Data & AI Specialist Manager

We are looking to hire a Data & AI Specialist Manager

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. 

Are you ready to join a rapidly growth cloud business? The Software and Digital Platforms (SDP) Operating Unit is looking for a Data & AI Specialist Manager to join our Data & AI team. Our portfolio spans all things Data including Analytics, Databases, AI and accompanying services so you can leverage all your creativity and knowledge to provide world-class cloud based solutions to our Enterprise ISV and Platform company customers. 

The Data and AI team acts as trusted advisors and subject matter experts with core capability and expertise in AI, Analytics and Data Modernization. We work with customers to leverage data to help them achieve their business priorities and help guide customers’ journey through Analytics-led Azure Data transformation. We also support customers in evaluating their applications and business requirements, recommend solutions that meet their requirements, and demonstrate these solutions to win the technical decision. 

 
Key customer benefits: 

• Create impact faster: Deliver more impact in less time by quickly deploying solutions, or augmenting existing ones, to enable our ISV and Platform customers to accelerate business results and improve time to value.  

• Break through barriers: Take a data-first approach with unified data that leverages Microsoft AI to deliver insights & actions that help create better customer experiences. 

• Adapt to anything: agility to react and respond to new business priorities, market conditions and customer opportunities with rapidly deployable solutions. 

• Innovate everywhere: Solve problems with powerful solutions only possible with the Microsoft Cloud enabling interoperable solutions across multiple lines of business. 

As the  Data & AI Specialist Manager you will be leading a team of Sales Specialists to drive Microsoft AI and Data cloud services growth through industry focused solutions. You and your team will provide and sell the best-in-class cloud service and platforms to our managed customers, building the momentum for digital transformation for our customers and partners as well as Microsoft itself. The Data & AI Specialist Manager is a great sales coach and leader, has a challenger mentality, is savvy in sales-leadership practices and contributes with vision and flawless execution of solution sales across solution areas. The Data & AI Specialist Manager is a proven sales leader, purposeful planner, people leader, sales challenger, market maker and a social seller. This is a senior role that is operating at a strategic level with Microsoft’s Prioritized customers, with deep engagement and understanding of ISV and platform industry business issues and strategic challenges. The role is seen as a subject matter expert in AI, Analytics and Database solutions as well as possessing industry experience and understanding the digital transformation occurring within it. 

This opportunity will allow you to accelerate your career growth, honing your solution sales and collaboration skills, and deepening your cloud expertise. 

In the Software and Digital Platform (SDP) Operating Unit, we have the unique opportunity to work with some of the most innovative technology companies on the planet, including Digital Natives and ISVs that are also partners. This role will manage a team that spans Eastern to Pacific time zones.  

Responsibilities

People Management 

• Managers deliver success through empowerment and accountability by modeling, coaching, and caring. 

• Model - Live our culture; Embody our values; Practice our leadership principles. 

• Coach - Define team objectives and outcomes; Enable success across boundaries; Help the team adapt and learn. 

• Care - Attract and retain great people; Know each individual’s capabilities and aspirations; Invest in the growth of others. 

Sales Execution 

• Brings impactful industry insights into customer engagements and help close deals with customers. Acts as a thought leader in digital transformation across solution areas to advise customers and represent Microsoft and coach others internally on how to do this. Leads transformational shifts to drive deployment and create business value for customers. Leads a virtual cross-organizational team on strategic projects and high impact solution sales deployments that enable digital transformation and deliver business value. May lead partner integration into account/territory planning and customer engagements. 

• Leads their teams to identify and track new opportunities. Leverages stakeholders (e.g., Customer Success team unit, account-aligned team unit, Specialist Team Units, One Commercial Partner organization) to build pipeline within the territory. Coaches team members on interfacing with prospective customers to build network. Applies Microsoft's sales process (MSP) to determine the quality of the opportunity and whether to proceed and educate the customers on how to best address their needs. 

• Coaches their team to collaborate with partners and other internal teams (e.g., Technical Sales Professionals, AI and Analytics Global Black Belts) and to engage customers to drive consumption. Leads with technical and industry insights on how to grow customer business. 

