Global Director, Strategic Excellence - Microsoft : Job Details

Microsoft Cloud Operations and Innovation (CO+I) is the team behind the cloud. We are responsible for delivering over 200 Microsoft web portals, Live and Online Services around the world including infrastructure, security and compliance, operations, globalization, and manageability. Our focus is on smart growth, high efficiency, and delivering a trusted experience to customers and partners worldwide. We are looking for a passionate individual to help build the network that powers the world's largest online services.

Within CO+I, the strategic Supply Chain team is responsible for establishing a supply chain that can meet the ever-growing growth of the Microsoft Cloud and our customers. We support a portfolio of complex, multi-disciplinary, multi-billion, multi-year datacenter construction and lease projects and operations of those assets.

We are looking to fill a critical role of Global Director, Strategic Excellence for DC Build Services which will focus on pre-award contract development on a global basis and alignment of regional supply chain teams with respect to work processes, templates and training.

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.

Responsibilities

The Global Director, Strategic Excellence for Services within the DC Contract Management Global Ops team will be the global stakeholder focused on pre-award contract formation. This individual will have extensive knowledge of the pre-award contract development activities of large construction contracts as it relates to management of the contract formation process and coordination of internal stakeholders as well as potential contractors or service providers. This person will be expected to develop and standardize best practices for the full spectrum of activities that are associated with contract formation including, internal strategy definition, bidder selection, RFP package development, RFQ process, technical and commercial leveling, contract legal terms and general contract negotiation. This individual should have global contract experience and understand the nuances of how contracts are placed in different regions. The individual will have knowledge of the various types of contract methods (Design, Design-Build, Design-Bid-Build, CM, EPCM, etc.) as well as the different pricing formats (Lump Sum, GMP, T&M, Cost+, Unit Price) that work can be based on commercially.

Operational Execution and Planning

Manages and identifies opportunities to further develop contract management pre-award operations. Evaluates and drives improvement in operations across third-party or contracted providers by assessing the impact of changes to minimize risks while optimizing costs and service capacity. Conducts competitive analysis on integrated data with benchmarks for how Microsoft compares with competitors. Shares expertise with internal and external leadership to improve upon and align integrated operations across sites, service providers, and Microsoft business functions.

Collaborates and negotiates with internal and external leadership to ensure alignment on Service Level Agreements (SLAs). Minimizes risk and ensures SLA compliance is socialized across internal and external teams. Serves as a subject matter expert on the SLA and implements contingency plans when issues are identified.

Implements and drives identified opportunities contributing to the development and evolution of workstreams, processes, services, and solutions with a focus on greater simplification, automation at scale, and sustainability.

Manages and evaluates the operations of multiple project sites across a region or industry. Works to align operations and improve upon key performance indicators (KPIs) for multiple projects at scale across a region or service category. Oversees adoption of Microsoft culture and management processes. Manages processes, cadence, rhythm, throughput, and capacity standards of off-site locations. Creates the automation roadmap and standard capabilities. Designs or approves new service offerings. Identifies and implements value-added service opportunities including configuration and product transformation.

Determines optimal data sources for teams and converts data as needed based on assumptions, predictions, and/or product-level business needs. Provides oversight on and reviews the translation of data into business terminology for senior leaders. Fosters a data-driven culture of process improvements and shares best practices for leveraging dashboards to visualize and present supply chain analyses and metrics. Conducts simulations and data modeling analyses to better understand supply chain related outcomes. Oversees all modeling for near and long term outcomes.

Serves as the central point of contact and escalation supporting supplier relationships within assigned region or service category. Proactively escalates supplier issues to leadership in a timely manner and manages the enablement and onboarding of new suppliers. Summarizes complex systems or processes into simplified terms for internal and external leaders. Builds relationships with external senior executives to appropriately influence supplier relations with Microsoft.

Builds and manages accurate internal budgets aligned with business and supply chain priorities for higher value programs. Develops deep understanding of cost drivers across supply chain processes as well as their trade-offs. Identifies financial risks of key decisions, and develops long-term projections based on trend analysis. Develops and articulates compelling business cases for capital investments, leveraging data to provide ideas to manage working capital and optimize Return on Capital, Cost of Sales, Cost of the Work, and Cash Generation. Seeks out and implements cost efficiencies through the process as outlined by senior management.

