Director of Sourcing and Category Management

Overview:

Cloud Operations + Innovation (CO+I) is the engine that powers Microsoft’s core cloud platforms and services that millions of people use every day. With more than 95% of Fortune 500 business on Azure, 180 million using Office 365, and millions using other services – all running on Microsoft's cloud infrastructure – CO+I builds and operates the foundation upon which Microsoft’s mission to empower every person and organization comes to life.

The CO+I Supply Chain, Operations and Unified Technology (“SCOUT”) procurement team is responsible for establishing a flexible, efficient and reliable supply chain that can support a portfolio of complex datacenter operations. We are looking to fill a critical role of Director of Sourcing and Category Management focused primarily on maintenance and services for infrastructure equipment.

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. In alignment with our Microsoft values, we are committed to cultivating an inclusive work environment for all employees to positively impact our culture every day. 

Responsibilities

Responsibilities:

• You’ll establish and lead the development and execution of multi-year sourcing strategies for datacenter infrastructure equipment maintenance and services, optimizing value and ensuring continuity of services. You’ll also ensure sourcing strategies account for relevant global perspectives, and share thought leadership with internal teams and executive leadership.
• While leading the integration of business specifications and sourcing strategies into supplier selection processes for complex equipment maintenance and services, you’ll define a vision and strategy for process management to drive consistency and improvements. You’ll also lead cross-functional contract and pricing negotiations across purchasing categories.
• You’ll drive business impact by establishing functional standards and defining performance expectations and success metrics for a team procurement professionals, while leading partnerships with global stakeholders to identify systemic threats and mitigate risks. You’ll also provide strategic oversight for improving Service Level Agreement and deliverables.
• While managing price and procurement requests and complex pricing issues across purchasing categories, you’ll address unresolved escalations and drive process changes broadly across the organization. You’ll also provide guidance and clarification on contract execution and control processes.
•  You’ll lead pricing and negotiation strategies for equipment maintenance and service contracts, broadly fostering partnerships to negotiate decisions, driving consensus in goals, and sharing thought leadership to enable teams to negotiate successfully. You’ll also drive strategies for business engagements between sourcing teams and corporate leadership to determine supply strategy at scale, and direct supplier activity across the most complex and strategic accounts.

Qualifications

Qualifications:

•  Master's Degree in Engineering, Computer Science, Supply Chain, Data Analytics, Business, Finance or related field AND experience in Data Science/Analytics, Finance, Project Management, Supply Chain, and/or Operations
  • OR Bachelor's Degree in Engineering, Computer Science, Supply Chain, Data Analytics, Business, Finance or related field AND experience in Data Science/Analytics, Finance, Project Management, Supply Chain, and/or Operations
  • OR equivalent experience.
• Category Management experience in one or more key categories including Data Center Equipment, Mechanical & Electrical Equipment or IT Hardware
• Skilled project management experience plus exceptional communication and influencing skills 
• Experience with Global and regional planning and development.

While not required, we also look for the following Preferred Qualifications:

• Master's Degree in Engineering, Computer Science, Supply Chain, Data Analytics, Business, Finance or related field AND experience in Data Science/Analytics, Finance, Project Management, Supply Chain, and/or Operations
  • OR Bachelor's Degree in Engineering, Computer Science, Supply Chain, Data Analytics, Business, Finance
  • OR related field AND experience in Data Science/Analytics, Finance, Project Management, Supply Chain, and/or Operations
  • OR equivalent experience.
• Strong commercial understanding and experience developing contractual frameworks for relevant categories (General Contractors, Mechanical & Electrical Equipment, Construction Services, Operations Services).
• Knowledge of data center industry and experience managing a variety of project delivery methods - ability to lead a project team in defining risk and developing the appropriate contracting and compensation approach.
• Technical ability to write contracts, ability to set up sourcing plans and negotiation strategies and execute them.
• Excellent communicator that can interact with diverse groups across organizational levels.
• Familiarity with common process improvement methodologies (Lean, Six-Sigma, etc.) and ability to facilitate change management.
• Ability to implement new processes and get buy in from a cross functional team.

Background Check Requirements: 

Ability to meet Microsoft, customer and/or government security screening requirements are required for this role. These requirements include, but are not limited to the following specialized security screenings: 

• Microsoft Cloud Background Check: This position will be required to pass the Microsoft Cloud background check upon hire/transfer and every two years thereafter.

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Microsoft is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, ancestry, color, family or medical care leave, gender identity or expression, genetic information, marital status, medical condition, national origin, physical or mental disability, political affiliation, protected veteran status, race, religion, sex (including pregnancy), sexual orientation, or any other characteristic protected by applicable laws, regulations and ordinances. If you need assistance and/or a reasonable accommodation due to a disability during the application or the recruiting process, please send a request via the Accommodation request form.

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