• Guides and orchestrates their team on communicating with customers to understand their business needs or facilitate customer interactions to assess customer needs. Provides direction/guidance on the development of solutions across solution areas and support areas. Help the team create vision for the customers and develop plans to drive sales. 

• Coaches their team and/or other teams (e.g., ATU, STU) on identifying and engaging decision makers and stakeholders to expand the relationship with customers/partners. Engages C-Suite decision makers to support teams on opportunity discovery and acceleration. Represents their team internally at Microsoft as they engage other internal stakeholders. 

• Leads their team to develop strategies for driving and closing opportunities. Drives the implementation of strategies and the collaboration with the account team to ensure alignment. Leads their team on ways to implement and share close plans (e.g., how to map timeline, engage the customer, get customer buy-in and commitment) to de-risk and drive predictable cloud consumption. 

Scaling and Collaboration 

• Guides their team to build a network of partners to add value and deliver Azure data solutions. Facilitates the development of partner strategies and ensures execution. Provides input and feedback to One Commercial Partner (OCP) on developing partner strategies and building partner capabilities. 

• Coaches their team to learn about and apply the orchestration model. Facilitates and leads internal communication and collaboration by identifying resources and removing barriers. Contributes to the development of the orchestration model. 

Technical Expertise 

• Supports their team on participating in Microsoft events. Contributes to setting up the events and promoting best practice sharing across subsidiaries. 

• Acts as a spokesperson for Microsoft at external events. Provides expertise to customers/partners and shares knowledge on a specific platform or market. 

• Coaches their team on business and market knowledge. Leads team's internal collaboration to position Microsoft products, solutions, and/or services against competitors. Acts as a thought leader to help their team connect Microsoft solutions to customer business impact. 

Sales Excellence 

• Builds and transforms new markets by leveraging technical and industry expertise, partners, and resources. Leads a team to explore business and emerging opportunities to optimize the portfolio and facilitate customer innovation. 

• Lays out customer satisfaction long-term strategies. Proactively promotes development of deep and influential relationships with client contacts. Guides their team on ensuring customer/partner satisfaction and facilitates the resolution of sales/delivery issues for strategic accounts. Establishes standards for customer/partner experiences. 

• Participates in regular strategic planning for their assigned territories. Reviews plans via Rhythm of Business (ROB) meetings and aligns the plans of their team across departments. Guides team to align their approach with sales excellence team. Engage with external executives to bring a more strategic perspective into the planning portion of account planning. 

• Guides their team in whitespace analysis and supports the team to identify potential business in the assigned territory. Aligns the analysis approach across teams. Acts as a thought leader and clears opinions and perspectives from business analysis. 

• Oversee the end-to-end business across geographical regions. Ensures their team meets sales targets and operational standards and maintains the health of metrics within the assigned territory. Interacts with Corporate leadership and senior-level stakeholders to get support for their team and the geographical regions. 

• Completes required training and obtains relevant product and role certifications aligned to the role and workload/industry. Mentors and coaches the team, growing knowledge on sales or products and ensures the team complete training and obtain certifications as required. Seeks additional learning opportunities and prioritize to enhance effectiveness. 

• Embody our Culture and Values

Qualifications

Required/Minimum Qualifications

• 7+ years technology-related sales or account management experience 
  • OR Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, Business Administration, or related field AND 6+ years technology-related sales or account management experience.

Additional or Preferred Qualifications

• 9+ years technology-related sales or account management experience OR Bachelor's Degree in Information Technology, or related field AND 8+ years technology-related sales or account management experience OR Master's Degree in Business Administration (i.e., MBA), Information Technology, or related field AND 5+ years technology-related sales or account management experience.
• 6+ years solution or services sales experience.
• 3+ years people management experience.

Solution Area Specialists M5 - The typical base pay range for this role across the U.S. is USD $130,000 - $217,600 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 $168,600 - $237,500 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

Microsoft will accept applications for the role until October 8, 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.