Business Planner

Microsoft•Redmond, WA

About The Position

Microsoft’s Monetization and Business Planning team is dedicated to transforming products and services into value for customers and partners, while driving growth for Microsoft. This role is within the Productivity & Intelligence (PI) Business Planning team, which is responsible for the monetization of the Microsoft 365 family of products, including applications like Microsoft 365 Copilot, Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. The Business Planner will focus on transforming key monetization processes by designing and executing processes within the PI Business Planning Team, ensuring clear business outcomes and alignment with organizational goals. The role involves applying process tools and methodologies, including Lean principles, to ensure compliance, maintain governance, and optimize performance. Key responsibilities include monitoring metrics, interpreting data to identify automation and continuous improvement opportunities, and supporting product launches with operational rigor. The Business Planner will collaborate with stakeholders to address pain points, lead change management, mitigate risks, and incorporate feedback to refine processes. Additionally, the role offers the opportunity to write requirements for and champion the adoption of innovative AI solutions to enhance scale and accuracy in Marketing processes, ultimately advancing operational excellence, improving agility, and delivering superior customer experience.

Requirements

3+ years product management, strategy consulting, finance, business/corporate development, or related experience OR equivalent experience.

Nice To Haves

5+ years product management, strategy consulting, finance, business/corporate development, or related experience AND Bachelor's Degree in Engineering/Computer Science, Economics, Business, or related field OR 3+ years product management, strategy consulting, finance, business/corporate development, or related experience AND Master's Degree in Business Administration (MBA), or related field OR equivalent experience.
4+ years’ experience in Operations, Marketing, Process Design, or Project Management.
Experience in launch operations, business planning, product management, or similar experience in the enterprise technology industry.
Knowledge of and experience with artificial intelligence (AI) agents, including design, development, training, and implementation.
Experience working with product and services catalogs and related systems.
Demonstrated ability to lead complex process initiatives and prioritize multiple activities to deliver on scope and schedule.
Sound analytical skills with the ability to translate data into actionable insights.

Responsibilities

Establish & maintain strong understanding of current AI tools & capabilities to identify and leverage AI capabilities to accelerate process improvement initiatives.
Design and execute moderately complex business processes within your line of business, applying process tools and methodologies (e.g., value stream mapping) to ensure compliance and deliver clear business outcomes.
Drive end-to-end governance for processes, maintaining documentation for flows, controls, and underlying systems to ensure transparency and accountability.
Monitor and evaluate process performance through data analysis and KPI benchmarking; translate insights into actionable recommendations for optimization and automation.
Incorporate Lean principles and continuous improvement methodologies to transform processes for greater efficiency, agility, and customer impact.
Lead function-level change management efforts, ensuring readiness, timing, and stakeholder alignment to successfully land process improvements.
Anticipate and mitigate risks across the process lifecycle, implementing controls and sharing best practices to strengthen operational resilience.
Collaborate with stakeholders to address pain points, maintain engagement, and implement solutions aligned to industry standards and organizational goals.
Support execution of product launches by driving operational rigor and process excellence across launch workflows.
Write requirements for and champion adoption of innovative AI solutions that enhance scale, accuracy, and efficiency in launch processes.
Consult with business planning, product marketing, sales, business operations, and engineering on go-to-market strategies for new and updated offers, promotions, and pricing.
Analyze to post-launch incidents to resolve business impacts and harness learnings to improve future.
Embody our culture and values.