The Solution Sales Leader for Data and Artificial Intelligence (AI) is for the South Operating Unit (OU) to help lead with energy, oil/gas customers and is responsible for leading our customers on their AI Transformation journey    

In this Sales Leadership position you will be responsible for both billed revenue and consumption with new and existing customers, identifying market and customer needs, and collaborating with internal teams to devise solutions to meet those needs.  

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. 

The Data and AI team acts as trusted advisors and subject matter experts with core capability and expertise in Data Modernization, Analytics and AI. We work with customers to leverage data to help them achieve their business priorities and help guide customers’ journey through Analytics-led Azure Data transformation. We also support customers in evaluating their applications and business requirements, recommend solutions that meet their requirements, and demonstrate these solutions to win the technical decision. 

The Azure Data & AI Sales Manager is a senior leader within our enterprise sales organization and you will be responsible for leading, developing and managing of Solution Specialsits to identify, drive solutioning and win over the decision makers in the Business and IT department of our Enterprise Customers leveraging Microsoft Data & AI solutions. You and your team will drive transformation for the customer that helps them achieve Business value with the Microsoft Platform, and thereby secure long-term sustainable growth for Microsoft. As a Data and AI Sales Manager, you will be a key leader to helping customers embrace and succeed through digital transformation.  

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

Sales Execution:  

• Orchestrates with team members to generate new leads. Guides team members on conducting personal campaigns to discover new opportunities. Leads conversations with strategic/high-potential customers (e.g., high budget, global account, highly competitive) along with account teams or partners. Facilitates the account team unit (ATU) and/or Specialist Team Unit (STU) to build pipeline. Acts as a subject matter expert to guide others on social selling or speak about Microsoft solutions at events. Applies Microsoft's sales process (MSP) to determine the quality of the opportunity and whether to proceed and educate the customers on how to best address their needs.  

• Drives consumption and grow business with existing strategic customers by initiating conversations, guiding others on demos or quotes, and the collaboration with partners or internal teams (e.g., Technical Sales Professionals, Global Black Belts). For licensing transactions and project engagements, ensures rapid and robust deployment plan at point of sale that is validated by services and partners. Drives advanced workloads and usage.  

• Assesses and challenges the needs of strategic/high-potential customers. Articulates vision and long-term implications for customer to accelerate digital transformation. Collaborates with internal teams, partners, and services to lead the proposal or development of solutions that align with customer and Microsoft priorities. Anticipates market trends and leverages broad technical community knowledge to drive new solutions.  

• Develops strategies for driving and closing strategic, complex, and/or high value and/or prioritized opportunities. Collaborates with account teams to ensure alignment with the account strategy and plan. Leads complex/high-value deal planning with the deal teams across Microsoft and the Enterprise Operating Unit (EOU). Coaches others on the implementation of close plans (e.g., how to map timeline, engage the customer, get customer buy-in and commitment) to de-risk and drive predictable deal closure.  

People Management:

You will deliver success through empowerment and accountability by modeling, coaching, and caring as well as develop, lead and coach a diverse and high performing technology specialists’ team that helps customers make sound technical decisions and maximize the adoption and value of Microsoft solutions. 

Scale Customer Engagements:

You will enable and empower team to influence customer decisions and ensure wins by streamlining processes and managing the flow of wins, leveraging deep knowledge of processes, aligning goals across solution areas and facilitates cross-selling with various workloads (e.g., AI, Apps, Data & Analytics and Infrastructure).  Your practical experience will increase deal velocity by assessing the progress of engagements at every stage, and by orchestrating your Team, other Microsoft resources and Partners on digital transformation deals. 

Scale Through Partners:

You will maximize area-level capacity and capabilities of scaling through partners by coaching the team to grow partner network, identifying gaps and promoting Microsoft within the Microsoft ecosystem (e.g., account teams). You will raise escalations or alleviate blockers through collaboration with manager-level counterparts in cross-functional groups.  

Build Strategy:

You will build compete strategy, coach, and provide support to internal teams and work with local marketing teams to shape corporate domain messages.  

Education:

You will enable and empower the team to develop technical expertise and act as a technical thought leader by sharing best practices. 

Build a learning culture in your team to build deep skills in AI, Data & Analytics technologies, architectural knowledge of the Microsoft Cloud and in the Microsoft enterprise story. 

Qualifications

Required Qualifications:

• 7+ years technology-related sales or account management experience
  • OR Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, Business Administration, or related field AND 6+ years technology-related sales or account management experience.

Additional / Preferred Qualifications:

• 9+ years technology-related sales or account management experience
  • OR Bachelor's Degree in Information Technology, or related field AND 8+ years technology-related sales or account management experience
  • OR Master's Degree in Business Administration (i.e., MBA), Information Technology, or related field AND 5+ years technology-related sales or account management experience.
• 6+ years solution or services sales experience.
• 3+ years people management experience.
• 5+ years experience with cloud and hybrid, or on premises infrastructures, architecture designs, migrations, industry standards, and/or technology management 
• 3+ years people management experience (including leading virtual teams) 

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.  We also consider qualified applicants regardless of criminal histories, consistent with legal requirements. 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.

Benefits/perks listed below may vary depending on the nature of your employment with Microsoft and the country where you work.