We are looking to hire a Strategic Account Technology Strategist - RetailMicrosoft’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.Are you ready to take on the challenge of working with a rapidly growing and exciting global retail company? As a Strategic Account Technology Strategist, you will be at the forefront of highly visible projects, forming and executing strategic partnerships with one of the retail customers. You will be collaborating with Microsoft's HQ engineering teams, corporate executives & Japan leaders to solve challenges and drive business forward.In this role, you will act as a thought leader, synthesizing and combining various business and industry insights to conduct forecasting and develop recommendations for managing the most prominent, high-impact, and challenging customer accounts. You will be the voice of the customer and an internal advocate across all levels of the organization.You will expand Microsoft's relationships with large, complex, and global customers into strategic partnerships, leading the adoption of technologies. You will orchestrate high-impact innovative solutions that enable customer business transformations through digital transformation for assigned accounts, driving outcomes that create business value for customers.Additionally, you will contribute to the creation of stakeholder maps for accounts, determine and orchestrate a coverage plan, and build out an execution framework. You will orchestrate technical resources across teams and the partner ecosystem, ensuring that adequate services and partner capacity are available or developed within a subsidiary to implement the solution pipeline strategy.You will establish best practices and standards around account planning and review, aligning with quota attainment, consumption goals, and customer consumption gaps to inform quarterly and fiscal objectives. You will provide thought leadership and guidance across teams, business units, executive stakeholders, customers, and the broader community on enablement plans to build and educate large and high-stakes customers at the global level.ResponsibilitiesCustomer and Industry InsightsActs as a thought leader for synthesizing and combining various and often conflicting business and industry insights across all teams and business units, global best practices, proof points from experience across multiple countries and regions, and broad and deep industry expertise (e.g., level 300) related to customers and their competitors to conduct forecasting and develop recommendations for managing the most prominent, high-impact, and/or challenging customer accounts. Ensures that all levels of the organization provide alternate perspectives to enable customers to consider alternatives and adapt strategies, plans, business models, and solutions to insights. Orchestrates global teams across the organization to gather and utilize information on the customer. Leverages professional credibility, relationships, and personal experience with similar customers to anticipate and bring in business and industry insights that address the broader business challenges for the customer. Sets the overall business and technical strategy and determines which opportunities should be pursued.Applies deep expertise and thought leadership to identify the right Industry Sales Kits and industry partners within the customer's vertical industry. Articulates and understands specific industry-related market trends, as well as customer threats, opportunities, and barriers to growth as they relate to the customer's broader industry. Applies industry knowledge to support customers in solving issues. Leads partnerships with customer and/or partners to provide innovative solutions in new industries, and to integrate Microsoft technology in their business.Differentiated Value PropositionPartners with a line-of-business leader or senior executive within a large-scale or high-impact customer organization to articulate how complex Microsoft technology/services will meet future business needs better than the competition and will enable the achievement of long-term growth and success.Acts as the customer's Technology Mentor in established relationships with senior leaders including technical decision makers (TDMs) and/or business decision makers (BDMs) at the Chief X Officer (CXO)-level. Leverages professional credibility to create extended relationships beyond core customers, advise on solutions, and position Microsoft capabilities to best meet the customer's needs. Orchestrates high-impact innovative solutions (e.g., forward-thinking, flagship) that enable customer business transformations through digital technologies for assigned accounts and drives outcomes that create business value for customers. Owns the development of strategies that showcase the value added by innovative ideas grounded on digital technologies for accounts based on account needs and customer's expectations. Is sought out by the customer for guidance related to transformation. Ensures high-profile line-of-business wins are captured (e.g., press release, video) as reference for multi-region/worldwide scale. Deploys showcase solutions into customer digital transformation centers for broader distribution. Leads efforts to host workshops that draw a viable picture for customer transformations post-transformation, and adapts digital transformation efforts to fit customer positioning within their partnership with Microsoft and at their