Overview:

The CoreAI and Commerce Business Development team is responsible for strategic alliances, new partnership opportunity identification, and inorganic growth initiatives (including M&A) for Microsoft’s AI and developer platforms including Foundry, GitHub, Azure PaaS, VS Code, and Marketplace.

In this role, you are expected to (1) develop an understanding of the AI market (in particular new models and associated technologies); (2) position our existing partnerships for success with model labs (e.g. Mistral, Cohere); (3) identify new potential AI partners; (4) work with our engineering team at the CVP level to architect partner and M&A strategy and (5) successfully execute corresponding strategic partnerships + acquisitions to meet strategic business and product goals.

The Senior Business Development Manager role offers a unique opportunity to be part of a dynamic start-up like environment, where your ideas will impact the trajectory of business growth. If you are eager to contribute to our team during this pivotal moment of growth acceleration, we would love to hear from you.

Responsibilities:

Partner & Customer Focus:

• Leverages internal and external relationships as a trusted advisor to advise complex (e.g., large, high impact) customers and partners on domain expertise as a sought-out resource across multiple lines of business, geographies, and cultures, as appropriate. Advises partners and decision makers on the industry and company and provides industry expertise internally and externally.

• Drives customer and partner business initiatives, and contributes to partner's strategy discussions, leveraging knowledge of customer and partner business priorities and/or drivers and anticipating changes and actions to drive influence around the product roadmap, prioritization, and proactively guide customer and partner decision making.

Partnership Strategy

• Creates business value propositions based on company, partner, and/or customer needs for a particular product/industry. Drives support and action by influencing internal stakeholders and partners and promoting the value of opportunities.

• 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 competitive situations through collaboration. Provides insight on industry and/or competitive trends and drives action based on insights.

• Leverages relationships with a diverse set of stakeholders to identify and validate unique opportunities that cross business areas or target high-priority gaps across technology, product, business, and/or geography. Leverages trends in data to inform decisions across deals. Drives deals to increase growth and achieve desired outcomes, anticipating potential issues. Provides input into recommendations on partners.

• 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. Prepares information for reporting to key stakeholders, including synthesizing key work for executive consumption.

Negotiation

• Leads deal opportunities across deal stages (e.g., Strategic Approval (SA), Approval to Negotiate (A2N), Final Go-no-go (FGNG)). Resolves deal issues as an escalation point for less experienced colleagues. Establishes best practices and drives process improvements based on learnings across deals. Represents Microsoft in key customer and partner interactions, and defines the deal structure for scalable and durable solutions to complex business opportunities. Leverages deep understanding of risks, rewards, and negotiation skills to manage broad engagements across all business functions. Provides breakthrough ideas and collaborates to close strategic or high-impact opportunities in order to scale the business (e.g., cross-company, cross-product deals). Provides coaching and support to less experienced colleagues as a go-to resource for negotiation.

Deal Management/Governance

• Develops and implements plans for managing deals with workback schedules, key milestones, communications, and reporting.

• Collaborates with customers, partners, and Microsoft colleagues to develop post-deal governance and oversee the creation and implementation of execution plans across a portfolio of deals within domains, industries, and/or geographies. Demonstrates achieved implementation and high-impact business value (e.g., executive level recognition) for customers, partners, and the company. Manages escalations between large partners and customers through to resolution. Provides recommendations into decisions to continue/discontinue deals. Captures and shares learnings to improve future pipeline and business value communication. Course corrects to maximize deal value and preemptively minimize risk.

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, corporate strategy, venture capital, legal, business development, product management, project management, software development, or related field)

• OR equivalent experience.

• 6+ years experience in the technology industry OR in a technical role (e.g., IT, Engineering).

Business Development IC4 - The typical base pay range for this role across the U.S. is USD $106,400 - $203,600 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 $137,600 - $222,600 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.