Business Manager, C - O US - 727488

Title: Business Strategy Manager

The US Sales and Marketing team is seeking a highly motivated individual to be the Business Strategy Manager for the US Sales and Marketing team within Microsoft Advertising. The Business Strategy Manager is responsible for helping define the team's strategy, program managing the complex/multi-organizational implementation plan, analyzing business performance and defining new processes for interaction and measurement across all of the teams within US Sales and Marketing.

The US Sales and Marketing team includes the following six teams: Field Sales, Specialist Sales, Account Services, Business Excellence and Monetization, and US Trade & Global Marketing. The individual in this role will report to the Director of Strategy and will work directly with the US Sales and Marketing Leadership team to:
-Partner and Lead synergistic strategy development to increase advertiser and publisher share, satisfaction, growth and retention
-Conduct broad business planning and comprehensive analysis on all facets of the US Sales and Marketing team
-Work closely with executive leaders across all Consumer & Online and Online Services Group teams to evangelize and drive buy-in on new, strategic efforts
-Orchestrate and drive business strategy, planning, execution and results across all of US Sales and Marketing
-Work closely with the Business Management team in US Sales and Marketing (who ensures that strategic initiatives are executed/implemented) are tracked accordingly and provide recommendation to continually improve business performance and profitability.

The successful candidate for this position understands the strategies and tactics necessary to accurately identify customer needs, leverage marketing and operational data to meet & exceed those needs and drive continuous improvement efforts that lead to new levels of customer loyalty, internal efficiency, and profitability across US Sales and Marketing.

The position requires proven analytical skills to help define and support sales strategies, the ability to influence others, experience managing through a tough economic environment, successful execution of change management initiatives, exceptional collaboration and a keen understanding of how to drive results within the US Sales and Marketing team. The successful candidate shows keen insight in setting strategy, experience coordinating focused business planning efforts and building compelling business cases for change.

We are looking for a self-starter who can work in a rapidly changing industry, tolerate ambiguity and demonstrate problem-solving leadership with limited oversight. You, in partnership with the Director of Strategy and the VP of US Sales and Marketing will be responsible for prioritizing, setting, defining, managing, and measuring all strategic initiatives for the team. You will be joining a team that is focused on results, works together to solve problems, and is committed to developing people. This role will report directly to the Director of Strategy for Microsoft Advertising and works directly with the senior leadership team.

Key Responsibilities/ Accountabilities
-Business Tracking, Performance Analysis and Modeling: Drive revenue analysis, identifying key business metrics and levers, and track progress against them by working with business management, finance and field teams. Provide recommendations to continuously improve operations to achieve revenue and profitability objectives. Own and drive RoB, monthl/quarterly business reviews, scorecard and updates including: analysis, reporting, content, and communications.
-Strategic Development: Supports strategic planning efforts, lead the execution of these planning initiatives and ensure successful cascade of deliverables to the field to establish cohesive long-range plans to deliver the top US Sales and Marketing strategies. This includes future state definition, consensus building across senior leaders, initiative roadmaps, success metrics and change management plans.
-Planning Process and Communication: Manage the Microsoft planning process and calendar for the US Sales and Marketing team ensuring coordination and alignment with C&O and corporate planning. This includes LRP, PRISM, WWSMM, BPR, commitment setting, Mid-Year Review (MYR), biannual leadership off-sites and VP travel/tours.
-Change Management: Provides change management leadership throughout the entire organization for C&O V2 and beyond. Provide project management leadership to attain end objective while seamlessly executing by engaging with multiple key stakeholders.
-World Class Sales and Service: Help define qualities of world class sales and service delivery and develop strategic and operational plans for accomplishing bold improvements across the business. Also work in conjunction with senior sales leadership team to execute an end-to-end customer strategy leveraging current strengths within the business while addressing haps and opportunities.
-Cost and Efficiency Gain: Understand competitive cost structures and conducts comparative industry analysis. Guides emerging projects aimed at increasing sales efficiency, reducing overall cost without negatively impacting the customer experience.

Qualifications:
The ideal candidate is someone who is:
- Open, confident communicator effective in senior levels of engagement
- Strong analytical skills and program management
- Experience leading major change initiatives in complex organizational structures
- Experience managing through a down economy or tough economic situation
- Proven track record of organizational agility and credibility
- A strong influencer across teams and organizations
- Digital media experience preferred
- Driven success in a fast paced environment
- Balance of technical and business acumen
- Experience designing and implementing operational performance and quality assessment programs
- High personal accountability for self and others
- Demonstrated track record of exceeding established goals on a consistent basis
- Strong spreadsheet competency with Excel required and skilled in other MS desktop apps, including Word, PowerPoint
- 7+ years relevant experience:
- Strategy development
- Business management
- Leading operational process improvement
- Customer loyalty and operational excellence experience

Core Competencies:

Functional knowledge (Level 3)
Executive Maturity (Level 2)
Holding Others Accountable (Level 2)
Impact and Influence (Level 2)
Interpersonal Awareness (Level 2)
Market Analysis and Opportunity Identification (Level 2)
Project Management (Level 3)
Strategic Insight (Level 3)
Cross-Group Collaboration (Level 3)
Communication Skills (Level 3)
Customer Focus Innovation (Level 2)
Drive for Results (Level 2)
Analytical Problem Solving (Level 3)
Managing Systems & Processes (Level 2)
Decision Making (Level 2)
Dealing with Ambiguity (Level 2)
Business and Strategy Leadership (Level 2)
Confidence (Level 2)

Education and Experience:
- A university/college degree-Required
- MBA - Preferred
- 10+ years relevant experience
- Business analysis, planning and management
- Online industry experience-a plus
- Marketing experience-preferred
- 5+ yrs management experience