Business Development Manager

Overview

As part of the Gaming Partnerships and Business Development organization (GPBD) the First Party Business Development (1PBD) team is a group of diverse, dedicated business development experts who contribute significantly to the success of 1st Party Content and Studios (1PCS) by supporting existing and future software development for the 1PCS games portfolio.

ZeniMax Media is seeking a Business Development Manager (BDM) to represent Microsoft’s business needs through strong relationships and deal negotiation with the global videogame development community and content partners. In this role, the BDM will: Identify game development studios, game concepts, licenses and characters that support Microsoft’s global interactive entertainment content strategy and production needs across Microsoft’s hardware, software and services; Provide consistent world-class business development service to the 1PCS teams to support existing franchises such as Starfield, Elder Scrolls, Fallout, Doom, as well as original games that have not yet been announced.

Responsibilities

Customer and Partner Focus:

• Develop and maintain internal and external relationships with business and technical partners within the industry.
• Develop an understanding of the business and strategy of 1PCS partners and apply this understanding in the execution of deals/plans.

Partnership Strategy:

• Support senior colleagues in identifying, evaluating and articulating partnership opportunities for internal 1PCS partners. Examples include support to help:
  • Find and evaluate new concepts, content providers, IP holders and other potential partnerships in the connected entertainment sector (games and entertainment).
  • Organize pitch meetings where external partners respond to requests for proposals from 1PCS or present original proposals to request funding and publishing support to develop and release new games.
  • Develop potential partner lists to help 1PCS stakeholders meet high-priority game development needs across all functions (engineering, art, production, etc.).
  • Support the due diligence process in collaboration with senior management, during which the 1PBD team will evaluate the production, design and market viability of a proposed product and the external partner’s ability to deliver on their proposal.
• Understand the gaming and entertainment industry, including technology and competitive trends, through research (reading industry research reports, attending internal/external conferences, gathering subject matter expert/mentor feedback, leveraging internal and third-party resources, talking directly with partners, etc.), apply that knowledge to understand how Microsoft is positioned within the industry, and leverage that knowledge to impact results. Consolidate information into reports to present/share insights with the team, and to inform senior management’s communication to the broader GPBD and 1PCS organizations.
• Additional internal partnership examples include cross-group collaboration with finance and marketing teams to help gather data and materials for project planning (such as P&L and forecast development), and the contract management and legal teams to draft, negotiate, approve and sign agreements.
• Gather data and information, and prepare reports for distribution to key stakeholders.

Negotiation:

• Support/Lead deal opportunities through the various deal stages (e.g., Strategic Approval, Approval to Negotiate, Final Go-no-go) contributing to materials and analyses for executive reviews, deal approval meetings, etc.
• Support/Lead the deal process by tracking deal issues, supporting operational tasks, and escalating as appropriate. Close opportunities using predefined program frameworks or templates, as applicable, and successfully negotiate deals supported by senior management, legal, and finance.

Deal Management/Governance:

• Assist with/Lead deal management and execution by identifying blocking issues and driving resolution, reviewing key contract terms with stakeholders, and communicating with and reporting to GPBD and 1PCS partners.
• Manage post-deal governance and execution plans by working with stakeholders and assessing progress against defined success metrics. Capture and report on issues.

Partner Management:

• Be business development support/primary point of contact for studios inside the 1PCS organization. Regularly meeting, managing, and tracking BD needs for the supported studios.
• Be business development support/primary point of contact for individual studios/ partners outside the 1PCS organization. Attend tradeshows to meet new and existing partners for 1PCS to consider. Provide a point of contact for external game development studios to access the resources supplied to the game development community by the broader Xbox organization.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in business, or related field, or equivalent alternative education, skills, and/or practical experience.
• 3+ years of experience in either in a business development role or a role that closely interacted with partner teams to help grow their business passion for, and knowledge of, all forms of interactive entertainment, including video game content on console, PC or mobile, and demonstrated industry knowledge with a global business perspective.
• Knowledge and understanding of the key companies in the video game developer community.
• Demonstrated ability to navigate in an environment with ambiguous direction, and involve management when guidance is needed.
• Experience collaborating across teams and building successful working relationships, as well as demonstrated ability to clearly communicate relatively complex or unfamiliar concepts to coworkers of various seniority levels. For example, admins through senior management.

Preferred Skills

• 3+ years of experience working directly with video game developers.
• 3+ years of experience in contract negotiation and the ability to understand the financial and production components of interactive software development deals.
• Have great “game taste” and the ability to articulate why certain games are successful and why some are not. Ability to use that knowledge to help inform internal stakeholders about what kind of gaming content may help create the greatest impact for Microsoft’s customers.
• Beyond “game taste”, the ability to develop and provide data driven support for your recommendations.

Salary Range

Business Development Manager - The typical base pay range for this position at the start of employment is expected to be between $70,000 - $150,000 per year.

ZeniMax has different base pay ranges for different work locations within the United States, which allows us to pay employees competitively and consistently in different geographic markets. The range above reflects the potential base pay across the U.S. for this role; the applicable base pay range will depend on what ultimately is determined to be the candidate’s primary work location. Individual base pay depends on various factors, in addition to primary work location, such as complexity and responsibility of role, job duties/requirements, and relevant experience and skills. Base pay ranges are reviewed and typically updated each year. Offers are made within the base pay range applicable at the time.

At ZeniMax certain roles are eligible for additional rewards, such as merit increases and discretionary bonuses. These awards are allocated based on individual performance and are not guaranteed. Benefits/perks listed here may vary depending on the nature of employment with ZeniMax and the country work location. U.S.-based employees have access to healthcare benefits, a 401(k) plan and company match, short-term and long-term disability coverage, basic life insurance, wellbeing benefits, paid vacation time, paid sick and mental health time, and several paid holidays, among others.

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