Government Affairs Director

Job Description

Microsoft is on a mission to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more. Our culture is centred on embracing a growth mindset, a theme of inspiring excellence, and encouraging teams and leaders to bring their best each day. In doing so, we create life-changing innovations that impact billions of lives around the world. You can help us achieve our mission.

Do you want to work in a company that is transforming the world? How about working on some of the most challenging technology policy issues around, such as cross-jurisdictional law enforcement access, data sovereignty or addressing emerging cyber threats? We have an immediate opening for a highly motivated and experienced government affairs professional to join Microsoft’s Global Affairs team (CELA) in the UK. This team provides front-line legal, government relations and regulatory affairs support for Microsoft’s interests in the UK.

This is a senior-level role and the successful candidate will have significant experience working on technology policy issues preferably within a corporate environment or experience in another complex policy environment. This role will be an Individual Contributor role, allowing you to focus impact on the outcomes you're driving without a requirement for people-management.

Responsibilities

Strategy/Program Management

• Provides strategic vision and leadership for developing and executing top-priority program frameworks for achieving policy and political goals.
• Leads the formation of Microsoft’s policy agenda and positions on a broad range of issues, including designing and executing strategic campaigns, and identifying strategic opportunities for Microsoft to advance its long-term goals.
• Provides advice and counsel to executive management on unusually complex and critical issues or matters of concern to Microsoft and the industry.
• Anticipates and addresses novel issues and opportunities facing Microsoft and the industry in a rapidly changing and ambiguous environment and leads the development of associated strategies.
• Directs strategies to ensure regulations and legislation positively impact Microsoft's products, operations, associates, and customers by collaborating with coalitions and relevant interest groups to achieve desired regulatory or legislative outcomes; negotiates and aligns complex or conflicting policy with Microsoft's goals and strategy; monitors and responds to complex regulatory issues and new policies.

Subject Matter Expertise and Influence

• Develops and implements strategies for leveraging partnerships with external partners and key influencers to significantly impact the advancement of Microsoft’s policy and political agenda.
• Maintains relationships with key influencers to gather and apply intelligence findings through a network of key senior executives and external stakeholders regarding highly strategic or sensitive issues affecting Microsoft’s long-term objectives or future issues.
• Advises and partners with senior executives and key/senior-level external stakeholders to gain buy in on policy positions by providing expertise, strategic vision and anticipating future issues; prepares senior and executive stakeholder for public testimony on complex issues.
• Provides thought leadership and champions cutting-edge initiatives and solutions that significantly impact the advancement of Microsoft’s long-term objectives and priorities.

Representing Microsoft

• Determines strategy for developing internal/external events to drive Government Affairs objectives and social media engagement.
• Drives the communication framework and messaging development for Government Affairs to drive and enhance company reputation.

External Relationships

• Leads efforts to create strategic partnerships and coalitions with highly complex governmental and non-governmental thought leaders (e.g., peer and industry organizations, think tanks, academics, businesses, community leaders) to align stakeholder interests to Microsoft and optimally position them as advocates for Microsoft policy, political, and business priorities; drives strategic long-term, meaningful relationships with key political leadership and trade/think tanks and looks for opportunities to partner on public policy issues.
• Provides thought leadership for identifying and unblocking potential regulatory issues that prevent access to market opportunities; strategically partners with the Public Sector and other key business/client leads.

Internal Collaboration

• Designs, leads, and collaborates on cross-group projects that are of strategic importance to Microsoft, or that involve senior executive participation, to develop scalable and sustainable solutions.
• Leads the resolution of competing policy approaches by collaborating with Microsoft senior executives within legal and non-legal organizations (e.g., how Legal and Engineering would deal with accessibility) to ensure a coordinated approach on issues with Microsoft-wide impact or high external visibility.
• Collaborates with, and influences, executive-level stakeholders across the company to educate on government/regulatory requirements and policy landscape implications, guide business and product strategies, identify partnerships to grow the business and ensure alignment of objectives, priorities, and resources.

Qualifications

Required Qualifications

• Demonstrable experience including significant experience working as a government affairs, public affairs, or public policy expert in government, a multinational organization, a corporate government affairs office, an industry association, coalition or equivalent group or a policy-focused research institution.
• Demonstrable experience leading Govt Affairs for an organisation or agency

Preferred Qualifications

• Capability to build and maintain relationships and provide service in a highly matrixed internal organization.
• Ability and skills to conceive, analyze, develop, and execute medium-to-long term strategies and campaigns to deal with complex issues of technology, policy, and law, involving multiple issues and players. Ability to work autonomously and with ambiguity will be required.
• Attention to detail and curiosity to learn are key indicators of success.
• Proficient oral, written, presentation and interpersonal skills.

#CELA

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.