Understanding Customer/Partner Environment

• Framing: works with customer/partner stakeholders (e.g., Procurement managers, CPOs, Procurement Function Solution Architects, Procurement IT Development Team, Procurement Operations Team) and business sponsors to define the problem statement, solution space.
• Proposals: develops and tests both the business solution and the project approach including envisioning workshops to test Microsoft existing solutions or components and determine the integrated business solution. Share this feedback with the project team and the broader customer account team to make the necessary adjustments to the solution approach and projected costs in pre-sales and change requests in delivery. Contributes to Microsoft-centric operations and cadences to align with customer feedback.
• Agreement: collaborates with the Account Team and/or Bid Team to understand the business solution/problem. Drives agreement, based on the customer’s priorities, requirements / constraints, approach, principles, concepts, and expectations. Builds and documents a realistically costed, advanced/complex Solution Approach with traceability of requirements, constraints, decisions, and tradeoffs that balances risk, technical credibility, and technical innovation to meet customer need, predominantly based on existing solution offerings and/or reference architecture.
• Intervention: uses evidence-based arguments that articulate complex concepts in a simple manner to respectfully challenge Microsoft and customers/partners when a decision or course of action will not produce optimal results. Leverages procurement depth and strategic expertise to encourage alternative approaches where applicable. Serves as the "business conscience" to challenge the status quo and unrealistic expectations. Proactively resolves conflicts and seeks resolution to balance the overall outcome. Drives consensus where possible and leads decisions to resolve conflict when needed.

Solution Design and Deployment

• Customer translation: translates business requirements into solutions requirements and facilitates effective communication between the customers’ business and procurement team, and Microsoft’s engineering teams. Combines practical business acumen with experience of use of machine learning models, advanced analytics, automation in Procurement function. Works with the customer to understand procurement aspects of models being developed, before passing requirements in format and language understandable to data scientists or engineering teams who may have no prior experience with procurement
• Architecture and design: defines and documents the business architecture through a business architecture description document, an architecture decisions log, and a requirements / constraints traceability matrix to communicate the value proposition of the business solution along with the project approach. Supports complex cost-based and technology-based discussions to explain the Architecture in terms of its build, deployment, and ongoing operational use to determine customer appetite for the business solution. Maintains the requirements/constraints traceability matrix to prove that solution components have a rationale/justification for inclusion in the architecture of the business solution. Drives development and execution of test plans to prove that each requirement/constraint has been implemented as expected by the customer. Uses a business-value approach that values return on investment (ROI) and customer costs-savings over technical ease of execution.
• Delivery: collaborates with the Project Manager to jointly drive project/technical governance of the design, build, and deployment into use of proof of concepts (POCs), Minimum Viable Products (MVPs) and pilots, using enterprise architecture processes and ensuring quality control through peer review. Works with customers to understand and demonstrate business value (e.g., release of revenue, cost savings) that the business solution realizes. Uses a cohesive build methodology with an agreed release schedule and timeline so the solution can be transitioned to live operations, leveraging solution expertise. Ensures communication of and adherence to the pre-sales value proposition. Works with the Project Manager to highlight where assumptions have proven false. Uses change requests to modify the Solution/project approach when needed. As needed, collaborates with subject matter experts to receive specialized advice that can help define the Solution and project approach and increase the time to value for the customer.
• Risk management: works in close collaboration with the Project Manager and Account Team to identify, categorize, and communicate business, non-technical and technical risks that could slow or impede pre-sales/delivery. Defines risk mitigation activities that are foundational to the project plan. Defines risk contingency plans for invocation should the risk occur. Reports significant problems to Microsoft management and resolves escalations when needed. Plans a way forward in complex and ambiguous situations with an innovative approach and durable design. Delegates and leverages specialist skills of others to drive technical alignment across internal/external teams. Coordinates disparate approaches into a single plan of action for complex scenarios.        

Thought Leadership and Practice Development

• Feedback: uses evidence-based approach to represent the customer/partner as a customer advocate and share insights with Product Engineering teams and the business with a view to improving Microsoft technologies, products, services and offerings such that they can better meet customer/partner needs across a territory.
• Internal network: leads virtual teams around technologies and customer/partner challenges by sharing ideas, insight, and strategic, technical input with technical teams, internal communities across the field, and the larger virtual team across Microsoft using knowledge of Microsoft architectures and their context in the competitive landscape.
• IP creation: generates new and/or improvements to existing Microsoft intellectual property. Connects gaps and patterns across business and technology areas to drive changes. Identifies which ideas should be culled, with consideration for scale across customers. Drives the re-use of intellectual property and recommends practices in both pre-sales and delivery.  
• External network: develops a network of internal/external relationships with senior-level procurement thought leaders and decision makers to build influence in addressing problems/blockers and facilitating additional views on the matter of interest. Acts as an advisor to external stakeholders. Stays up to date on Microsoft’s technologies, products, and services in order to communicate Microsoft's mission, strategy, and capabilities. Participates in external procurement digital community events (e.g., conferences, seminars, technical meetups, Webcasts, blogs, hackathons) and shares learnings with internal team. Demonstrates deep functional procurement knowledge and drives recognition for Microsoft solutions through presentations and engagements with external audiences.
• Competitive differentiation: leads the adoption of Microsoft solutions technologies based on understanding of competitor solutions and how customer business value can be driven through Microsoft's offerings. Differentiates Microsoft's solutions in customer/partner conversations to influence the industry-wide direction for specific architecture(s).

Qualifications

Minimum required Qualifications

• Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, Engineering, or related field AND 6+ years experience in technology solutions, practice development, architecture, consulting, and/or technology domain
  • OR Master's Degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, Engineering, or related field AND 4+ years experience in technology solutions, practice development, architecture, consulting, and/or technology domain
  • OR equivalent experience
• 8+ years of procurement delivery experience and / or procurement consulting experience and / or experience in internal procurement excellence

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience in several stages of procurement roles (pre-award, post-award) and a wide range of categories (direct, indirect, …)
• Understanding and experience in procurement process analysis and optimization, functional solution architecture, and technology domain related to procurement function (e.g. Enterprise Performance Management solutions, process mining solutions, Robotic Process Automation solutions, machine-learning based finance solutions)
• Practice development and business development experience
• CIPS, ISM or other procurement qualifications