Sourcing & Category Manager

Microsoft Cloud Operations and Innovation (CO+I) is the team behind the cloud. We are responsible for delivering over 200 Microsoft web portals, Live and Online Services around the world including infrastructure, security and compliance, operations, globalization, and manageability. Our focus is on smart growth, high efficiency, and delivering a trusted experience to customers and partners worldwide.    Within CO+I, the strategic Supply Chain team is responsible for establishing a supply chain that can meet the ever-growing growth of the Microsoft Cloud and our customers. We support a portfolio of complex, multi-disciplinary, multi-billion, multi-year datacenter construction and operations of those assets. We are looking to fill the critical role of AMER Sourcing Manager. In alignment with our Microsoft values, we are committed to cultivating an inclusive work environment for all employees to positively impact our culture every day.  This role is located in either one of our hub locations - Atlanta, GA, Redmond, WA, San Antonio, TX or Phoenix, AZ.   This role is eligible for hybrid or remote work, up to 25% with travel requirements.  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.

Category Experience: Deep Construction Experience in Supply Chain and Contracts Management is an absolute requirement for this role. Experience in key construction categories including Architect / Engineering consultancy, Infrastructure Equipment and construction services would be of benefit too. Experience on large-scale mission critical construction projects is an absolute requirement - sourcing, managing, and administering contracts over USD $100M. The ability to develop sourcing strategies for specific services and products including the knowledge of the development of requests for information (RFIs) and requests for proposals (RFPs) and the ability to incorporate necessary technical requirements into contracts.  Experience overseeing supplier performance and compliance including the development of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and Service Level Agreements (SLAs) in collaboration with key stakeholders and conducting quarterly business reviews with our supply chain.  Behavioral Attributes: Can create clarity, generate energy, and deliver success; always be planning for the future. Have high integrity – must be ethical and strong value-based individual focused on fairness and maintaining confidentiality. Bring high energy – a drive to achieve results in midst of ambiguity and a matrix organization. Be a high performer – be able to fit the Microsoft “culture” by effectively multi-tasking and managing priorities; have a “sense of urgency” regarding issue resolution. Understand the importance of relationships inside the company and with our supply chain partners.

Procurement Planning:   Implement procurement plans to effectively deliver against project goals on budget. Negotiation:    Implement appropriate negotiation strategies for the specified scope, incorporating cross functional perspectives as necessary to build a holistic plan together with clear allocation of roles and responsibilities. Supplier Selection:   Participate in supplier selection and performance management; ensure alignment to Microsoft business goals throughout. Contracting:   Deep understanding of industry contracting norms and ability to rapidly develop understanding of Microsoft contracting requirements; Lead / participate in negotiation of contracts that meet business goals. Contract Oversight:   Monitor key elements of supplier performance to