Area: Digital | Salary Details: Competitive basic salary plus additional benefits

Reporting to the Digital Transformation Director, you will lead initial client engagement meetings as a subject matter expert to understand requirements and explore potential solutions. You will also be responsible for driving customer engagements focused on the deployment, governance, and optimisation of Microsoft 365 solutions. This role blends deep technical expertise with strategic insight to deliver high‐quality outcomes, enhance user adoption, and support innovation across the full Microsoft 365 ecosystem.

“a great place to work, a great place to be a customer”

Key Responsibilities:

Solution Architecture & Delivery:

• Lead and oversee fileserver‐to‐M365 migration projects, including SharePoint, OneDrive, and Teams.
• Architect and deliver modern SharePoint Online intranet solutions, covering hub site strategy, information architecture, and adoption planning.
• Define and implement governance frameworks across Microsoft 365, including lifecycle management, retention, compliance, and secure collaboration.
• Lead design and discovery workshops with customers to understand requirements and agree technical solutions.
• Deliver end‐to‐end project engagements—design, implementation, testing, handover, documentation, and support—either independently or alongside a project manager.
• Drive adoption of Microsoft 365 features and capabilities across customer organisations.
• Support automation initiatives and integration across Microsoft 365 workloads.
• Act as an escalation point for complex or high‐priority support issues, providing expert guidance and hands‐on assistance to ensure timely and effective resolution.

Presales and Marketing:

• Drive adoption of Microsoft 365 features and capabilities across customer organisations.
• Design and deliver webinars, seminars, and training sessions for customers and internal teams, in collaboration with the Head of Sales.
• Deliver webinars and seminars showcasing current and future Microsoft 365 capabilities to support new business generation.
• Act as an escalation point for complex or high‐priority support issues, providing expert guidance and hands‐on assistance to ensure timely and effective resolution.

Innovation & Continuous Improvement:

• Keep up-to date with the Microsoft 365 roadmap and market trends to understand new features, assess their impact and provide strategic guidance.
• Demonstrate a commitment to personal development by proactively seeking opportunities to enhance your knowledge and skills.
• Provide guidance and mentor colleagues, to promote knowledge sharing and enhance delivery quality.

Security, Governance & Compliance

• Provide leadership across M365 security and compliance capabilities such as:
• Data Loss Prevention (DLP)
• Conditional Access
• Information Protection & Sensitivity Labelling
• Defender for Cloud Apps
• Retention and Records Management
• Secure external sharing governance
• Ensure all delivered solutions meet regulatory, organisational, and customer-specific compliance requirements.

Key Skills & Experience:

• Proven experience in a senior M365 or Modern Workplace consultancy or architecture role.
• Strong leadership background with demonstrable experience guiding and developing technical teams.
• Expertise in SharePoint Online, Teams, OneDrive, Exchange Online, and the wider Microsoft 365 stack.
• Deep understanding of governance, security, and compliance features within M365.
• Strong presentation and communication skills, with confidence presenting to both technical and non-technical audiences.
• Hands-on experience leading fileserver-to-M365 migrations and designing SharePoint intranet solutions.
• Ability to translate business requirements into scalable, secure, and user-centric solutions.
• High standard of written documentation and solution design.

More about you:

• Excellent communication skills, including being able to communicate technical ideas to non-technical audiences.
• Proven ability to engage with senior business stakeholders.
• Track record of being able to produce clear and concise design documentation and reports.
• Confidence in creating and delivering presentations to both remote and in-person audiences.

• Preferred Qualifications
• One or more of the following Microsoft certifications is considered advantageous:
• MS-102 (Microsoft 365 Administrator)
• MS-700 (Managing Microsoft Teams)
• SC-401 (Administering Information Security in Microsoft 365)
• PL-900 (Microsoft Power Platform Fundamentals)

What's in it for you?

Competitive basic salary plus additional benefits and growth opportunities.

Your Benefits at Chess:

We care about your health, wellbeing, and career. Here’s what you’ll enjoy:

• Private healthcare (free after 1 year)
• Eye tests, flu jabs, and on-site health checks
• Mental health support from trained First Aiders
• A Wellbeing Day after 1 year
• Half-Day Fridays—start your weekend early!
• Hybrid working support with a home office allowance
• 25 days holiday plus bank holidays
• Buy or sell up to 5 holidays twice a year
• Perkbox discounts on shopping, travel, fitness, and more
• Points-based rewards from year 2
• Charity donation matching (up to £100)
• Recognition platform to celebrate your wins
• EE SIM offers for you and your family
• £1000 referral bonus
• Learn 2 Earn scheme to boost your salary
• Team socials and celebrations
• Bespoke onboarding and leadership training
• Dedicated Culture Team to support you

Working Hours & Location:

A standard week is 371⁄2 Monday to Friday

Flexible, hybrid position with a home-first working policy. Allowing you to enjoy the flexibility of working from home whilst also having the option to work from one of our many local hubs spread throughout the UK. Ad-hoc travel to offices within the group and other locations may be required on occasion.

Why Join Chess?

Chess is one of the UK's leading independent and trusted technology service providers, employing over 280 skilled people across the UK, supporting over 18,000 UK businesses.

Diversity, equality, and inclusion is at the heart of our Chess culture, and we are passionate about our One Team spirit.

We're extremely proud that our people voted us No.1 in 'The 100 Best Companies to Work for' list 2018, and we continue to celebrate more than 17 years in the top 100.

Our continued focus on growth creates opportunity for everyone to progress their career, to develop knowledge and skills, to gain reward and recognition and to maximise their potential. The growth and success of our people ensures the growth and success of our business.

Equal Opportunities Statement

At Chess ICT, we value diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive workforce. We want to make sure everyone has a fair chance and opportunity throughout the application process. If you require any adjustments during your application or interview, please feel comfortable reaching out to our recruitment team so we can support you.

We believe that "if you're not growing, we're not growing."