Business Development & Strategy Manager

The Business Development team at Microsoft is responsible for accelerating the company’s growth through the identification and execution of inorganic growth strategies including complex strategic partners, investments, and acquisitions.

The role of the Partner Intelligence and Strategy team is to develop deep partner expertise and insights into our key partners’ businesses, understand the competitive landscape to inform and influence our product and partnerships strategy.

The Business Development & Strategy Manager role is an internal strategy role within Business Development and involves working closely with partner-facing business development teams along with product and strategy teams across the company.

Responsibilities

Research, Analysis, & Framing

• Develops and maintains an understanding of customers, competitors, partners, business models, market sizing, and industry trends; Develops an understanding of Microsoft’s product portfolio, strategic priorities, competitive position, gaps, and potential opportunities;
• Conducts market-based research by collecting and interpreting information (e.g., financial statements, reports, analyses, stakeholder feedback, expert calls) including researching existing business and identifying new spaces for Microsoft; conducts analyses (e.g., financial modeling) and leverages analyses of others to synthesize information.
• Creates initial framing for strategic questions with limited input and delivers structured output from analyses; assists less experienced colleagues with framing as needed.

Problem Solving & Insights

• Synthesizes findings into insights across projects, including implications that inform business decisions and proactively identify expansive ideas for company strategy, leverages insights to develop recommendations and seeks to provide thought leadership (e.g., trend identification, implications of competitor moves) around potential future growth opportunities and strategic issues for Microsoft. Creates frameworks and methodologies to drive problem solving and insights.

Partnership Strategy

• Utilizes process to support development and maintenance of pipeline. Prepares information for reporting to key stakeholders. Asks the manager for help in a timely manner.
• Works with stakeholders to support development of target customer/partner list to close high-priority gaps across technology, product, business, and/or geography.
• Research technology, industry, and competitive trends, and works internally to understand how Microsoft is positioned. Consolidates information into reports to present and share insights with their team.
• Supports colleagues in articulating partnership opportunities for Microsoft to drive business value propositions with assigned customers and partners.

Communication & Stakeholder Engagement

• Delivers project findings recommendations, and implications to senior executives to facilitate senior discussions and decision making.
• Collaborates with internal teams and business units to build relationships and build knowledge of internal resources. Builds working relationships within Microsoft and executive relationships (e.g., Directors). Identifies ad-hoc opportunities to share signal on Microsoft products and services to benefit internal stakeholders. Assesses opportunity for a partner to engage with Microsoft during investment diligence process.

Other

• Embody our culture and values

Qualifications

Required/Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor's Degree in Business, Liberal Arts, Sciences, or related field AND 3+ years relevant work experience (e.g., investment banking, consulting, finance, marketing, corporate strategy, sales, venture capital, legal, business development, product management, project management, software development, or related field)
  • OR equivalent experience.
• Experience in partnering with product and partnership leaders to identify, evaluate & prioritize growth generating opportunities (e.g. through data driven insights, trends analysis etc).
  

Additional Or Preferred Qualifications

• Bachelor's Degree in Business, Liberal Arts, Sciences, or related field AND 5+ years relevant work experience (e.g., investment banking, consulting, finance, marketing, corporate strategy, sales, venture capital, legal, business development, product management, project management, software development, or related field)
  • OR Master's/Advanced Degree in Business, Sciences, or related field AND 2+ years relevant work experience (e.g., investment banking, consulting, finance, marketing, corporate strategy, sales, venture capital, legal, business development, product management, project management, software development, or related field)
  • OR equivalent experience.
    

Business Development IC3 - The typical base pay range for this role across the U.S. is USD $85,100 - $169,800 per year. There is a different range applicable to specific work locations, within the San Francisco Bay area and New York City metropolitan area, and the base pay range for this role in those locations is USD $112,000 - $185,300 per year.

Certain roles may be eligible for benefits and other compensation. Find additional benefits and pay information here:

Microsoft will accept applications for the role until November 10, 2025.

#BD&V

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.