Overview:

At Team Xbox, we are on a mission to bring the joy and community of gaming to everyone on the planet – putting players at the center and enabling them to play the games they want, with the people they want, anywhere they want.

As the Director of Strategic Partner Management, you are accountable for the end-to-end strategic relationship with and commercial results of one or more highly strategic third-party game publishers. This role serves as the executive owner and trusted advisor for the publisher(s), responsible for aligning the partner’s long-term business growth and creative ambitions with Xbox’s platform, commercial, and ecosystem priorities. This role is intentionally focused on depth, trust, and strategic impact, reflecting the scale and importance of the assigned account(s).

Microsoft’s mission is to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more. As employees, we come together with a growth mindset, innovate to empower others, and collaborate to realize our shared goals. Each day we build on our values of respect, integrity, and accountability to create a culture of inclusion where everyone can thrive at work and beyond.

• Responsibilities- Own and author the multiyear Xbox strategy for a top tier, enterprise scale publisher, with accountability for long-term growth, partner trust, and material Xbox business outcomes.
• Serve as the primary executive point of contact for the partner, leading executive vice president level engagement, quarterly business planning, roadmap alignment, and strategic planning discussions.
• Drive multiyear account strategy and portfolio planning across the partner’s slate of titles and franchises, including prioritization, investment tradeoffs, and platform alignment.
• Act as the principal strategic authority for Xbox’s approach to the partner, resolving complex tradeoffs across platforms, product, finance, and policy with minimal oversight.
• Lead and orchestrate cross organizational alignment across Platform, Product, Engineering, Marketing, Store, Finance, Legal, and Operations to ensure consistent delivery against strategic objectives.
• Develop reusable engagement models, planning frameworks, and executive narratives that scale beyond the account and inform Xbox’s broader third‑party partnership strategy.
• Own executive level escalation management, risk mitigation, and issue resolution for the account.
• Shape and land partner facing narratives, including platform strategy, policy evolution, and go‑to‑market alignment.
• Identify and unlock new growth opportunities across platform capabilities, monetization models, and partnership expansion using data-driven insights.
• Provide clear partner signal and strategic context to Xbox leadership to influence product priorities, business models, and investment decisions.

The successful contributor will:

• A Connector - Establish and maintain deep executive relationships across the partner organization and the broader gaming ecosystem. Leverage these relationships to gather signal, identify opportunities, and enable long-term strategic alignment.
• Accelerate Business for the Publisher and Xbox - Lead by example in understanding the partner’s business, creative priorities, and community. Identify, evaluate, and champion new growth opportunities in support of win-win partnerships. Develop strategic rationale and economic models, partner with Business Development and Strategy on deal structure and negotiations, and drive opportunities forward.
• Partner Feedback and Data‑Driven - Continuously synthesize partner feedback, performance data, and external industry trends to inform strategy. Use insights to influence product roadmaps, partnership models, and execution priorities.
• Drive Operational Optimization - Set the standard for what superior quality looks like—clear strategy, compelling business cases, strong executive communication, disciplined execution, and consistent follow-through.

Qualifications- Bachelor's Degree in Business, Liberal Arts, Sciences, or related field AND 10+ 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.

Preferred Qualifications

• Demonstrated experience managing large-scale, high-stake strategic partnerships.
• Proven ability to operate as an executive peer with partners and internal executive leadership.
• Strong strategic judgment, commercial acumen, and comfort operating in fast‑paced, ambiguous environments.
• Proven executive presence, communication, and presentation skills.
• Inclusive, collaborative leadership style that will solve problems and follow through.
• Ability to travel domestically and internationally up to 25%.
• Playing video games of any type is a plus.

#gamingjobs

Business Development IC5 - The typical base pay range for this role across the U.S. is USD $130,900 - $251,900 per year. There is a different range applicable to specific work locations, within the San Francisco Bay area and New York City metropolitan area, and the base pay range for this role in those locations is USD $165,600 - $272,300 per year.

Certain roles may be eligible for benefits and other compensation. Find additional benefits and pay information here:
https://careers.microsoft.com/us/en/us-corporate-pay

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.