Senior Program Manager, Vendor Strategy

Microsoft's Intake and Change Management owns priorities of vendor delivery for Operations. This includes the assessment and implementation of large projects that deliver high value and lower risk to Microsoft.

The Senior Program Manager, Vendor Strategy will be responsible for developing and executing vendor strategy that supports Microsoft Business Operations (MBO) vendor operations. This role will drive new engagements with Procurement through RFx (Request for X - i.e. Request for Proposal [RFP], Request for Information [RFI]) and other functions, such as Legal and Tax to ensure compliance to local regulatory requirements.

This role's key focus areas include:

• Develop and maintain strategic vendor relationships
• Analyze vendor performance and identify areas for improvement
• Large scale outsourcing Contract Design; Negotiate contracts and manage vendor agreements
• Global Business Services (GBS) transformation, especially in leveraging AI (artificial intelligence) to drive radical simplifications
• Monitor market trends and assess the impact on vendor strategies
• Meticulous in designing work back plan, and drive proactive engagements with stakeholders
• Provide strategic input to leaders regarding vendor selection and management

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.

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/Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor's Degree in Engineering, Business, or related field AND 4+ years process management, process execution, process optimization, or related experience
  • OR Master's Degree in Engineering, Business, or related field AND 2+ years process management, process execution, process optimization, or related experience
  • OR equivalent experience.

Additional or Preferred Qualifications

• Bachelor's Degree in Engineering, Business, or related field AND 8+ years process management, process execution, process optimization, or related experience (e.g., data analytics)
  • OR Master's Degree in Engineering, Business, or related field AND 6+ years process management, process execution, process optimization, or related experience (e.g., data analytics)
  • OR equivalent experience.
• Lean, Business Process Management Professional, Change Management (e.g., Prosci), Six Sigma, and/or Agile certifications.
• Bachelor's degree in Supply Chain, Computer Science or related field.
• 10+ years of experience in vendor management or strategic sourcing.
• Analytical, negotiation and interpersonal skills.
• Ability to work independently and as part of a team.

Process Management IC4 - The typical base pay range for this role across the U.S. is USD $94,600 - $183,800 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 $122,000 - $200,500 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 October 30, 2024.

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.

Responsibilities

Business Program Planning and Design

• Performs program landscape research and analysis (e.g., internal and/or external market, sales, delivery), forecasting, and examines business trends (e.g., customer feedback and expectations) to identify audience size and program scope. Stays current, agile, dynamic, and contributes to programs impacting the broader unit. Demonstrates thought leadership in contributing to overall business goals, objectives, and strategies, as well as short- and long-term business priorities. Understands and identifies current program risks, impact, and develops mitigation plans impacting the broader unit.
• Identifies and scopes opportunities to develop new programs and improve current ones impacting the broader unit. Leads the identification and resolution of root problems (e.g., root-cause analysis) and the definition of 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. Improves the operations of existing programs by applying industry methodology, defining highly complex program issues, assessing various scenarios, and selecting the optimal scenario to resolve issues. Drives clarity in highly complex program issues and strives for simplification.
• Leads others who work with cross-functional (e.g., organizational, product, business) stakeholders (e.g., Engineering) to design highly complex programs from initiation to delivery, independently. Provides proficiency to produce collateral (e.g., proposals, strategy walking deck, internal and external pitch content) to incorporate stakeholder needs and ensure the business objectives are met.
• Leads the defining and tracking of success criteria and performance metrics (e.g., Objectives and Key Results [OKRs] and Key Performance Indicators [KPIs]), such as quality, adoption, usage, impact, and effectiveness for the program.

Business Program Excellence and Execution

• Shares sound practices to define and execute on landing and communication plans, such as the target audience(s) and communication strategy. Leads the rhythm of business (ROB) during plan execution to ensure participants and stakeholders are communicating and responding according to the necessary cadence. Leads others to work across teams (e.g., Landing, Design, Engineering, Supply Chain, Finance, Technical Program Management) to ensure all program requirements are understood and can be met.
• Shares knowledge to evangelize highly complex programs to stakeholders, partners, and customers to gain buy in. Leverages data and performance metrics (e.g., OKRs and KPIs) to demonstrate the value of the program and show business impact. Leads others to adapt communication style and storytelling strategy according to audience and business needs.

Business Program Management

• Leads a portfolio of projects, including the project plan, timelines, milestones, financial management, performance metrics, and/or resource needs for highly complex programs. Communicates the program status and risk to relevant stakeholders and holds them accountable for following the established schedule, risk mitigation plans, and processes. Establishes objectives and success criteria for the project in an inclusive, collaborative manner with all stakeholders.
• Provides insight to lead others to understand mapping or how people, process, technology, and systems work and impact one another. Leads the collaboration including leveraging other teams (e.g., Supply Chain, Engineering, Sales) to ensure program processes are rigorous and executed efficiently. Develops processes around scope and scheduled changes for programs impacting the broader unit, and communicates them to stakeholders. Recognizes process gaps/inefficiencies and drives strategies for optimization.

Business Program Evaluation and Improvement

• Provides insight to cost-benefit analyses to examine performance to value drivers (e.g., profit and loss [P&L], return on investment [ROI]). Leads monthly business review (MBR) and runs rhythms regularly to identify what is working and what is not, and makes improvements accordingly.
• Provides insight to collect and evaluate success criteria and performance metrics (e.g., OKRs and KPIs), such as acquisition, usage, impact, effectiveness, and customer feedback. Use scorecards and dashboards to monitor highly complex programs and ensure all activities align with business and program objectives. Leads the synthesis of data analytics (e.g., scenario analyses) to derive insights and training that help identify current and future program risks and mitigation plans, as well as opportunities to streamline and optimize programs based on lessons learned that impact the broader unit.
• Utilizes direction and strategy from leadership to advocate and influence sponsorship regarding business area of proficiency in order to create and execute plans that shift current priorities to new organizational initiatives and objectives, and influences others to change behavior accordingly. Leads the definition of the vision and strategy for change, broad and specific impact, and the flow of communication to the organization. Ensures buy in and adoption of the new program or change by others in the organization. Leads others to develop the collateral required to enable key stakeholders and others to be on board. Leads the training, re-skilling, and mapping of individuals in partnership with Human Resources (HR).

Other

• Embody our culture and values