Senior Strategist

The central Cloud Infrastructure Solutions & Services - Strategy Team is chartered with defining strategy areas for one of the most critical factors of Artificial Intelligence (AI) development and growth for Microsoft and OpenAI: Azure cloud infrastructure.  The organization is responsible for guiding multi-dimensional growth to enable worldwide planning, delivery, and operations at scale. This role will require deep partnerships across Microsoft as the associated responsibilities are on the leading edge of innovation.

The group broadly focuses on eight sets of activities:

• Industry Insights: a future-back approach of identifying which macro-economic trends impact decisions the organization should be making today and forecasting the future market structure and business model
• Strategic Mission: what is the long-term problem the organization should be solving, recommend where organization efforts should be focused, decide which strategic levers should be pulled to deliver on the mission
• Business Value: what operational and financial value does the organization contribute to the business, who are the organization’s internal and external customers, what is the operating model
• Innovation Areas: what step-change capabilities should the organization invest time and resources in
• Organization Design: what is the most intentional and effective structure given the responsibility and placement of the organization
• Talent: what modern skillsets are required to deliver the mission and how should the organization arrange centrally vs. regionally across the world
• Culture Definition: how does the organization out behave competition
• Roadmap / Objectives and Key Results (OKRs): translate the strategic outlook into executable strategic initiatives roadmaps with OKRs for progress tracking

For this Senior Strategist role we’re looking for someone with deep passion for technology, who has business savviness, and hungry to make an impact at one of the most interesting times in technology history.  The candidate will lead areas of the strategy portfolio, with opportunity for additional responsibilities and career growth, and will drive outcomes directly impacting the top priorities for the company.

Required/Minimum Qualifications:

• Bachelor's Degree in engineering, economics, or finance AND 4+ years experience in strategy, product/program management, business planning, consulting, banking, engineering, finance, or economics.
  • OR Master's Degree in Business Administration AND 3+ years experience in strategy, product/program management, business planning, consulting, banking, engineering, finance, or economics.
  • OR equivalent experience (e.g., scaling a business, driving change in a large company, entrepreneurship).
• 1+ years' experience managing cross-functional and/or cross-team projects.

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:

• 3+ years' experience managing large-scale strategy in consulting, technology, and cloud.
• 1+ year(s) SQL & PowerBI experience.
• 1+ year(s) Executive engagement experience.

Critical Thinking & Ability to Learn:

• The ability to think, understand, and process information quickly.
• The ability to use both facts and logic to develop resolutions. This includes extrapolating beyond mere opinions to resolve challenges.

Framing, Analysis, Forming A Perspective:

• The ability to examine and understand the organization's competitive strengths and weaknesses.
• The ability to collect and analyze data and identifies trends, opportunities, and gaps.
• The ability to convert data and findings into simplified, applied, specific information that add value to business planning and strategies.

Recommendation Communication:

• The ability to influence and convey the value and business need of proposed solutions, plans, and risks through written documentation (e.g., memos, reports, presentations) to stakeholders and decision makers at the senior leader and executive level. 
• The ability to adapt communications around different technologies, products, and services to the audience's level of understanding.

Cross-Functional Relationships:

• The ability to develop and maintain positive working relationships for collaboration.
• The ability to garner support for initiatives by gaining the respect of others and inspiring trust and confidence.

Other:

• Embody our  &