ISV Partner Development Manager in Milan, Italy

The Global Partner Solutions (GPS) team is a sales organization accountable for the commercial partner business at Microsoft, and the mission is to build and sell Microsoft Cloud applications, services and devices with partners, empowering people, and organizations to achieve more.

The Independent Software Vendors (ISV) team is one of the segment within GPS organization focused on partners that build and sell their own developed software solutions on Microsoft Cloud platform.

As a Partner Development Manager, we are looking for you to bring your work ethic, enthusiasm, optimism, and passion to foster growth and change within our partner ecosystem. You will leverage your challenger mindset, sales management skills, technology, and industry knowledge, and best in class interpersonal abilities to enable our partners to bring market-defining solutions to our customers. This opportunity will allow you to hone your leadership skills, accelerate your career growth as you work with highly complex partner organizations, build strong relationships in the C-Suite and collaborate across multiple stakeholders to accelerate performance and resolve complex issues.

Microsoft’s mission is to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more. As employees we come together with a growth mindset, innovate to empower others, and collaborate to realize our shared goals. Each day we build on our values of respect, integrity, and accountability to create a culture of inclusion where everyone can thrive at work and beyond.

Responsibilities

Microsoft Business Leader

• Uses Challenger mindset to build, maintain, and own a trusted-advisor relationship with C-suite leaders of complex ISV partners to achieve strategic alignment and drive growth. Understands and aligns partners’ priorities, strategies, and goals with Microsoft’s to build mutually beneficial account plans. Executes and drives action through regular partner reviews and quarterly business reviews (e.g., MBRs, QBRs) to track plan execution, identify gaps and agree on any correction of errors. Builds, maintains, and owns trusted advisor relationships with partner through an advanced understanding of their local strategy and business imperatives. Identifies and clearly articulates current and future business opportunities and ways to pursue them.​ Influences and plays an active role across a complex stakeholder map.

• Develops and executes strategic partner business plans directly aligned with field goals and objectives for all managed partners that grow partner business and promote cloud consumption and digital transformation. Develops plans that fully consider short- and long-term goals and performance expectations that are aligned with partner’s needs and capabilities. Shares expert knowledge with partners, to create strategies with line of business executives that challenge the partners to consider new or different ways to grow businesses. Champions Microsoft as a valued partner by aligning vision for tech and services with future opportunities to transform how we compete. Drives a strategic, effective, and actionable World-class Account Plan to land Global Partner Solutions (GPS) priorities.​ Establishes and maintains partner Rhythm of Business (RoB) across all levels and takes share as appropriate. Brings deep subject matter expertise to enrich designs and plans.

• Evaluates managed partner portfolio to identify patterns, opportunities, and gaps in partner accounts. Proposes existing products and solutions or recommends new solutions in which partners can jointly invest to fill gaps. Aligns partner needs and interests with market opportunities. Applies working knowledge to build and maintain Quarterly Execution Plans focused on Core & New to build a healthy portfolio of solutions offerings.

• Leads the creation of a long-range strategic vision rooted to the Partners impact and potential across segments, and serves larger and more complex partners. Demonstrates a deeper and expert understanding of the industry and Partners business and how it can be integrated into the Microsoft landscape and conveys the value of partnering with Microsoft based on the business opportunity and possible competition. Responsible for establishing new market partnerships by working with market makers and making connections to think long-term, and establishes long-term strategic vision and the art of the possible for the partnership, leading opportunities for deeper commitments. Sells account vision to senior business decision makers at highly sought-after partners by aligning and reinforcing overall Microsoft value proposition and value propositions of products, channels, or solutions to the partner’s business goals. Leads Executive roundtables and updates on Microsoft’s cloud and Industry strategies with prep sessions and prepares solid backgrounders for Executives. Develops and maintains deep end-to-end knowledge of products, channels, end customers, and industry and market trends to share with partner(s).​ Upholds Microsoft policies, procedures, and/or legal compliance standards. Delivers and influences long-term partnership horizons. Drives deep ownership of the multiple facets of a partnership. Works to coach the ecosystem to help direct partners’ commercial and marketing business plans, and aligns partner with current industry trends.

