Microsoft

Sales and Operations Strategy Director

Microsoft$130K — $251K *
Consumer Technology
5 - 7 years of experience
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • Bachelor's Degree in Business Administration, Marketing, Finance, Engineering, or related field along with 5+ years of relevant experience.
  • 6+ years of experience in Near Term Strategy, Management Consulting, Sales, or Finance.
  • Master's Degree in Business Administration or related field preferred, with additional experience in strategic fields.
  • Experience leading cross-functional business initiatives at scale is essential.
  • Strong analytical, financial, and strategic thinking capabilities required.
  • Proven track record in translating strategic priorities into measurable business outcomes.
  • Executive communication and storytelling skills, including preparation of materials for senior leadership and boards.

Responsibilities

  • Lead the strategic planning processes for the Marketplace organization.
  • Develop growth strategies and investment priorities that align with Microsoft’s commercial objectives.
  • Partner with leadership to define long-term growth opportunities and transformation initiatives.
  • Drive scenario planning and strategic recommendations for executive decisions.
  • Own the operating system for Marketplace including business reviews and executive reporting.
  • Identify operational risks and develop mitigation strategies accordingly.
  • Foster a culture of accountability and operational efficiency through governance mechanisms.

Benefits

  • A culture that values diversity, accountability, and operational rigor.
  • Opportunities for professional development and career growth.
  • Inclusive workplace practices that align with Microsoft values.
Full Job Description
Overview

We are seeking a Director, Marketplace Strategy & Operations to lead the business management system for Microsoft's Marketplace organization. This leader will drive strategic planning, operational excellence, business insights, investment governance, and execution across a rapidly growing global business.

The role serves as a key advisor to Marketplace leadership and is responsible for translating strategy into action by establishing the operating rhythm, driving accountability across stakeholders, and ensuring alignment across Product, Engineering, Sales, Finance, Partner, Marketing, and Business Planning teams.

This leader will shape the future of Marketplace as Microsoft evolves from a transaction platform to a strategic commerce, distribution, and ecosystem growth platform.

Responsibilities

Business Strategy & Planning

  • Lead annual and multi-year Marketplace strategic planning processes.


  • Develop business strategies, growth frameworks, and investment priorities aligned with Microsoft's commercial objectives.


  • Partner with senior leadership to define long-term Marketplace priorities, growth opportunities, and transformation initiatives.


  • Drive scenario planning, business modeling, and strategic recommendations for executive decision making.


Business Operations & Governance

  • Own the Marketplace operating system, including business reviews, planning rhythms, scorecards, and executive reporting.


  • Lead Monthly Business Reviews (MBRs), Executive Business Reviews (EBRs), QBRs, and annual planning processes.


  • Establish governance mechanisms that improve cross-functional execution and organizational accountability.


  • Identify operational risks, dependencies, and opportunities and drive mitigation plans.


Insights & Performance Management

  • Develop executive-level KPIs and business performance frameworks across Marketplace customer, partner, and revenue motions.


  • Synthesize complex business data into actionable insights and recommendations.


  • Monitor growth trends, ecosystem health, customer adoption, partner engagement, and commercial performance.


  • Drive data-informed decision making across leadership teams.


Cross-Company Leadership

  • Partner closely with Sales, Finance, Engineering, Product, Marketing, Incentives, Partner, and Customer Success teams to drive business outcomes.


  • Influence senior stakeholders across Microsoft to align priorities, investments, and execution plans.


  • Lead strategic initiatives that span multiple organizations and require executive-level coordination.


Organizational Effectiveness

  • Drive organizational planning, headcount strategy, investment prioritization, and resource allocation.


  • Improve operational efficiency through process simplification, automation, and scalable business management practices.


  • Foster a culture of accountability, transparency, and operational rigor.


Leadership

  • Lead and develop a high-performing team of strategy, operations, business management, and program leaders.


  • Coach and mentor talent while building a strong succession pipeline.


  • Create an inclusive, high-performance culture aligned with Microsoft values.


Qualifications

Required/minimum qualifications

  • Bachelor's Degree in Business Administration, Marketing, Finance, Engineering, or related field AND 5+ years experience in business consulting, sales, sales operations, information technology (IT), account management, business development, marketing, IT field sales, or a related field
    • OR equivalent experience.
  • 6+ years experience in in Near Term Strategy (2 years out), Management Consulting, Sales, or Finance.


Additional or preferred qualifications

  • Master's Degree in Business Administration or related field AND 5+ years of marketing, strategy, sales, sales leadership, program management, project management, business planning, consulting, banking, finance, economics, and/or partner organization experience OR Bachelor's Degree in Business, Finance, Economics, Computer Science, or related field AND 7+ years of marketing, strategy, sales, sales leadership, program management, project management, business planning, consulting, finance, economics, and/or partner organization experience
    • OR equivalent experience.


  • Significant experience in Strategy, Business Operations, Consulting, Business Management, Finance, Product Strategy, or General Management.


  • Demonstrated success leading cross-functional business initiatives at scale.


  • Experience influencing senior executives and driving organizational change.


  • Proven track record translating strategic priorities into measurable business outcomes.


  • Experience in cloud platforms, marketplaces, partner ecosystems, SaaS, AI, or digital commerce businesses.


  • Experience leading business planning and operational governance for a large-scale technology business.


  • Strong analytical, financial, and strategic thinking capabilities.


  • Experience managing managers and leading distributed global teams.


  • Executive communication and storytelling skills, including preparation of leadership and board-level materials.


Sales Strategy Enablement 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.

About Microsoft

Microsoft is an American multinational corporation that develops, manufactures, licenses, supports, and sells a range of software products and services. Microsoft’s devices and consumer (D&C) licensing segment licenses the Windows operating system and related software, Microsoft Office for consumers, and the Windows Phone operating system. The company’s computing and gaming hardware segment provides Xbox gaming and entertainment consoles and accessories, second-party and third-party video games, and Xbox Live subscriptions; surface devices and accessories; and Microsoft PC accessories. Its phone hardware segment offers Lumia smartphones and other non-Lumia phones. Its D&C segment provides Windows Store, Xbox Live transactions, and Windows phone store; search advertising; display advertising; Office 365 Home and Office 365 Personal; first-party video games; and other consumer products and services as well as operating retail stores. Microsoft’s commercial licensing segments license server products, including Windows Server, Microsoft SQL Server, Visual Studio, System Center, and related Client Access Licenses (CALs); Windows Embedded; Windows operating system; Microsoft Office for business, including Office, Exchange, SharePoint, Lync, and related CALs; Microsoft Dynamics business solutions; and Skype. Its commercial segment offers enterprise services, including premier support services and Microsoft consulting services; commercial cloud comprising Office 365 Commercial, other Microsoft Office online offerings, Dynamics CRM Online, and Microsoft Azure; and other commercial products and online services. The company markets and distributes its products through original equipment manufacturers, distributors, and resellers, as well as online.

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Learn more about Microsoft
Size
181,000 employees
Market Cap
$1,762.4 billion
Industry
Net Income
$51.3 billion
Founded
1975
5 Year Trend
+15.5%
Revenue
$153.2 billion
NASDAQ

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