Business Development Manager

Overview

The Business Development and Ventures organization at Microsoft is responsible for driving growth across all Microsoft products by setting corporate strategy and identifying and executing high-impact strategic partnerships, corporate venture investments, and acquisitions.

The Microsoft 365 Copilot Ecosystem team leads strategic partnerships, identifies new opportunities, and drives growth across Microsofts AI Business Solutions, with a focus on Microsoft 365 and Microsoft 365 Copilot.

We are seeking a Business Development Manager to join the team and drive major partnerships and initiatives across the Microsoft 365 and Microsoft 365 Copilot ecosystem to transform the way organizations work with AI.

In this role, you will:

• Develop and execute ecosystem strategies to accelerate product value and deliver deeply integrated and intelligent experiences to market, working closely with internal product, engineering, and marketing teams.
• Lead and develop strategic partnerships across the Microsoft 365 Copilot platform, building a robust, better-together ecosystem that meets diverse customer and technology needs by working with enterprise SaaS leaders and AI native, independent software vendors.
• Stay current on emerging trends in enterprise software and AI, maintaining subject-matter expertise and a systematic approach to market analysis to identify new opportunities.
• Serve as a trusted advisor to senior leadership across product, engineering, marketing, and legal, and support the broader Modern Work strategy.
• Demonstrate and live our values and principles of teamwork, curiosity, self-awareness, integrity, diversity, and allyship.

Responsibilities

Scope & Accountability

This role carries three connected areas of accountability that define its day-to-day focus and how success is measured:

Partner Accountability

Own the end-to-end relationship and partnership lifecycle for a portfolio of assigned high-priority partners across the Microsoft 365 Copilot ecosystem, including enterprise SaaS leaders and AI native platform and software providers. Serve as the primary Microsoft point of contact for these partners, managing every stage from initial outreach and qualification through negotiation, governance, and ongoing joint execution. Ensure partner solutions align with Copilot platform standards and strategic objectives, and take ownership of the health, growth, and measurable business value of each relationship in your portfolio.

Copilot Platform Initiative Accountability

Own one or more strategic Microsoft 365 Copilot platform initiatives end to end, from strategy through execution. Partner closely with product, engineering, and marketing to shape each initiative, define its goals and success metrics, and drive the partner motions that bring it to market. Track progress against key performance indicators, remove blockers, and report outcomes to senior stakeholders, ensuring each initiative accelerates platform value and advances the broader Microsoft 365 strategy.

Functional and Vertical Domain and Workflow Accountability

Own a defined set of functional domains (for example, sales, marketing, IT, or legal) and industry verticals, along with the commercial workflows that Microsoft 365 Copilot is positioned to transform within them. Develop deep subject-matter expertise in these areas, map the partner ecosystem and opportunity categories against the workflows that matter most to customers, and identify and evaluate emerging AI-native disruptors relevant to your domains and verticals. Translate these insights into a prioritized pipeline of partnerships and initiatives that expand Copilots value across your assigned areas.

Partnership Strategy

Researches technology, industry, and competitive trends, and works internally to understand how Microsoft is positioned. Shares research and insights with the team and identifies actions based on those insights.

Utilizes established processes to lead development and maintenance of the partnership pipeline, and prepares information for reporting to key stakeholders.

Works with stakeholders to develop a target customer and partner list that closes high-priority gaps across technology, product, business, and geography. Identifies opportunities and strategy, maps target customers and partners, and uses quantitative data such as usage and revenue to inform internal and external decisions and recommendations on partners.

Articulates opportunities for Microsoft to create a business value proposition and supports senior colleagues in executing it. Engages customers and partners to highlight the value of Microsoft opportunities, leveraging internal stakeholders and escalating to senior colleagues as needed.

Deal Management and Governance

Develops post-deal governance and execution plans and defines key performance indicators (KPIs) to demonstrate achieved business value. Ensures design, communication, and alignment in the creation of governance, and troubleshoots straightforward issues.