needed level or platform.Education and Thought LeadershipDrives customer technology engagement through thought leadership that enables, motivates, and inspires technical resources of customer, partner, and Microsoft towards customer’s business transformation. Delivers regular (e.g., quarterly, monthly) industry/technology engagements and/or briefings to customer Chief X Officers (CXOs), their technical team, and business decision makers (BDMs) to drive execution and focus on competitive advantage. ?Provides thought leadership and guidance across teams, business units, executive stakeholders, customers, and the broader community on enablement plans to build and educate large and high-stakes customers at the global level. Allocates resources, manages budget, and provides guidance and final authority for decisions to their immediate team as well as other teams and customers on creating and implementing the enablement plan build practices. Drives team to contribute to innovations that help customers meet capacity and capability goals, including skilling initiatives and execution along with the account executive (AE) and enterprise skilling initiative (ESI) teams.Mapping and Account PlanningEstablishes best practices and standards around account planning and review for aligning with quota attainment, consumption goals, and customer consumption gaps to inform quarterly and fiscal objectives. Share account planning output with the customer and constantly realign to the customer's expectations. Coordinates highly complex extended account teams (e.g., spanning complex technologies, geographies, functions) and drives forecasting and tracking of the business. Owns the technical portion of the account plan and leads the customer plan delivery for large, critical, and/or strategic accounts. Captures all Account Planning input in MSX D365 Account Plan. Provides Account thought leadership inclusive of information technology (IT), industry, and business strategy knowledge, and shares best practices internally while providing coaching to subsidiary resources. Leverages account thought leadership in partnership with account executives to set and refine strategy, own accountability for outcomes, and lead extended teams.Drives the communication strategy to help customer technical specialists build the message to sell Microsoft offerings to other parts of their business or end users. Contributes to the creation of stakeholder maps for accounts, opens up new Rooms of the House, determines and orchestrates a coverage plan, and builds out an execution framework.Orchestrates technical resources across teams and partner ecosystem (inclusive of global systems integrators, consultancy partners, and Microsoft Industry Solutions (IS), and ensures that adequate services and partner capacity are available, or are developed within a subsidiary to implement the solution pipeline strategy.Technology Sales: Demand Generation and OrchestrationCreates, develops, and drives opportunities based on industry best practices. Presents opportunities to the customer, and creates demand. Develops a plan, within a broader strategy, to create and qualify a set number of opportunities for product sales, solutions sales, or consumption. Leverages multiple channels (e.g., social media) to create demand. Oversees technical teams for driving opportunities including Specialist Team Unit (STU), Customer Success Unit (CSU), and others, as necessary. Leads efforts to reach out to key stakeholders to give customer-driven pitches and drives the appropriate customer reach together with the account executive to generate new demands.Builds a collaborative vision with the customer to use AI and Industrial Metaverse by creating a targeted approach tailored to their current business requirements and positions Microsoft as a leader for the future. Guides the customer to use those new technologies as a strategic asset to create value, both through internal productivity improvements, but also by growing their existing business and finding new areas of expansion through the application of AI and Industrial Metaverse in intelligent apps. Leverages expertise across the current technology landscape and understanding of AI and metaverse capabilities to plot the foundational elements on the technology roadmap that need to be in place to realize value for the customer. Builds mid and long-term strategy for AI and Industrial Metaverse projects and creates immediate opportunity pipeline to get the customer ready for the future; orchestrates this pipeline through the Specialist Team Unit as well as the right ISV and SI Partners.Leads Account Strategy Envisioning (ASE, formerly IDTA) with the extended account team, customer, and partner to deliver the outcomes for the customer through joint envisioning, as a vehicle for Industry Sales Kits and Horizontal Solution Plays. Creates new Stage 1 opportunities, both billed and consumed, with Technical Decision Maker (TDM) customer stakeholders, managing consumption pipeline with extended team to maintain velocity, and unblocking issues. Orchestrates efforts to drive MCEM lifecycle and stage progression in collaboration with the Specialist Team Unit (STU), Customer Success Unit (CSU). Defines, coaches, and directs the solution pipeline strategy for a subsidiary in partnership with the Sales Team, and works with subsidiary leadership to close any gaps. Defines the technology blueprint for opportunity initiation, and sets and shares