Business Manager

Overview

Microsoft Industry Solutions Delivery (ISD) is a global organization hosting over 6,000 strategic sellers, industry and security experts, elite engineers, world-class data scientists and architects, consultants, and delivery specialists. Together with our partners, we help Microsoft’s most strategic customers worldwide to address their specific challenges and provide comprehensive and industry-specific solutions that meet their unique needs. ISD is at the forefront of innovation, driving value across the entirety of the customers’ digital and AI transformation journey through repeatable and customized cutting-edge solutions through strategic engagements with customers across the globe powered by Microsoft Cloud and AI.

Responsibilities

Business Operations

Drives business direction and responsibility for leadership team to manage the planning process ensuring coordination with corporate planning processes as well as planning integration across the broader organization.

Drives the architecting, developing, and executing the rhythm of business (ROB).

Works with senior leaders to drive outcomes.

Provides direction for identifying and determining objectives to execute which are in alignment with the goals of the organization.

Drives business review cadence.

Ensures adherence to privacy and compliance.

Executes business plans to ensure continuation of business operations at all times, including in adverse conditions, in accordance with corporate governance. Ensures checks and balances are in place for the team to ensure Microsoft's best interest with regard to strategic partnerships necessary for continuity of business. Strategizes and develops business continuity plans with Microsoft corporate Crisis Management and Business Continuity teams.

Collaborates with internal stakeholders and Microsoft teams to oversee the creation and implementation of execution plans.

Sets best practices for strategy leveraging consolidated information, advocating for business cases, and presents cases to leader and business partners. Leads and oversees processes to ensure alignment across groups.

Establishes key performance indicators (KPIs) in alignment with strategy to help streamline business strategy.

Works with the organization to establish and report against targets, and adjusts targets if necessary.

Leverages knowledge of organizational strategy and planned deliverables for the upcoming year(s) to design budgets.

Works in partnership with Finance to approve budgets.

Develops forecasting plans in partnership with the leadership team.

Oversees the development of metrics for budgeting and forecasting.

Identifies actions that can be taken to course-correct and drive performance improvement; anticipates business challenges based on forecasts.

Works with Procurement team to coordinate future resources.

Collaborates with leaders regarding resource management planning.

Ensures that the leader is aligned on the headcount strategy.

Maximizing/ Extending the Leader

Leverages relationships to influence and advise on strategic decisions, content, and/or expertise.

Leverages key partnerships to drive the agenda for the leadership team and ensure follow up.

Manages and builds relationships with senior leaders and executive internal leaders.

May interact with a broader array of high-level partners.

Creates alignment within partnerships by providing an objective point of view, ensuring all voices are heard, synthesizing ideas, and creating an action plan. Leverages knowledge of the leader's goals and business approach to ensure business activities are aligned with the leader's objectives.

Supports the leader in one or more key business management areas (e.g., setting key goals, priorities, and definitions; team culture and health; communications; budget/finance; industry/specific business knowledge).

Synthesizes information into insights that inform business decisions, leveraging expertise to influence the leader and leadership team.

Leverages people management/influence expertise to assist leader with people management as needed. Lands organizational changes (e.g., employee data management, skilling plans, landing quota).

Organizational Health

Monitors team/organization health and supports the leader in responding to team culture issues, as well as leading culture initatives (e.g., Diversity and Inclusion [D&I], hiring, onboarding) while partnering with Human Resources to do so.

Tracks the use of role-based compliance trainings and new trainings; drives the training completion rates.

Plans and executes on trainings. Ensures a healthy compliance scorecard for the team/organization.

Capitalizes on team strengths and identifies development areas.

Special Projects/Programs and Initiatives

Drives cross-team projects as needed to meet the changing business environment and manage complex business needs.

Engages in project management or may act as a project/program manager to ensure organization-wide implementation of strategic efforts that require hands-on coordination across multiple functional disciplines and business organizations.

AI Enablement & Business Transformation

Partner with business and technical stakeholders to identify opportunities to leverage AI and Copilot technologies to improve business operations, decision-making, productivity, and organizational effectiveness.

Apply knowledge of AI, Generative AI, and emerging Microsoft AI capabilities to drive strategic initiatives, optimize business processes, and support data-driven business outcomes.

Monitor industry trends and advancements in AI, translating insights into actionable recommendations for leadership and cross-functional teams.

Drive adoption and change management initiatives related to AI-powered tools and solutions across the organization.

Specialty Responsibilities

Leads executive-level communication with a variety of internal audiences.

Optimizes the manager's time by organizing the daily communications of the leader; performs triage and ghostwriting on behalf of the leader to expedite leader's time responding to emails.

Develops presentations and messaging related to the team's mission and key projects.

May perform executive-level communication with a variety of audiences. Ensures alignment with business priorities.

Proactively seeks out relevant content to communicate to the organization.

Designs and oversees the creation of foundational and storytelling content within the organization and may do so within the industry.

Uses understanding of audience needs to ensure the optimal use of leaders' time.

Synthesizes findings within workstream and identifies links to broader strategic efforts for content and external facing thought leadership.

Provides direction for criteria used to break down complex information into actionable steps for audience; organizes executive visits, including global events with customers.

Carries out related reporting and exception management as required.

Drives accountability for the team and organization in executing core business activities.

Reviews performance, commitments, execution, and leverages stakeholders to achieve results.

Serves as a point of contact while understanding the business status and industry trends.

Oversees corporate governance and performance management by providing insight and guidance into prioritizing performance metrics, defining and monitoring forward-looking key performance indicators (KPIs), communicating to senior leadership on progress, and evangelizing processes from the top levels of the company. Demonstrates achieved implementation and high-impact business value (e.g., executive-level recognition) for partners and the company. Creates clarity in ambiguous situations to facilitate and drive prioritization and decision making for leaders across the organization.

Other

Embody our culture and values

• Note. It was determined that requirements differed among some employees in the specialization/role. These differences are noted where relevant.
  
  

Qualifications

Required/Minimum Qualifications

Bachelor's degree in relevant field (e.g., Liberal Arts, Business Administration, Management, Computer Science) AND 10+ years' experience in financial management, business planning, operations management, strategy, project management, human resources, or business-related roles

OR equivalent experience.

Additional Or Preferred Qualifications

Bachelor's Degree in relevant field (e.g., Liberal Arts, Business Administration, Management, Computer Science) AND 10+ years' experience in financial management, business planning, operations management, strategy, project management, human resources, or business-related roles

OR Master's Degree in relevant field (e.g., Liberal Arts, Business Administration, Management, Computer Science) AND 8+ years experience in financial management, business planning, operations management, strategy, project management, human resources, or business-related roles

OR equivalent experience.

Demonstrated understanding of Artificial Intelligence (AI), Generative AI, and AI-powered productivity solutions (e.g., Microsoft Copilot) and their application in business operations, planning, communications, and organizational effectiveness.Experience leading or supporting AI-enabled business transformation, process optimization, or change management initiatives is highly preferred.

This position will be open for a minimum of 5 days, with applications accepted on an ongoing basis until the position is filled.

Microsoft is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, ancestry, citizenship, color, family or medical care leave, gender identity or expression, genetic information, immigration status, marital status, medical condition, national origin, physical or mental disability, political affiliation, protected veteran or military status, race, ethnicity, religion, sex (including pregnancy), sexual orientation, or any other characteristic protected by applicable local laws, regulations and ordinances. If you need assistance with religious accommodations and/or a reasonable accommodation due to a disability during the application process, read more about requesting accommodations.

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