Customer Success Account Manager

With over 18,000 employees worldwide, the Microsoft Customer Experience & Success (CE&S) organization is responsible for the strategy, design, and implementation of Microsoft's end-to-end customer experience. Come join CE&S and help us build a future where customers come to us not only because we provide industry-leading products and services, but also because we provide a differentiated and connected customer experience.

The Global Customer Success (GCS) organization is leading the effort to create the desired customer experience through support offer creation, driving digital transformation across our tools, and delivering operational excellence across CE&S.

We are looking for a highly motivated and passionate Partner Customer Success Account Manager to drive program management for strategic partners that have a significant number of key cross-cloud workload engagements running concurrently. As the Partner CSAM you will drive consumption planning & execution, as well as the acceleration of cloud adoption from Pilot/MVP to production for partner''s cloud engagements. This will be done by providing cross-engagement oversight, resource orchestration, and blocker escalation, all while operating in close collaboration with key account team unit members and business partners who are supporting customer success.

The Partner Customer Success Account Manager builds and executes shared plans with partners. Manages partner executive relationships through business reviews, strategic escalations, and administration of partner contracts. Enable partners to use their benefits effectively. Provides direction for other members of the Account Team to develop a deep understanding of their partner's business and technical objectives. Sets priorities for Microsoft to contribute to the partner's success in those areas. Plans the delivery of services to achieve success criteria for top priority solutions and workloads. Provides direction and orchestration related to overseeing and managing the delivery of projects and programs to achieve defined success criteria for prioritized customer solutions and workloads. Develops and executes technical skilling plan to build technical expertise aligned with partners and business priorities.

This role is flexible in that you can work up to 50% from home.

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.

Responsibilities

Customer Relationship Management

· Builds and coaches others on customer, partner, and internal stakeholder engagement strategy and models. Develops, maintains, and builds upon foundational relationships with key partner stakeholders and technical professionals to enable quality solution delivery and health using partnerships with other account team leaders and leads orchestration across internal/external stakeholders. Expands partner relationships beyond the current Premier Support contract consumers with a focus on leading the definition of business outcomes and how to align Microsoft strategy to partner business priorities.

· Identifies, navigates, communicates, and influences key partner technical, business, and executive-level stakeholders (including partners). Guides and leads conversations to facilitate the achievement of partner business objectives by leveraging their investment in Microsoft. Maps internal roles to partner priorities to action the needs of partners and provides input into partner priorities. Holds, maintains, and nurtures internal stakeholder relationships. Influences and challenges senior/executive internal stakeholders. Leads business value conversations at partner executive levels.

· Initiates the gathering of information on the business and Information Technology objectives for partner organizations using partnerships with other account team leaders to identify partner priorities. Partners with Account Team to create a partner success plan and contribute to the shared partner account plan in support of partner objectives specific to the partner''s business transformation programs and common to their industry.

Technical Relevance

· Understands, identifies, and aligns Microsoft solutions, and technical capabilities (e.g., Azure, Modern Work, Dynamics) to customer needs and priorities. Leverages broad foundational industry and technical expertise to enable customer success. Identifies complex customer scenarios (e.g., Independent Software Vendors [ISV], cross-cloud, partner) and aligns with technical specialists to identify relevant cross-cloud technology solutions. Strengthens Microsoft''s position in the customers'' cloud technology marketplace against competitors. Leverages understanding of the customer''s technology platform and Microsoft''s technology roadmap to enable customer digital transformation.

Customer Success Leadership

· Engages in conversations with partners and demonstrates alignment between partner objectives and the current Microsoft portfolio of work in the partner account. Promotes the organizational and partner success strategy with partners. Aligns Microsoft technology and services with the partner''s goals and objectives to form a cooperative strategy. Engages in account team planning, promoting business and technical needs for change that challenge partner thinking. Aligns with the account team to link Customer Success Plans (CSPs) with account plan priorities and develop bookable programs of work. Challenges the partner and influences their strategic decision making, driving the case for change towards improved operational health.

· Leads the strategic execution of program planning and partner-facing program reviews, prioritization of engagements, and management of key stakeholder and executive expectations to address agreed-upon customer outcomes and account priorities to deliver ongoing customer success. Leverages Microsoft delivery management methodologies, processes, and tools to manage and improve customer operational health. Proactively identifies and mitigates customer blockers by leveraging Microsoft solutions and services, and develops deliverable programs of work. Orchestrates delivery resources to facilitate value realization with a focus on driving operational health. Leads delivery program reviews with internal stakeholders to ensure alignment on partner outcomes and account priorities. Leads escalation management and communications for delivery programs in the partner account.

· Proactively identifies, monitors, and mitigates actual and potential blockers to consumption through data analysis and customer feedback. Mobilizes resources to address actual and potential blockers to consumption, associated issues, and to ensure delivery on Customer Success Plans (CSPs). Holds accountability for identified consumption milestones and their completion. Partners with customers to proactively identify opportunities for growth, optimize usage, and drive adoption. Partners with customers to understand their business objectives, identify opportunities where Microsoft offerings can help achieve those objectives, and aligns Microsoft products and services to agreed-upon customer outcomes and account priorities. Leverages an understanding of the customer''s needs and business objectives to identify opportunities where Microsoft can provide added value to maximize retention and minimize churn.

Qualifications

Required/Minimum Qualifications

· Bachelor's Degree in Business, Sociology, Psychology, Computer Science or related field AND 4+ years customer success, solution delivery, practice management, customer-facing consulting, or portfolio management experience

· OR Master's Degree in Business, Sociology, Psychology, Computer Science, or related field AND 3+ years customer success, solution delivery, practice management, customer-facing consulting, or portfolio management experience

· OR equivalent experience.

· Fluent English & Chinese speaking.

· Partner business experience preferred.

Microsoft is an equal opportunity employer. Consistent with applicable law, 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 and/or a reasonable accommodation due to a disability during the application process, read more about requesting accommodations ) .