Assists with execution and deal management by communicating and reporting with Microsoft stakeholders. Tracks blocking issues and works with deal stakeholders to drive resolutions.

Microsoft Strategy Alignment: Product Insights and Innovative Projects/Pilots

Collaborates with the team to help create practices that enable partners to influence the product. Progresses product improvement with engineering by collecting customer and partner feedback that identifies potential gaps and areas of opportunity within products. Begins to improve operations of existing programs by applying industry methodology and innovation, defining program issues, assessing scenarios, and selecting the optimal path to resolve them. Identifies internal opportunities to develop new programs and improve current ones with some oversight and guidance, and collaborates with others to identify root problems, define the program strategy, gather requirements, identify resource needs, create the project plan and targets, and align across teams on the plan of record.

Microsoft Strategy Alignment: Stakeholder Engagement and Deal Diligence

Collaborates with internal teams and business units to build relationships and knowledge of internal resources. Builds working relationships with Microsoft and business partners, including executive relationships such as Senior Directors. Identifies repeatable opportunities to share signal on Microsoft products and services to benefit internal stakeholders. Contributes new ideas as a member of the deal team, assesses opportunities to engage during the investment diligence process, and contributes to the creation and maintenance of existing thesis areas over time.

Partner and Customer Focus

Develops internal and external relationships to establish a network of business and technical decision makers for assigned accounts.

Develops an understanding of customers and partners business, strategy, and relevant industry trends through research, including industry reports, internal and external conferences, feedback from subject-matter experts and mentors, internal resources, direct conversations with partners, and third-party sources. Articulates the Microsoft point of view and product roadmap regarding relevant industry trends and their impact on customers and partners.

Negotiation

Identifies actions to lead deal opportunities across deal stages, including Strategic Approval (SA), Approval to Negotiate (A2N), and Final Go-No-Go (FGNG), through to closure, and closes prescribed business opportunities with speed. Identifies negotiation scenarios and escalates as appropriate, closing opportunities using predefined program frameworks or templates as appropriate.

Qualifications

Required/minimum qualifications

• Bachelors Degree in Business, Liberal Arts, Sciences, or related field AND 3+ years relevant work experience (e.g., investment banking, consulting, finance, marketing, corporate strategy, sales, venture capital, legal, business development, product management, project management, software development, or related field)
• OR equivalent experience.

Additional or preferred qualifications

• Bachelors Degree in Business, Liberal Arts, Sciences, or related field AND 5+ years relevant work experience (e.g., investment banking, consulting, finance, marketing, corporate strategy, sales, venture capital, legal, business development, product management, project management, software development, or related field)

• OR Masters/Advanced Degree in Business, Sciences, or related field AND 2+ years relevant work experience (e.g., investment banking, consulting, finance, marketing, corporate strategy, sales, venture capital, legal, business development, product management, project management, software development, or related field)

• OR equivalent experience.

• 4+ years experience in the technology industry OR in a technical role (e.g., IT, Engineering).

Business Development IC3 - The typical base pay range for this role across the U.S. is USD $86,100 - $169,800 per year. There is a different range applicable to specific work locations, within the San Francisco Bay area and New York City metropolitan area, and the base pay range for this role in those locations is USD $113,300 - $187,400 per year.

Certain roles may be eligible for benefits and other compensation. Find additional benefits and pay information here:

https://careers.microsoft.com/us/en/us-corporate-pay

This position will be open for a minimum of 5 days, with applications accepted on an ongoing basis until the position is filled.

Microsoft is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, ancestry, citizenship, color, family or medical care leave, gender identity or expression, genetic information, immigration status, marital status, medical condition, national origin, physical or mental disability, political affiliation, protected veteran or military status, race, ethnicity, religion, sex (including pregnancy), sexual orientation, or any other characteristic protected by applicable local laws, regulations and ordinances. If you need assistance with religious accommodations and/or a reasonable accommodation due to a disability during the application process, read more about requesting accommodations.