Business Planner - Strategic Partner Engagement

Microsoft•Redmond, WA

About The Position

The Business Planner – Strategic Partner Engagement is an individual contributor responsible for day-to-day planning, coordination, and operational execution of Microsoft’s Strategic Partner Program in support of business priorities. The role maintains constructive, consistent engagement with cloud and channel partners whose market experience informs licensing, commercial strategy, partner experience, and program decisions. Working under senior business leaders, the planner organizes partner councils, workshops, roundtables, webinars, and related meetings, managing schedules, participants, briefing materials, logistics, agendas, action tracking, and follow-through. The role also operates a structured intake and tracking process for inbound partner requests, connects requests to appropriate internal owners, monitors progress and commitments, and provides concise executive updates on engagement themes, risks, decisions, and outstanding actions. Success requires disciplined program management, sound judgment with sensitive topics, strong written communication, and coordination across business, legal, engineering, field, and partner teams. With increasing capability and relationships, the planner may take on responsibility for facilitating and ultimately leading selected senior leadership partner meetings. Monetization Strategy & Licensing (MSL) brings together teams shaping how Microsoft prices, packages, and monetizes commercial products, as well as the programs, partner motions, and operational frameworks that bring those models to market. Its charter is to modernize the commercial engine for an AI- and cloud-led market by connecting economic strategy, go-to-market design, field and partner adoption, licensing programs, and the Strategic Partner Program.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Business, Public Policy, Political Science, Communications, International Affairs, Operations, or a related field and 4+ years of program management, business planning, partner programs, strategic partner engagement, events, or related experience; or equivalent experience.
Experience leading multi-stakeholder programs or strategic engagements and connecting business objectives, stakeholder needs, and execution.
Program leadership skills, including managing concurrent priorities, anticipating dependencies, influencing without direct authority, and driving decisions and closure.
Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including synthesizing complex inputs into concise executive updates, strategic briefs, recommendations, and meeting outcomes.
Demonstrated judgment and discretion in managing partner requests, sensitive issues, commitments, and escalations.
Ability to work effectively across legal, policy, business, engineering, sales, marketing, and partner-facing teams while staying within defined decision rights and escalation paths.

Nice To Haves

Bachelor’s degree in a listed or related field and 8+ years of program management, business planning, partner programs, strategic partner engagement, events, or related experience; or a master’s degree in a listed or related field and 6+ years of related experience; or equivalent experience.
Knowledge of cloud, software licensing, channel or partner business models, partner experience, or strategic partner programs; direct legal interpretation is not required.
Experience working in a global organization and coordinating across geographies and time zones.
Experience with European cloud or channel partners, industry associations, or strategic partner programs.
Experience coordinating external agency support.

Responsibilities

Own the planning and delivery of the Strategic Partner Program’s engagement portfolio, working with internal stakeholders and external agency support to create consistent, high-quality partner experiences.
Align each engagement to clear business objectives, priority audiences, and measurable outcomes.
Enable senior leaders and subject matter experts to engage effectively with partners through strategic framing, coordinated cross-company input, and concise briefing and decision materials.
As capability and relationships deepen, assume increasing responsibility for facilitating and ultimately leading selected senior leadership partner meetings.
Receive and log inbound partner questions, requests, commitments, and escalations related to commercial programs, licensing, cloud and AI infrastructure, partner experience, or Strategic Partner Program commitments.
Clarify requests, identify appropriate internal owners, establish target dates, track dependencies and responses, and maintain complete records of open and closed items.
Elevate aging, sensitive, or high-impact requests with concise context, options, and recommended next steps.
Provide governance, an operating rhythm, and executive visibility to keep Strategic Partner Programs focused and accountable.
Synthesize partner insights and program performance into clear recommendations, strengthen repeatable ways of working, and identify opportunities to improve program impact and maturity.
Coordinate partner councils, workshops, roundtables, webinars, and related meetings, including workback schedules, participant coordination, briefing materials, logistics, agendas, action tracking, and post-engagement follow-through.
Provide concise executive updates on engagement themes, risks, decisions, and outstanding actions.