Manages development of negotiation strategies and objectives for highest dollar value deals, ensuring alignment with other stakeholders and groups. Negotiates high-value contracts for a broad range of services and/or resources. Manages development of materials for use in negotiation procedures and prepares for review with senior leadership. Manages request for proposal (RFP) and contracting activities with cross-functional teams (e.g., Finance, Legal) and ensures contracts meet both price and capacity needs while also reflecting Microsoft's cross-functional engagements with suppliers. Evaluates supplier terms and helps build contracts optimized for Microsoft and its suppliers' mutual business needs.

Ensures suppliers are compliant with Microsoft business requirements (e.g., security, social responsibility, payment terms). Drives timely corrective actions based on needs identified from business reviews and audits. Shares best practices and scalable solutions across teams. Drives efforts to broadly improve operational and cost metrics across suppliers. Drives co-innovation, creates roadmaps, and contributes to continuous improvement activities to further develop the supplier.

Tools and Processes

• Serves as an expert and business architect in the tools and processes used to manage contract pre-award operations and drives improvements to avoid additional labor needs. Oversees the scaling of systems and adoption of automation. Provides leadership for and reviews audits of checks and balances to ensure sufficient monitoring of risks and liabilities. Designs and architects tools and processes to be implemented based on system flows.

Process Management and Optimization

• Designs and improves upon models for evaluating contract formation operations/service quality management, and ensures that operations processes and plans are evolving to meet future business needs. Defines and socializes strategies for optimizing processes, creates a business case, and influences internal and external business decision makers to implement systematic changes as needed. Manages multiple large-scale complex projects within an overarching business strategy.

Service Provider Management and Selection

• Leads service provider management processes, such as selection, qualification, performance evaluation, and risk assessment. Ensures compliance with internal and external policies and regulatory requirements. Partners with service providers to further develop their capabilities.
• Leverages domain-specific expertise, an understanding of Microsoft and third-party technologies, and creativity to think beyond current practices. Shares creative ideas cross-functionally and with internal and external leadership to socialize and further develop ideas. Drives the adoption of innovative approaches across teams and champions use of new technology and techniques. Innovates new technologies or new applications of existing technologies to lead the industry. Collaborates with and influences internal and external partners to adopt or implement ideas.
• Leads long-term strategic alignment with a wide range of internal and external stakeholders. Monitors and prepares for downstream investment requirements and changes. Identifies and understands trends. Anticipates future markets and opportunities. Develops network design flow and models leveraging familiarity with network optimization and modeling and simulation tools. Establishes continuity plans for continued strategic and operational success.

Process Improvement

• Leverages supply chain expertise and models to identify short- and long-term opportunities for improvement. Proactively anticipates and identifies gaps in internal and external processes and systems to drive efficiency, service, cost, and quality improvement, while eliminating non-value-add activities and reducing cycle time by defining policies and recommending new equipment, automation needs, and scalable processes improvements with strong sustainability considerations. Shares relevant insights and solutions cross-functionally and with senior leadership to drive scalable improvement across organizations.

Other: Embody our culture and values

Qualifications

Required Qualifications

Bachelor's Degree in Engineering, Computer Science, Supply Chain, Data Analytics, Business, Finance or related field AND 9+ years experience (including internships) in Data Science/Analytics, Finance, Project Management, Supply Chain, and/or Operations

OR Master's Degree in Engineering, Computer Science, Supply Chain, Data Analytics, Business, Finance or related field AND 7+ years experience in Data Science/Analytics, Finance, Project Management, Supply Chain, and/or Operations

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 upon hire/transfer and every two years thereafter.

Preferred Qualifications

Bachelor's Degree in Engineering, Computer Science, Supply Chain, Data Analytics, Business, Finance or related field AND 11+ years experience in Data Science/Analytics, Finance, Project Management, Supply Chain, and/or Operations

OR Master's Degree in Engineering, Computer Science, Supply Chain, Data Analytics, Business, Finance or related field AND 9+ years experience in Data Science/Analytics, Finance, Project Management, Supply Chain, and/or Operations

Sourcing and Category Management IC6 - The typical base pay range for this role across the U.S. is USD $129,200 - $273,400 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 $162,000 - $299,400 per year.

Certain roles may be eligible for benefits and other compensation. Find additional benefits and pay information here.

Microsoft will accept applications for the role until January 30, 2025.

Microsoft is an equal opportunity employer. Consistent with applicable law, 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 and/or a reasonable accommodation due to a disability during the application process, read more about requesting accommodations.