Account Executive

Microsoft•Washington, DC

52d

About The Position

Join Microsoft’s US Public Sector Industries DIB Team—where mission meets innovation. The Defense Industrial Base (DIB) Operating Unit (OU) is a newly formed team with a bold mission: to consolidate, simplify, and accelerate Microsoft’s presence across the DIB landscape. This expansive network includes over 100,000 organizations specializing in manufacturing, aviation, cybersecurity, and more—all united in their support of all Federal Agencies, including the U.S. Department of Defense and other mission-based intelligence and civilian organizations. Our team is dedicated to empowering these commercial contractors throughout their digital transformation journey—from envisioning new possibilities to delivering secure, scalable solutions that drive mission outcomes, elevate customer experience, and fuel Microsoft’s growth. The DIB OU will directly manage and accelerate strategic and major DIB accounts across Microsoft Customer and Partner Solutions (MCAPS) Americas, while also enabling growth across other OUs. We’re building new relationships, transforming legacy operations, and helping our customers modernize with confidence. The DIB OU is currently looking for a passionate Account Executive with industry knowledge and Microsoft solution understanding to drive and orchestrate deals across multiple stakeholder groups, including partners. The Account Executive proactively cultivates relationships with customers and uses Microsoft sales strategies to establish alignment and secure buy in and execution. Proactively develops a comprehensive understanding of customer's needs and strategies, priorities, and industry direction. Leads digital transformation to drive business outcomes and create business value for customers. Develops and oversees the execution of account plans to ensure engagements yield high volume sales for both Microsoft and the customer. Thinks strategically about account planning, setting standards and priorities, outlining where to and how to invest resources. Oversees a complex accounts and leads planning and prioritization efforts to ensure appropriate responses to account needs. Engages with key internal partners to promote long-term, mutually-beneficial digital transformation strategies. Leverages key executive relationships to build trust with the customer organization. Leverages best-in-class sales and communication techniques to lead extended virtual teams and key stakeholders with deep industry expertise. Translates features into business impact and outcomes that accelerate the customer's digital presence. Develops compelling, value-proposition presentations and specialized business plans for customers that drive business outcomes. Develops and implements plans for maximizing upselling/cross-selling opportunities in certain accounts. Proactively coordinates with network of industry experts to build strong knowledge of the industry and the competitive landscape. By applying to this position, you are being considered for multiple like career stages within our organization. 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.

Requirements

Master's Degree in Business Administration AND 2+ years experience working in an industry (e.g., financial services, retail, manufacturing, healthcare, energy, government, education) and/or driving digital transformation OR Bachelor's Degree in Business, Technology, or related field AND 3+ years experience working in a relevant industry (e.g., financial services, retail, manufacturing, healthcare, energy, government, education) and/or driving digital transformation OR equivalent experience.
Citizenship & Citizenship Verification: This position requires verification of U.S citizenship due to citizenship-based legal restrictions. Specifically, this position supports United States federal, state, and/or local United States government agency customers and is subject to certain citizenship-based restrictions where required or permitted by applicable law. To meet this legal requirement, citizenship will be verified via a valid passport.
Citizenship & Citizenship Verification: This role will require access to information that is controlled for export under U.S. export control regulations, potentially under the International Traffic in Arms Regulations or the Export Administration Regulations. As a condition of employment, the successful candidate will be required to provide proof of citizenship, for assessment of eligibility to access the export-controlled information. To meet this legal requirement, citizenship will be verified via a valid passport.

Nice To Haves

Master's Degree in Business Administration AND 6+ years experience working in an industry (e.g., financial services, retail, manufacturing, healthcare, energy, government, education), driving digital transformation, or other relevant work experience (e.g., consulting, technology) OR Bachelor's Degree in Business, Technology, or related field AND 8+ years experience working in an industry (e.g., financial services, retail, manufacturing, healthcare, energy, government, education), driving digital transformation, or other relevant work experience (e.g., consulting, technology) OR equivalent experience.
3+ years account management experience OR equivalent.

