Microsoft Cloud Operations + Innovation (CO+I) is the engine that powers Microsoft’s cloud services and our team is focused on delivering high quality infrastructure to support cloud operations. As Microsoft’s Cloud business continues to mature, our infrastructure expansion accelerates, and Datacenters are central to this growth. To support this, the acquisition and development of our owned, designed, and constructed Datacenter facilities will scale to meet the demands of our customers, while we also continue to lease and acquire Datacenter capacity at pace, particularly in our high growth markets, working closely with Datacenter operators in each region, and across the Globe.
We are looking to fill the role of Senior Director, Strategic Planning & Operations. This Leader in Strategic Planning & Operations for Leasing & Land Development (LLD) will be responsible for the management and overall operations of the organization, supporting the Vice President (VP) with strategy, implementation, execution and growth, as we continue to grow and mature our datacenter portfolio. Working closely with the leadership team, especially our technical core team, this role will define a global operational strategy to enable us to scale at the pace required for success. Through effective leadership, this leader will drive accountability to the team, working closely with our tooling experts, by streamlining our approach, developing best-in-class strategic portfolio management and supply/demand planning, and focusing on high priority requirements, while also taking the time to develop strategic and longer term viewpoints to prevent issues repeating. This role is a critical supporting function, dealing with urgent and ad hoc initiatives, including significant development of new, unforecasted projects based on demand volatility or bespoke customer needs.
The successful candidate will be responsible for coordinating a group of interrelated programs and setting the strategy, aligning to the corporate strategic processes ensuring we are effectively and accurately managing our overall performance within LLD. In addition, they will work closely with many internal teams including regional demand planning, finance, engineering, construction, security, networking, energy, operations and our CO+I Leadership team.
In alignment with our Microsoft values, we are committed to cultivating an inclusive work environment for all employees to positively impact our culture every day.
Qualifications:
Required Qualifications
- 10+ years portfolio management, real estate, or office management experience AND 7+ years people management experience
- OR Bachelor’s Degree or degree equivalent in Business Management, Real Estate, Project Management, or related field AND 7+ years portfolio management, real estate, or office management experience AND 5+ years people management experience
- OR equivalent experience.
- 10+ years of work experience in global real estate, leadership, including real estate, strategy, planning, and development of large-scale capital projects
- 5+ years proven track record of leading a function organization.
- Effective at c-level communications, with ability to drive change; create processes to improve our delivery efficiencies
Preferred Qualifications
- Demonstrated success in generating energy, creating clarity, and delivering results inclusively to your diverse team and your broader organization
- Experience in delivering program management and cross functional delivery
- Adaptable, collaborator and influencer as well as solution-focused activator, with focus on delivery to business goals
- Experience in technology, real estate or mission critical industry, such as datacenters, critical environments, telecommunications, network, and power
- Experience delivering innovative strategies in a matrixed organization
- Ability to wear many hats, learn quickly, change direction when needed, and ability to make decisions with limited information
- Innate curiosity and ability to self-start in an ambiguous environment, while always focusing on efficient delivery
- Demonstrated project management, leadership, and cross-group collaboration skills
- Known strategic and problem-solving skills
- Real estate, commercial or data center experience
- MBA or other industry related Master’s Degree (or equivalent experience) preferred
Other Requirements:
- Ability to meet Microsoft, customer and/or government security screening requirements are required for this role. These requirements include but are not limited to the following specialized security screenings: Microsoft Cloud Background Check: This position will be required to pass the Microsoft Cloud Background Check every two years thereafter.
Real Estate Portfolio Management M6 – The typical base pay range for this role across the U.S. is USD $124,800 – $266,800 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 $159,000 – $292,200 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
Microsoft is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, ancestry, color, family or medical care leave, gender identity or expression, genetic information, marital status, medical condition, national origin, physical or mental disability, political affiliation, protected veteran status, race, religion, sex (including pregnancy), sexual orientation, or any other characteristic protected by applicable laws, regulations and ordinances. We also consider qualified applicants regardless of criminal histories, consistent with legal requirements. If you need assistance and/or a reasonable accommodation due to a disability during the application or the recruiting process, please send a request via the Accommodation request form .
Benefits/perks listed below may vary depending on the nature of your employment with Microsoft and the country where you work.
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Responsibilities:
People Management
This is a People Manager role, whereby you will lead teams to deliver a best in class service, through executive presence and leadership, aligning to our effective Microsoft culture. Our managers deliver success through integrity, empowerment and accountability by modelling, coaching, and caring.
- Model – Live our culture; Embody our values; Practice our leadership principles
- Coach – Define team objectives and outcomes; Enable success across boundaries; Help the team adapt and learn.
- Care – Attract and retain great people; Know everyone’s capabilities and aspirations; Invest in the growth of others.
Growth and Transformational Leadership
Establish leadership in strategic planning and operations through effective implementation of cross functional processes which command accountability and focus areas for the team. Transform the current day to day operations by synthesizing findings into actions across our programs, including big picture oversight and identifying implications that inform strategic business decisions. Leverage executive presence to influence decisions and proactively identify the best solutions to move forward with, and guide the team to deliver.
Understand our core business needs, potential future growth opportunities and strategic issues; apply frameworks and methodologies to drive problem solving, improving the velocity of action oriented solutions, and drive quality business performance results against strategic priorities and critical measures of success.
Delivering Business Results
The strategic planning and operations leader has overall accountability for a number of core functions to enable effective and efficient management of our leasing business, working very closely with our technical core team and aligning and supporting the VP of LLD to enable growth at pace and scale for our CO+I business. The team will lead all supply and demand planning on the leasing side, to ensure that our DSSP (Data Center Supply, Strategy & Planning) team has access to the latest, most accurate information as it pertains to supply options, working closely with our lessor community and our acquisition teams. This team will effectively manage the supply strategy in all leased locations, and will support the build locations through possible alternative options as needed, working closely with our land development organization. In addition, this team will work hand in hand with the lessor champions to ensure successful strategic partnerships.
In addition, the role will lead the portfolio strategy and how we can effectively integrate this critical function into the wider business, to enhance and improve the management of our multi-billion dollar leased portfolio.
Business Operations Leadership
Drives and maintains a culture of compliance that exemplifies commitment to doing business with integrity and transparency in a way that develops trust with our customers, communities, partners, and suppliers. Remains accountable for successful cross-organization execution for plans and drives the actual plan to completion.
Leading the team who is accountable for key business operations functions, while maintaining a continuous focus on p rocess design & optimization, end -to-end governance for multiple complex processes , document management control systems, structure and compliance around decision making and approval processes and providing executive reporting to key stakeholders to enable fast and accurate decisions for our business growth.
Culture and Leadership at Scale
Manages and cultivates relationships with senior internal leaders (e.g., CVPs, VP’s, GMs etc) and acts as an advisor to senior leadership. Drives initiatives and capabilities needed to deliver success within scope of accountability and works to develop/mentor/coach talent internally or develop plans to attract needed talent to Microsoft. Champions Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) plan, inclusion throughout talent process, and diversity-recruiting strategy.
Inspires managers and individuals in the organization and fosters a culture of customer-centricity, accountability, collaboration and achieving big bold goals.
- Provide programmatic leadership and input for all compliance and risk matters related to all of the strategic partnerships we have with our lessors, and our entire contract base
- Partner with a cross functional team to architect and drive the comprehensive outcomes based roadmap for all leasing in each region (and cross region if a single lessor)
- Develop and implement a system for tracking and reporting on all leasing activity for tactical development plans as well as for strategic visibility, providing opportunity to achieve improved terms for Microsoft.