Microsoft

Strategic Initiatives Program Manager

Microsoft$97K — $188K *
Business Services
Less than 5 years of experience
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • Bachelor's degree in Business, Operations, Finance, or related field required.
  • 4+ years of experience in program or process management, or equivalent experience.
  • Proficiency in Microsoft 365 applications including Outlook, Teams, SharePoint, Excel, and PowerPoint.
  • Data fluency with the ability to create dashboards and synthesize insights, Power BI knowledge is a plus.
  • Ability to meet security screening requirements for role.

Responsibilities

  • Drive high-priority strategic initiatives from concept to execution, ensuring alignment with organizational goals.
  • Translate strategy into actionable plans in partnership with senior leaders, fostering accountability and measurable outcomes.
  • Manage the rhythm of business involving executive reviews, governance processes, and reporting to leadership.
  • Conduct research and analysis to identify new program opportunities and operational efficiencies.
  • Define program objectives and KPIs, and develop reporting mechanisms to assess impact and performance.
  • Develop communication and change management plans to facilitate stakeholder alignment and program adoption.
  • Engage cross-functional stakeholders to build consensus and effectively drive execution across initiatives.

Benefits

  • Opportunity to work in a fast-paced, dynamic environment.
  • Collaboration with senior leaders and high-level executives.
  • Exposure to strategic program management and leadership processes.
  • Professional development opportunities within a leading technology company.
Full Job Description
Overview

The CO+I Strategy & Planning team is seeking a highly organized, execution-focused Strategic Initiatives Program Manager to lead a portfolio of high-priority strategic initiatives. The ideal candidate thrives in a fast-paced, ambiguous environment, brings a strong bias for action, and can seamlessly balance strategic thinking with operational execution. As a trusted partner to leadership, you will own key rhythm of business processes, drive strategic initiatives from concept to delivery, and help ensure organizational priorities are executed with excellence and measurable impact.

In this role, you will conduct research and analysis to identify opportunities for new programs and improvements to existing ones. You will define success metrics, track performance, and develop communication and change management plans to drive adoption and stakeholder alignment. You will influence and engage cross-functional partners, build support for complex initiatives, and lead project planning, governance, budgeting, resource management, and execution. The role requires strong systems thinking, the ability to assess business performance through data and cost-benefit analysis, and a proven track record of translating leadership strategy into actionable plans that drive organizational change and business outcomes.

Responsibilities

  • Drive a portfolio of high-priority strategic initiatives from concept through execution, ensuring alignment with organizational goals and leadership priorities.
  • Partner closely with senior leaders to translate strategy into actionable plans, driving accountability, progress, and measurable outcomes.
  • Own and manage the rhythm of business, including executive reviews, governance processes, and leadership reporting.
  • Conduct research and analysis to identify opportunities for new programs, process improvements, and operational efficiencies.
  • Define program objectives, success criteria, key performance indicators (KPIs), and reporting mechanisms to measure impact.
  • Develop and execute communication and change management plans to support successful program adoption and stakeholder alignment.
  • Influence and engage cross-functional stakeholders to build consensus, remove obstacles, and drive execution across complex initiatives.
  • Manage project plans, timelines, milestones, dependencies, risks, budgets, and resource requirements for multiple concurrent programs.
  • Analyze business performance, conduct cost-benefit analyses, and provide data-driven recommendations to inform leadership decisions.
  • Build strong operational frameworks and governance models that improve visibility, decision-making, and execution across strategic initiatives.
  • Monitor program health, identify risks and issues, and proactively drive mitigation plans to ensure successful delivery.
  • Leverage systems thinking to understand organizational interdependencies and optimize processes across teams and functions.
  • Support organizational change initiatives by helping teams adapt to new priorities, processes, and business objectives.


Qualifications
Required/minimum qualifications

  • Bachelor's Degree in Business, Operations, Finance, or related field AND 4+ years experience in program management, process management, or process improvement OR equivalent experience.


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.
Additional or preferred qualifications
  • 4+ years of experience in program management, business management, chief of staff, or operations roles.
  • Demonstrated ability to manage multiple competing priorities in a fast-paced, ambiguous environment.
  • Strong organizational and project-management skills, including experience running a rhythm of business and operational cadence.
  • Excellent written and verbal communication, with the ability to produce clear, executive-ready materials.
  • Proficiency across Microsoft 365 - Outlook, Teams, SharePoint, Excel, and PowerPoint.
  • Experience supporting senior leaders or executive teams in a chief-of-staff or business-manager capacity.
  • Familiarity with strategy & planning, corporate strategy, or cloud/infrastructure businesses.
  • Experience coordinating deals or cross-functional strategic initiatives end to end.
  • Data fluency - comfortable building dashboards and synthesizing insights (Power BI a plus).
  • PMP or an equivalent program-management certification.


Business Program Management IC4 - The typical base pay range for this role across the U.S. is USD $97,600 - $188,400 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 $125,000 - $206,400 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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