standards and best practices for others to follow.Technology Strategy FormulationContributes to the creation of trusted, long-term (e.g., three years plus) multi-horizon technological and business roadmaps for priority (e.g., highly prominent, challenging, strategic) accounts with global and high-stakes impact for the business, based on a deep understanding of business and technology priorities and the customer's industry landscape. Validates the strategy and plan with customer stakeholders and drives envisioning and articulates business and program changes in the roadmaps around new and groundbreaking capabilities for highly complex technologies. Orchestrates the translation of the customer's business objectives in conjunction with Industry Sales Kits and Solution Plays (including consumption-heavy workloads and cloud services) to develop a highly effective Industry Technology Architecture that drives consumption and adoption of Microsoft cloud and a higher share of customer potential and propensity (CPP).Expands Microsoft relationships with large, complex, and/or global customers into strategic technology partnerships, and leads the adoption of technologies by plotting the strategic, long-term vision of the customer's/partner's business strategy, and drives action to bring to fruition. May lead others to provide analyses and architect solutions for a sector or industry. Holds accountability as a strategic link between Microsoft and the customer for identifying a pathway for strategic efforts and resources necessary for building a strategy.Trusted AdvisorMaintains and leverages their recognized expertise in Microsoft's product landscape, solutions, and strategy to address customer's needs. Partners with internal industry experts (e.g., Regional and Global Experts) to strengthen understanding of the industry. Leverages a deep understanding of their customers to drive and create deep impact, share knowledge with extended team, and promote customer business perspectives. Identifies new solutions to solve business problems and drive customer outcomes when creating new markets.Provides Account Thought leadership inclusive of information technology (IT), industry and business strategy knowledge, and technology landscape. Coaches subsidiary leaders on long-term technology and customer strategies. Leverages account thought leadership in partnership with account executives to drive strategy, own accountability for outcomes, and lead extended teams. Provides technical guidance to internal teams to position technology while using customer landscape knowledge. Creates connections and collaborates with key partners/leadership in the broader technology ecosystem (e.g., Corporate, Product, Engineering).Acts as the voice of the customer and internal advocate by providing insights, feedback, and challenges from the customer to internal teams (e.g., product groups, engineers) across all levels of the organization. Drives action to ensure that internal teams understand and respond to insights. Escalates pressing issues for customers to Microsoft internal stakeholders (e.g., Headquarters) to facilitate the appropriate solutions and capabilities for the customer.Creates security thought leadership with the customer's executives (e.g., technical decision maker [TDM]/business decision maker [BDM]) using the Microsoft Security and Zero Trust narratives and engages all relevant stakeholders beyond the CISO to position security as a business enabler and instill a security mindset in all aspects of the customer's technology landscape. Uses their understanding of the customers' technology and security needs to establish Microsoft’s security credentials and to build opportunities to improve the customer's security posture and leads execution through security specialists.Other
Embody our culture and values
QualificationsRequired/Minimum Qualifications
Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, Engineering, Business or related field AND 9+ years technical consulting, technical consultative selling, practice building, or related technical/sales/industry experience
o OR equivalent experience.
5+ years experience designing and implementing solutions using Azure
Additional or Preferred Qualifications
Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, Engineering, Business or related field AND 16+ years technical consulting, technical consultative selling, practice building, or related technical/sales/industry experience
o OR equivalent experience.
7+ years experience in digital transformation or using technology to drive customer business outcomes.
6+ years experience in business consulting, consultative selling, or change management.
7+ years experience leading technical, support, and/or partner teams.
Technical Background:
Strong understanding of industry best practices and ability to apply them effectively.
Effective communication and presentation skills.
Ability to work collaboratively with various teams and stakeholders.
25% International travel to Tokyo, Japan and US domestic
Strategic Account Technology IC6 - The typical base pay range for this role across the U.S. is USD $154,500 - $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 $199,600 - $299,400 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-payMicrosoft will accept applications for the role until December 2, 2024Microsoft 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 (https://careers.microsoft.com/v2/global/en/accessibility.html) .