Partner Sales and Consumption

• Coaches and challenges partners to transform their plans and strategies around consumption and key targets. Leads reviews of Partner’s pipeline, top deals, and consumption targets. Shapes the thinking of partners on top deals and ensure close alignment between the partners sales team, channel managers, and other relevant teams. Works with partners sales leaders on how to overcome obstacles, compete, create deal proposals, etc. Leads the development of partnerships with Global Partner Solutions (GPS) to gain support for strategic transformational initiatives to drive incremental cloud growth. Leads efforts to collaborate across the Microsoft sales teams to manage pipeline and drive large opportunities/deals. Leads the guiding of partners through Digital transformation by building Digital capabilities with a Challenger mindset: sharing ideas, perspectives, and building a trusted advisory relationship. Leads effort to drive partner integration of the common sales and delivery methodology for Microsoft for customer opportunities, accelerate pipeline by removing blockers, and drive key sales motions, programs, and incentives with their partner. Leads efforts to identify new opportunities with partner, document in MSX, connect Microsoft and partner sellers, and help move through sales stages. Demonstrates precise pipeline ownership, translating into advanced deal control and forecasting.

• Develops go-to-market and co-selling strategies with complex partners that outline activities and expectations to drive Microsoft and partner sales goals. Prioritizes and allocates incentives and go-to-market resources across accounts. Helps partners understand what a consumption-led business is and how it operates, coaches partners around consumption economics (e.g., leverages reports, analyses, etc.). Demonstrates advanced pipeline management, broad seller mobilization, and strong leadership sponsorship. Prioritizes co-selling and customer transactions through Marketplace.

• Leads campaigns with various functional areas and the partners marketing teams. Designs and creates new offer and incentive structures to the partners and provides perspective when others are drafting Go-to-Market packages. Oversees planning, campaign tactics, offers, and incentives. Ensures core activities are agreed upon before executing and helps to coordinate resources. Ensures sales targets are clear and that actions and accountabilities are being routinely followed up. Provides oversight to ensure Launch Excellence with sales readiness, and GTM activities. Critically analyzes current investment structures and incentives in order to identify and recommend improvements. Ensures partner readiness by developing marketing plans to promote customer sales (e.g., campaigns, incentives, and promotions). Secures marketing resources (e.g., go-to-market offers) to support partners with developing marketing plans. Develops plans to work on deals to gain commercial and consumer share. Helps ensure Launch Excellence by developing plans to promote Partner sales readiness and go-to-market activities. Demonstrates a comprehensive understanding of GTM programs and runs complex campaigns, and actively coaches team. Identifies new sources of GTM funding. Identifies strategies to build and launch integrated industry specific offerings on Marketplace with partners.

Partner Performance and Impact

• Ensures results on partner’s behalf through resolution of complex and urgent escalations. Leads the orchestration of response to the partner to ensure timely action and resolution from internal teams. Executes a rhythm of business (RoB) for regular partner reviews and quarterly business reviews (e.g., MBRs, QBRs) to track plan execution, identify gaps and agree on any correction of errors in alignment with appropriate stakeholders. Advocates to and guides other groups in prioritizing partners’ solutions and issues. Champions internal processes that benefit partners and brings insights into the organization around what the partner experience looks like. Advocates for the development of relationships with Channel Sales counterparts (PDM, PTS, PMA-MW) in support of Microsoft solutions through partner GTM.​ ​Advocates for partner(s) internally at the local level by connecting partner(s) to Microsoft executives to facilitate local reviews for opportunity pipelines and transformational projects.​ Actively seeks opportunities to demonstrate the value of the partner to other organizations within Microsoft.

• Ensures partners are investing in the building of world class teams that are staffed with talent and enabled and incentivized to drive sales. Leads with Intelligent Edge/Intelligent Cloud to create strategic alignment through strong storytelling with local partner executives to gain commitment to build their selling/technical skill sets and incentivizes for their customers.​ Leverages other organizations within Microsoft to provide better solutions and faster sales cycles for partners. Acts as a trusted advisor to CRO in Cloud sales transformation (e.g., readiness, compensation, territories).

Other

• Embody our culture and values

Qualifications

Required/Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing, Business Operations, Computer Science or a related field AND extensive experience in partner management, sales, business development, or partner channel development in the technology industry or related experience OR equivalent experience.

Additional or Preferred Qualifications

• Master’s Degree in Business Administration, Business Science, or an advanced degree in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) or a related field AND extensive experience in partner management, sales, business development, or partner channel development in the technology industry or related experience OR equivalent experience.

Microsoft is an equal opportunity employer. Consistent with applicable law, all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, ancestry, citizenship, color, family or medical care leave, gender identity or expression, genetic information, immigration status, marital status, medical condition, national origin, physical or mental disability, political affiliation, protected veteran or military status, race, ethnicity, religion, sex (including pregnancy), sexual orientation, or any other characteristic protected by applicable local laws, regulations and ordinances. If you need assistance and/or a reasonable accommodation due to a disability during the application process, read more about requesting accommodations (https://careers.microsoft.com/v2/global/en/accessibility.html) .