Director of Demand Planning - MS Advertising

Microsoft•Redmond, WA

14h•Hybrid

About The Position

Microsoft Advertising is seeking a Director of Demand Planning to join the Global Sales Execution organization. Our team drives Micrososft Advertising’s (MSA) transformation by combining strategy, enablement, and execution to drive performance today and build for tomorrow. We help unlock growth through future ready investments, operating models, next generation sales motions, seller readiness, insight driven enablement—ensuring MSA can operate with agility, scale change, and deliver sustained business results. We make strategy real by equipping sellers to sell. The Director of Demand Planning is a senior people manager responsible for driving demand planning, growth activation, and field execution excellence across priority segments and markets. The demand planning team is an experienced group operating at the intersection of product strategy, opportunity analytics, and sales execution, translating complex market signals into clear growth priorities and scalable programs that accelerate Microsoft Advertising’s market share growth. This role influences and orchestrates partner teams behind shared commercial outcomes - accelerating product adoption, unlocking emerging opportunities, and delivering sustained revenue impact. The role also leads our Deal Desk strategy and execution across priority segments, ensuring deal structures, approvals, and client incentive strategies support strategic growth priorities while meeting field and customer needs. The role addresses complex customer and field challenges across focused product areas, ensuring successful delivery of plans and programs, while establishing best practices for defining, measuring, and assessing conditions of success across the organization. The Demand Planning team is a key partner to many functions, working across Business Planning, Sales Excellence, Sales Leadership, and Revenue Management. 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. Starting January 26, 2026, Microsoft AI (MAI) employees who live within a 50- mile commute of a designated Microsoft office in the U.S. or 25-mile commute of a non-U.S., country-specific location are expected to work from the office at least four days per week. This expectation is subject to local law and may vary by jurisdiction.

Requirements

Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Data Science, Math, Business, or related field AND 6+ years experience in engineering, product/technical program management, data analysis, or product development OR equivalent experience.

Nice To Haves

Master's Degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Data Science, Math, Business, or related field AND 8+ years experience in engineering, product/technical program management, data analysis, or product development OR Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Data Science, Math, Business, or related field AND 12+ years experience in engineering, product/technical program management, data analysis, or product development OR equivalent experience.
Proven experience leading complex, cross‑functional programs that span multiple teams, stakeholders, or feature areas, with demonstrated ability to define strategy, evaluate customer and market signals, and prioritize initiatives across a portfolio of work.
Demonstrated ability to identify unmet or emerging customer needs through both quantitative (e.g., usage data, telemetry, operational metrics) and qualitative (e.g., customer interviews, listening systems, market trends) insights and translate those needs into scalable solutions or program improvements.
Ability to operate effectively in highly ambiguous environments, independently scoping problems, defining success criteria, and driving execution across organizational boundaries.
Solid analytical and communication skills, with the ability to use data to tell compelling stories and influence decision‑making at multiple levels of the organization..
Proven track record of exceptional performance, high productivity and meeting deadlines in a leadership role; high personal accountability for self and others.
Experience in digital advertising, understanding the way our customers buy, sellers sell, and what’s required to enable that output strongly preferred
Prior people managment and cross-team leadership experience
Experience in sales excellence, operations, or Go-to-Market.

Responsibilities

Lead global end‑to‑end demand planning across segments, translating product, supply, opportunity analysis, and market insights into prioritized, actionable growth plans.
Establish and advocate for demand planning as a core growth engine, bridging product planning, opportunity analytics, and field execution to focus investment on the highest‑impact opportunities.
Continuously evolve demand planning frameworks through stakeholder feedback, data backed decisioning, v‑team engagement, and partnership with senior‑leaders.
Responsible for all up execution of growth activation programs across multiple service models (FTE, partner‑led, self‑service), including: Program definition and success metrics, goal setting and target alignment, partnering with Enablement to ensure field readiness, results tracking and structured retrospectives.
Lead Deal Desk strategy and execution across priority segments, ensuring deal structures and approvals support strategic growth priorities and field needs, partnering with Business Planning, Sales, Finance, and Legal to shape client incentive programs that unlock demand, drive product adoption, and improve execution quality at scale.
Orchestrate / involve cross‑functional partners (Marketing, Insights, Enablement) to deliver holistic, integrated field enablement that helps sellers execute with confidence at scale.
Turn ambiguity into clarity by producing operating processes, crisp narratives, one‑pagers, and decision‑ready frameworks that accelerate alignment and execution. Lobby partner teams charged with tool establishment to ensure alignment and applicability for team use
Reinforce the team’s identity as trusted advisors to sales and go‑to‑market leaders.
Communicate effectively with senior leadership, technical teams, and field audiences, both verbally and in writing.
Craft compelling context that connects strategic priorities and product capabilities to customer value and business outcomes.
Lead large‑scale, cross‑functional programs with end‑to‑end ownership, from problem definition through execution and measurement.
Establish clear documentation, operating rhythms, and success measures to manage complex program portfolios.
Proactively manage stakeholder expectations, dependencies, and risks while maintaining momentum and trust.
Foster an environment of accountability, results, and psychological safety, enabling teams to do their best work.
Model Microsoft culture and leadership principles by living the values and setting the standard for impact and integrity.
Coach by setting clear objectives, enabling success across boundaries, and helping individuals and teams adapt and learn.
Care by attracting, retaining, and developing top talent—understanding individual strengths and aspirations and investing in long‑term growth.