Responsibilities

Develops and oversees the execution of account plans utilizing common sales and delivery methodology for the Microsoft sales organization for multiple accounts and works to ensure engagements yield high volume sales for both Microsoft and the customer that are on track with goals, outcomes, and forecasts.
Leads multiple, diverse, and high-performing teams and coordinates with internal industry experts on account planning and execution for various accounts.
Coordinates with industry experts to identify new business opportunities and drive account growth.
Leads extended team and embraces partners to scale business by understanding partner goals and creating an interest in mutual business growth, and deep understanding of plan to ensures achievement of revenue and consumption targets and drives integrated joint account governance through customer plan on regular frequency to achieve customer outcomes.
Identifies initial stakeholders, customer needs, and customer priorities.
Proposes initial Solutions/Sales Plays.
Leverages strong sales acumen to set action items and approach to drive big bets and drive new business opportunities based on customer strategy and priorities.
Thinks strategically about customer planning for assigned accounts, setting standards and priorities, outlining where to and how to invest resources of the account management team and other stakeholders, engaging internal and external decision makers on long-term business planning, and anticipating needs of assigned accounts to turn enterprise accounts into strategic accounts.
Influences to scale strategic plans (inclusive of partners) and involves senior leadership team.
Ensures teams are documenting in the Account Plan.
Expands network of key internal (e.g., Industry Solutions [IS]) and external partners and other business decision makers in customers' accounts to grow sales and partner impact and to provide a seamless account management experience to the customers, ensuring proper execution of core tasks and account transactions.
Engages with key mainstream partners to promote long-term, mutually-beneficial business and technology transformation strategies.
Expands network of influence on the board to expand reach and influence decision making.
Drives joint solutions with partners.
Where applicable, shares opportunities outbound with partners, and reviews/accepts opportunities shared inbound.
Proactively engages and works with partners’ sellers directly to drive non-qualified opportunity momentum and deal closure inclusive of partners.
Oversees a complex/multiple account(s) and leads planning and prioritization efforts to anticipate and ensure appropriate responses to account needs.
Develops strategies to manage pipeline and meet sales goals by reviewing forecasts, assessing and mitigating risks, and ensuring strategy alignment with business priorities.
Leads virtual teams to properly re-adjust priorities, all while maintaining a high level of commitment and accountability.
Prioritizes line of business projects to achieve business outcomes.
Reduces complexity for the customer and for internal teams by prioritizing the most strategic partners to deliver outcomes.
Supports business transformation through technology for assigned accounts in multiple business units to drive business outcomes and create business value for customers.
Leverages consultative and insightful listening skills that disrupts the mindset of customers by bringing innovative ideas that showcase the need for change and new strategic direction.
Is sought out by the customer for guidance related to transformation.
Proactively involves corporate resources and engages cross-industry resources to drive customer transformation.
Ability to influence and mitigate proactively competitive risk.
Ensures line-of-business wins are captured (e.g., customer write ups) as reference for scale through insightful listening.
Proactively cultivates relationships with customers and uses Microsoft sales strategies with executive, business, and technical decision makers at high levels of the customer's organization through consultative engagement to establish alignment and secure buy-in and execution.
Connects the customer to Microsoft business and technical executives.
Establishes Rhythm of Business (RoB) with top customer sponsors to regularly highlight the value of the Microsoft solutions and subsequent Return on Investment (ROI).
Works with the customer partners foster trust and brand growth and loyalty through multiple levels (e.g., managers, executives) of the customer's organization in the assigned accounts.
Assists partners in joint-selling by establishing joint desire to create new go-to markets by starting to build relationships in new markets (e.g., Vice President).
Leverages digital selling methods (e.g., digital) to grow your network and create a pipeline, consume account-based marketing output, and reflect in the engagement strategy in our customer plan.
Proactively develops a comprehensive understanding of customer's business and technology needs and strategies for each assigned account, of their priorities, and of the industry direction.
Anticipates customers' needs to deliver new insights on customers' business strategies and educate customers on ways to jointly address these needs.
Identifies and pursues opportunities to offer business and technology solutions.
Leverages internal influence to advocate on behalf of the customer internally (e.g., driving changes to roadmap, engaging with product groups), working to prioritize customers' requests and meeting their business needs.
Creates trust to influence for impact and acts as a trusted advisor to help the customer transform its business model.
Connect customers with other customers/partners on areas that may benefit them.
If industry aligned, also develops a deep understanding of the customer's industry.
If aligned by industry, exhibits deep knowledge of the industry, current trends, and market dynamics, and the competitive landscape.
Leverages their depth of industry knowledge to position Solution Area technology in industry context.
Demonstrated ability to position how Microsoft products and solutions will help customers realize innovation through business transformation.
Actively seeks customer feedback (both formal and informal) of assigned accounts regarding ways to identify and understand the drivers of satisfaction and/or dissatisfaction.
Helps in the creation of long-term strategies aimed at maintaining levels of customer satisfaction.
Orchestrates others (e.g., Customer Success Account Management [CSAM]) to anticipate issues/risks on customer satisfaction, determine the root cause of problems, remove blockers, and establish recovery action plan to improve customer's overall experience.
Leverages key executive relationships to build trust with the customer organization.
Proactively establishes agreement on success measures and manages execution on success measures to prevent need for recovery plans.
Develops compelling, value-proposition presentations (e.g., with the use of business cases) and specialized business plans for customers that drive business outcomes.
Demonstrates thought leadership and presents business plans to customers to generate new non-qualified opportunities.
Guides others on how to tailor industry-specific presentations.
Presents outcome based cross solution strategies.
Develops and implements plans for maximizing upselling/cross-selling non-qualified opportunities in certain accounts.
Drives plans to highlight Microsoft's and partners' solutions to solving additional business and technology issues and aims to expand budget allocated to Microsoft.
Leverages virtual teams to identify and act on new non-qualified opportunities while utilizing common sales and delivery methodology for the Microsoft sales organization.
Engages decision makers of assigned accounts to clearly articulate Microsoft's value proposition aligned to customer's business objectives.
Translates features into business impact and outcomes that accelerate the customer's digital presence.
Develops plans to offer more targeted solutions that satisfy customers' key performance indicators (KPIs) and align the right partner solution for customer industry needs.
Positions oneself as a thought leader and trusted advisor internally and externally to executive-level business decision makers of multiple assigned accounts by leveraging best-in-class sales and communication techniques to lead extended virtual teams and key stakeholders with deep industry expertise (e.g., customers' sponsors) to build stronger relationships with decision makers of assigned accounts.
Document and creates stakeholder map in the account plan of the key decision makers, influencers, sentiment, etc.