Director, Sales Operations - Territory Design

Microsoft•,

11h•$130,900 - $303,600

About The Position

The Americas Sales Enablement & Operations (SE&O) organization translates Microsoft’s commercial strategy into field execution. Within SE&O, the Business & Sales Operations (BSO) group is the center of excellence for cross-business planning, execution performance, and sales operations transformation. Our team builds the programs, frameworks, and systems that enable thousands of sellers across the Americas to operate effectively. The Resource Design team within BSO is responsible for structuring the sales organization, including seller alignment to accounts, coverage models across business units, and territory governance. This work directly impacts seller experience, customer coverage, and commercial outcomes. We are seeking a Director, Sales Operations – Territory Design to lead the Americas territory design program, focusing on structuring, assigning, and governing seller territory coverage across the region. This is a strategic, cross-functional leadership role for individuals who excel at the intersection of business strategy, operational design, and stakeholder influence. The role involves leading the full lifecycle of territory design for the Americas, from annual strategy development and planning, through in-year execution, exception management, and system coordination. Collaboration with business unit leaders, field managers, worldwide strategy and governance teams, finance, and HR is essential to ensure sellers are aligned to the right accounts within the appropriate coverage model, emphasizing rigor, transparency, and consistency. This position is ideal for a strategic operator who thrives on complexity, can build effective organizational frameworks, and influence executive-level decisions without direct authority. Experience in large-scale planning, building repeatable operational systems, and navigating matrixed organizations is highly valued. Microsoft’s mission is to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more. Our culture is built on a growth mindset, innovation, and collaboration, driven by our values of respect, integrity, and accountability, fostering an inclusive environment where everyone can thrive.

Requirements

Bachelor's Degree in Business Administration, Marketing, Finance, Sales, Accounting, Information Systems, Social Sciences, or related field AND 10+ years experience in sales operations, business operations, project management, analytics, compensation, sales performance analytics, finance/business analyst, process improvement, business development, consulting, finance, marketing, or a related field OR equivalent experience.
Proficient analytical and structured problem-solving skills; ability to frame ambiguous problems, synthesize competing inputs, and drive decisions with clarity.
Reliable stakeholder management skills—comfortable influencing without authority, navigating competing priorities, and presenting recommendations to senior leaders.
Effective written and verbal communication skills; ability to develop executive-level materials, narratives, and leadership updates.
Ability to manage multiple high-priority workstreams simultaneously and deliver results under deadline pressure.
Experience in sales coverage design, account segmentation, territory planning, or go-to-market strategy.
Familiarity with large enterprise B2B sales organizations and how field sales operations function at scale.
Proven ability to lead through influence and alignment in a large, global organization.
Bachelor’s degree required (Business, Finance, Operations, Information Technology, or related field).

Nice To Haves

12+ years of experience in sales operations, business operations, strategy, management consulting, or a related field.
Demonstrated experience leading large-scale, cross-functional planning or operational programs in complex, matrixed organizations.
Experience building operational frameworks, processes, or systems from the ground up in dynamic environments.
Background in management consulting, business transformation, strategy, or sales operations leadership.
Experience with data and business intelligence tools (e.g., Power BI, Excel) for reporting and insights.
Advanced degree (MBA or equivalent) beneficial but not required.

Responsibilities

Own the end-to-end Americas territory design process: develop the principles, frameworks, and governance approach that structure how sellers are aligned to accounts across the region.
Lead the annual territory planning cycle from kickoff through approval—managing timelines, tooling, OU-level engagement, and submission workflows across all American business units and divisions.
Partner with business unit teams and field leadership to model year-over-year changes in coverage, incorporating shifts in strategy, headcount, account segmentation, and market structure.
Engage worldwide strategy and governance teams to translate global policy into Americas-level design decisions; represent Americas interests in WW discussions on business rules and coverage standards.
Drive leadership alignment on territory principles, account categorization, and coverage model decisions at the division and executive levels.
Build and deliver leadership-facing reporting, insights, and executive-ready materials throughout the fiscal year—from planning kick-off through post-rollover.
Lead the Americas Red Carpet program, establishing the engagement model, readiness framework, and governance approach required to enable business continuity, and high-quality seller transitions.
Partner with Worldwide Red Carpet, FastStart, and Sales Excellence, and field leadership teams to translate transition strategy into actionable field guidance, landing plans, communications, and office hours for sellers, managers, and leaders.
Monitor transition completion, adoption, and risk indicators; proactively remove execution blockers, drive stakeholder accountability, and continuously enhance transition processes.
Manage in-year territory changes, exceptions, and escalations with consistency and sound judgment—balancing business unit flexibility with worldwide governance requirements.
Serve as the escalation point and decision-maker for complex scenarios: corporate divestitures, account segment transitions, non-standard coverage models, and late-cycle change requests.
Maintain alignment between territory design outcomes and downstream resource planning and seller assignment systems, ensuring data accuracy, business rule adherence, policy compliance, and execution integrity through rollover.
Coordinate with engineering and planning teams on territory system readiness, rollover timelines, and field visibility communications.
Ensure audit readiness and risk mitigation across territory decisions, maintaining documentation of governance decisions and exception rationale.
Engage deeply across a broad stakeholder ecosystem: business unit Chiefs of Staff, field leaders and managers, resource management, quota, finance, HR, and worldwide strategy teams.
Lead change management and communications by translating complex sales operations concepts into clear frameworks, decision criteria, and actionable guidance for diverse audiences—from individual sellers to regional leadership.
Build and maintain trusted working relationships across the Americas, acting as the authoritative voice on territory design principles, governance, and process.
Represent the territory design function in cross-functional forums, executive reviews, and planning processes.
Continuously improve the tools, platforms, and processes used to design and execute territory coverage—with a bias toward automation, simplification, and scale.
Build repeatable, high-quality frameworks that reduce planning cycle time, improve account data integrity, and enable faster, more consistent coverage decisions across the Americas.
Innovate how territory design insights are developed and shared—delivering the right information to the right stakeholders at the right time.
Embody our culture and values.