At Microsoft, our mission is to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more. In Consumer Channel Sales & Marketing (CCSM) our purpose is to create value with our partners, to market and sell innovative consumer solutions powered by Windows, Office, Surface, and Xbox. We’re positioned right at the intersection of customers, hardware partners, and channel partners. Our team works with ecosystem partners and

internal business groups to drive digital excellence and e-commerce capability, as well as accelerate cloud and subscription adoption. Together, we win by delivering compelling at-home and on-the-go experiences combining intelligent edge devices and services that create Microsoft fans for life.

As a member of our team, you’ll be part of growing a multi-billion-dollar business, charting new areas of innovation, and impacting billions of lives around the world. You also will be a part of a culture centered on embracing a growth mindset, a theme of inspiring excellence, and encouraging teams and leaders to bring their best each day. If that appeals to you, it’s an exciting time to be here in CCSM.

We are seeking a Marketing Planning Lead to drive a strong partner marketing framework and modern marketing mix that maximizes our thru-partner campaigns and investments, delivering best-in-class marketing and ROI. The Marketing Planning Lead has the responsibility of acting as the trusted advisor for our partners, improving partner capability, sharing best practices and enabling innovation with tools & new solutions. In this role, you’ll be the voice of the partner, responsible for planning and executing compelling seasonal and One Microsoft marketing campaigns online, in-store and more in order to drive brand advocacy and sell-through. With focus on driving digital excellence and omnichannel innovation across our partners, you’ll look to maximize our Consumer Marketing vehicles which include digital sales motions, in-store physical environments like our shop-in-shop programs, our partner readiness teams who evangelize our products with consumers and retail sellers, and driving our local thru-partner campaigns efforts to support product launches and key seasonal beats.

Working with a cross-functional Marketing Council, you’ll be responsible for overall spend management, evaluating campaign spends and marketing effectiveness. You will act as the central point of contact to drive campaign tools & processes, partner creative workshops and develop the overarching campaign calendar. With a cross-partner view, you’ll help our channel marketing teams drive partner capability assessments which then will drive specific partner recommendations and transformation initiatives. You’re an omnichannel expert, adept at inspiring partners to accelerate their digital transformation and adopt, experiment and innovate with us. You’ll drive impact by leveraging data and insights in order to create more targeted partner experiences and maximize ROI. By joining the Channel & Partner Marketing team, you’ll collaborate closely with Category, Sales and our Integrated Marketing Operations teams locally to drive full-funnel marketing for an exciting ecosystem that continues to grow. As part of a [larger] regional team, you’ll have the opportunity to share learnings and best practices with other markets as well as leverage the regional infrastructure for support and shared platforms. You’ll act as the central point for our marketing operations functions, working across teams to drive workflow efficiencies, optimize tools/platforms and simplify decision making. You will possess the creativity to lead the evolution of our strategy as well as the skills to create and sustain brand consistency and operational excellence. Working in a matrixed and global environment, you can influence and manage across functions, partners and teams to drive growth & transformation. You will also be someone who is passionate about inclusivity, supporting diverse teams and inspired by collaborating with high performing sales, category, and marketing teams.

Responsibilities

Key areas of responsibility:

Lead and execute full-funnel marketing plans across consumer channels to drive profitable sell-through and build brand advocacy.

Strategic Business Planning

o Create full-funnel seasonal marketing plans based off of partner capabilities and opportunities

o Leverage multiple funding models in order to build compelling through-partner campaigns & programs

o Work across a Regional Marketing council to develop and deliver co-marketing and through-partner campaigns that align to global creative

o Identify and create cross-line of business campaign opportunities & concepts

o Develop a modern marketing mix that focuses on omnichannel innovation and maximizing ROI for our thru-partner investments

Land Compelling Through-partner Campaigns:

o Amplify product launch moments leveraging key partner touchpoints, media and marketing vehicles o Activate our Consumer Marketing vehicles as part of integrated partner marketing campaigns, leveraging our Connected Storefront initiatives and digital sales motions, partner activation teams and physical store environments o Differentiate Microsoft from the competition buy building locally relevant campaigns that stand out in the marketplace o Localize global campaigns & creative to regional nuances and partner requirements ·

Partner Centricity & Relationship-building:

o Drive marketing capability assessments, understanding strengths and opportunities to help target & refine campaigns

o Act as a trusted advisor and thought leader to the retailer/partner building credibility and impact and influence to help land key priorities.

o Collaborate and drive co-marketing campaigns that involve our ingredient partners and hardware/device partners.

o Work across category, sales & marketing operations teams to maximize investments and synergy across tactics. o Role model a culture of integrity and compliance, where trust and transparency are core to all decisions

Execution Excellence:

o Manage thru-partner spend & investment strategies, evaluating campaign effectives and full-funnel impact

o Deliver against timelines, budgets, and scorecards while also capitalizing on innovation opportunities.

o Act as point of contact for Marketing Operations, partnering with worldwide teams on optimizing processes, tools & workflow

o Ensure brand consistency and deep understanding of the customer, competitive and marketing landscape. o Proficient across Microsoft programs, platforms and tools.

Actionable Analytics and Insights:

o Analyze campaign performance results against execution activities to identify causals, opportunities and action plans.

o Drive targeted consumer & retail research initiatives

o Curate partner trends, best practices and other internal studies that help inform partner marketing strategy o Incorporate key insights from accounts to drive informed marketing action plans.

o Create a culture of learning, encouraging tests and trials that constantly move our marketing execution forwar

Qualifications

An innovation-driven mind in continuous search for new ways to get consumers engaged and execute disruptive world-class communication projects. 

Someone curious to leverage testing capabilities and vast data sources to craft powerful strategies and creative platforms.

• Experience in agency/brand relationships building, capable of shaping productive long-term relations with external partners by providing continuous feedback.

• Highly skilled modern consumer marketeer with ability to deeply engage audience targets.

• Proven ability to generate consumer demand and drive monthly active usage across platforms.

• Proven ability to land integrated consumer marketing campaigns across functions/disciplines with a strong digital focus.

• High Digital Marketing IQ: SEO/SEM, social media, Programmatic Ads, Retargeting/Remarketing.

• Ability to set clear and challenging goals for a portfolio of work and pursues them with enthusiasm and passion.

• Excellent communication and presentation skills and capacity for storytelling.

• Leverage analytical skills and business acumen to review and manage budgets, market data, and deal opportunities.

• An entrepreneurial spirit, passionate about building businesses, and thrives within a fast-paced environment.

• A character that exemplifies Microsoft values of respect, integrity, accountability and fostering a diverse and inclusive work environment.