Senior Business Development Manager

Overview Leverages internal and external network to develop new strategic relationships with senior business and technical decision makers.

Articulates the value of Microsoft solutions in the context of the customer's perspective, leveraging knowledge of customer and partner business priorities and/or drivers and anticipating changes and actions to influence decision making, identify opportunities, and influence the product roadmap.

Positions the Microsoft value proposition versus competitors and works with stakeholders to influence the build/buy/partner decision to meet customer needs, leveraging knowledge of Microsoft and customer issues in conjunction with product/industry teams to establish a foundation for future opportunities in market situations through collaboration.

Identifies and collaborates with a diverse set of stakeholders to develop plans to source deals that target high-priority gaps across technology, product, business, and/or geography. Formulates partnership strategy for products and businesses with input from relevant stakeholders. Leads deal opportunities across deal stages.

Develops plans for managing deals, including communications, and reporting with Microsoft stakeholders. Collaborates with customers, partners, and Microsoft colleagues to develop post-deal governance and ensure design, communication, and alignment in creation and implementation of execution plans across a portfolio of deals within a particular domain.

Responsibilities

Deal Management/ Governance

• Collaborates with customers, partners, and Microsoft colleagues to develop post-deal governance and ensure design, communication, and alignment in creation and implementation of execution plans across a portfolio of deals within a particular domain. Ensures customers and partners are prepared for implementation.
• Develops Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to demonstrate achieved business value.
• Troubleshoots complex issues and course corrects as appropriate.
• Articulates alternatives to blockers across a body of deals to develop consistent deal negotiation policy and drive application of scalable resolutions.
• Develops plans for managing deals, including communications, and reporting with Microsoft stakeholders, embedding security-first thinking into relevant aspects of deal management. Resolves blocking issues using known techniques.

Microsoft Strategy Alignment (Product Insights and Innovative Projects/Pilots)

• Creates practices that enable partners to influence the product. Progresses product improvement by collecting, collating, and triaging partner feedback that identifies potential gaps and areas of opportunity within products.
• Improves operations of existing programs by applying industry methodology and innovation, defining complex program issues, assessing various scenarios, and selecting the optimal scenario to resolve issues.
• Identifies and scopes opportunities to develop new programs and improve current ones and independently provides feedback to help identify process improvement areas. Identifies and provides solutions to root problems (e.g., root-cause analysis), defines the program strategy, gathers program requirements, identifies resource needs, creates the project plan and targets, and works across teams to align on the plan of record.

Microsoft Strategy Alignment (Stakeholder Engagement and Deal Diligence)

• Collaborates with internal teams and business units to cultivate strategic relationships and leverage internal resources. Manages and cultivates relationships with leaders of internal teams and builds executive relationships (e.g., Sr. Directors, GM-level), and supports other team members in building stakeholder engagement.
• Identifies and organizes repeatable opportunities to share signals on Microsoft products and services to benefit internal stakeholders.
• Contributes as a key member of the deal team and assesses opportunities to engage with Microsoft during investment diligence process and contributes to the creation and maintenance of existing thesis areas over time, building relationships with stakeholders.

Negotiation

• Leads deal opportunities across deal stages (e.g., Strategic Approval (SA), Approval to Negotiate (A2N), Final Go-no-go (FGNG)) Represents Microsoft in key customer and partner interactions and recommends deal structures, leveraging experience to articulate key deal terms.
• Collaborates proactively to close opportunities and scale the business. Identifies opportunities for customized approaches.
• Identifies negotiation scenarios and manages executive escalations. Manages stakeholders to gain consensus and ensure internal alignment.

Partner & Customer Focus

• Articulates the value of Microsoft solutions in the context of the customer's perspective, leveraging knowledge of customer and partner business priorities and/or drivers and anticipating changes and actions to influence decision making, identify opportunities, and influence the product roadmap.
• Leverages internal and external network to develop new strategic relationships with senior business and technical decision makers. Develops relationships as a trusted advisor for a particular line of business.
• Provides industry insights internally, appropriately emphasizing the importance of security trends and best practices relevant to the industry.

Partnership Strategy

• Positions the Microsoft value proposition versus competitors and works with stakeholders to influence the build/buy/partner decision to meet customer needs, leveraging knowledge of Microsoft (including secure-by-design and secure-by-default principles) and customer issues in conjunction with product/industry teams to establish a foundation for future opportunities in competitive situations through collaboration. Provides insight on industry and/or market trends and drives action based on insights.
• Formulates partnership strategy for products and businesses with input from relevant stakeholders. Manages pipeline by identifying, promoting, prioritizing, guiding, and influencing processes that develop and deliver on pipeline opportunities and optimize resources to better deliver including preparing information for reporting to key stakeholders, identifying key stakeholders and reporting. Prepares information for reporting to key stakeholders, including synthesizing key work for executive consumption.
• Executes and applies value propositions, amending the framework as appropriate to create partnerships with customers and partners. Influences internal stakeholders and partners and promotes the value of opportunities.
• Identifies and collaborates with a diverse set of stakeholders to develop plans to source deals that target high-priority gaps across technology, product, business, and/or geography. Identifies opportunities and strategy and maps target customers/partners. Utilizes quantitative data (e.g., usage, revenue) to inform internal and external decisions. Provides input into recommendations on partners.

Qualifications

Required/minimum qualifications

• Bachelor's Degree in Business, Liberal Arts, Sciences, or related field AND 5+ years relevant work experience (e.g., investment banking, consulting, finance, marketing, corporate strategy, sales, venture capital, legal, business development, product management, project management, software development, or related field) OR equivalent experience.

Additional or preferred qualifications

• Bachelor's Degree in Business, Liberal Arts, Sciences, or related field AND 7+ years relevant work experience (e.g., investment banking, consulting, finance, marketing, corporate strategy, sales, venture capital, legal, business development, product management, project management, software development, or related field) OR Master's/Advanced Degree in Business, Sciences, or related field AND 5+ years relevant work experience (e.g., investment banking, consulting, finance, marketing, corporate strategy, sales, venture capital, legal, bus