Project Manager Non Tech 3/ REDMOND, WA ( Remote )-8 Months Contract

Project Manager Non Tech

Location: REDMOND, WA (Remote) Duration: 8 Months Contract

This is a remote position. Typical day in the role:

Purpose of the team: See summary below.

Key projects: See summary below.

Typical task breakdown and operating rhythm: See summary below.

Compelling story & candidate value proposition:

This role provides the opportunity to help launch new Azure Industry and Education products and services in the market. It provides a unique opportunity to learn more around the strategy for how we determine what we launch as well as the operational components involved in a launch going live.

Unique selling points: To be involved in new various launches across the team.

Candidate requirements:

Years of experience required: 4-8 overall years of experience in the field.

Degrees or certifications required: PMI certification required.

Disqualifiers: Candidates without PMI certification and don't meet the hard skills requirements will not be eligible for the role.

Best vs. average: The ideal resume would contain:

• Master's degree preferred
• Knowledge/background in software industry products/services/applications, with in-depth knowledge of Microsoft's products/services/applications
• Ability to foresee and analyze project risks, develop risk management plan and mitigate subsequent issues
• High-powered analytical skills and the ability to understand concepts and situations that pass by many others

Performance indicators: Performance will be assessed based on meeting deadlines and quality of work.

Top 3 hard skills required:

1. Minimum 4-8 years experience with project management
2. Minimum 4-8 years experience with strong analytical skills and prior experience working with large data sets
3. Minimum 4-8 years experience with excellent communication and collaboration skills, experience working with external vendors

Hard skills assessments:

Expected dates that hard skills assessments will be scheduled: ASAP

Hard skills assessment process: The assessment process will include 1 round of HSAs.

Required candidate preparation: N/A

Summary:

The Azure, Windows, and Industry Monetization (AWIM) team in Business Planning focuses on enabling the Microsoft mission by creating durable profit growth through high-impact monetization strategies, packaging, and pricing. Our charter is significant and spans key growth engines for the company including all Azure solution areas, Windows client and cloud offerings, and our Education and industry offerings and programs. We are responsible for delivering high-impact monetization strategies, packaging, and pricing to create durable profit growth for Microsoft. Our team is responsible for the end-to-end monetization process from business strategy development through transactability and execution.

One of the key elements of the role of an AWIM Business Planner is to support various launches across the team. The launch process is an engine of people, systems, and steps that ultimately take a product or service strategy and get it to market. A launch event is anything requiring a commerce change, including (but not limited to) new product or service releases, price changes, name changes, a change to a service, and a deprecation of a service. In this role, the AWIM BP PM will work closely with both the Business Planner and Operations teams to support launches. Another key element of the role is cross-functional stakeholder engagement in an oftentimes matrixed environment. To successfully collaborate, stakeholders must be aligned, strategies must get proper approvals, and information must be clearly articulated across teams. The AWIM BP PM will work closely with Business Planners and their cross-functional stakeholder counterparts (Engineering, Product Marketing, and Finance) to support this engagement through project management.

Job responsibilities:

The support provided by the AWIM BP PM will span across five (5) buckets of work which fall under launch support and project management:

• Dedicated launch assistance Engage in and support launch prioritization, escalations, data auditing and validation, and pricing verification leveraging deep fundamental product knowledge gained by being embedded within the individual AWIM teams.
• Launch operational process and stakeholder support The Operations team is responsible for ensuring a compliant launch process and they have a vendor team dedicated to supporting the Business Planner throughout the launch process for specific launch scenarios and tasks. Not all launches will receive Operations vendor support and Operations vendor support does not cover all launch tasks. The AWIM BP PM will provide launch support as needed when the Operations vendor team is over capacity, or the launch is Business Planner-led only with no Operations support (approx. 31% of launches). In these scenarios, the AWIM BP PM will assist the Azure Business Planner with launch operational processes such as: Control Tower card updates (represents a launch), Change Requests (output of launch), pre-production ICM creation and updates (correct mistakes/issues), Change Summary validations (ensure all data input is correct), and the exception process (when launch misses the date). This also includes PM support for key stakeholders such as Software Engineers (meter minting process/reporting) and Business Planners (OBI recommendations and gathering systems issues to facilitate improvements of processes).
• Meeting coordination and support Facilitate meeting coordination for cross-functional stakeholder meetings, wallows (reviews) with leadership, and team syncs. Attend launch-related meetings on behalf of the Business Planner and serve as the liaison relaying important updates, sharing back relevant information, and advocating for resource prioritization.
• Team enhancements, improvements, and special projects Follow new developments, share best practices, and support the coordination of strategic team initiatives. In addition, support new Business Planners by connecting them to critical resources and key stakeholders.
• Project & Review Tracker updates The Project Tracker is a Microsoft List the AWIM team uses to track projects that are not yet in, or may never be in, Control Tower. AWIM Business Planners leverage the Project Tracker to track their projects and identify needed signoffs and reviews. Supplier will be responsible for helping create and update projects and flag when topics are ready to be scheduled for a review on behalf of Azure Business Planners. They will also partner closely with the AWIM Business Planners to monitor and coordinate topics for regular standing reviews with the AWIM VP.

Requirements (aligned with Non-Tech Project Manager Level 3):

• 4-8 years of project management experience
• PMI Certification required
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office
• Strong cross team/group/org collaboration skills
• Excellent communication skills, experience working with external vendors, strong project management skills

Preferred qualifications (aligned with Non-Tech Project Manager Level 3):

• Master's degree preferred
• Knowledge/background in software industry products/services/applications, with in-depth knowledge of Microsoft's products/services/applications
• Knowledge/background in the Industry and/or Healthcare space
• Ability to foresee and analyze project risks, develop risk management plan and mitigate subsequent issues
• High-powered analytical skills and the ability to understand concepts and situations that pass by many others