Gaming Industry Vertical – Business Operations & Program Manager

About the job

Gaming at Microsoft is on a mission to unite the world with amazing gaming experiences!

We are the Gaming Ecosystem Organization (GEO) and we contribute to this purpose by empowering game creators to build, launch, and manage their games using Microsoft’s products, from Xbox to Azure. We are here to empower game creators to realize their dreams. Our aspiration is to deliver the world’s best tools and services to developers for every stage in a game’s lifecycle.

The video game industry is the fastest growing sector of the entertainment industry and is being heavily disrupted by cloud technology. Virtually all game developers are evolving to deliver their titles as Games-as-a-Service, centered on continuous content delivery and player engagement, which requires accelerated production environments, agile back-end infrastructure, and live ops services. The dynamic nature of game creation is also expanding to include “citizen creators” with ever-increasing focus on community and user-generated content.

Microsoft is uniquely positioned to accelerate the game industry’s transformation to cloud-based gaming, thanks to decades of experience developing category-defining titles (Halo, Forza, Minecraft, Flight Simulator), operating our Xbox gaming platform and reliably delivering the Azure global cloud infrastructure, which features pre-built gaming services. We’re looking for passionate, self-starters who are the most curious people in the room. Join our growing team and help us be the positive change in the game industry. #Xbox #MicrosoftGaming #DeveloperTools #GEOjobs

The Role

The Gaming Industry Vertical team is seeking an experienced Business Operations & Program Manager to join the team to manage the integration and ongoing management of commercial operations for a newly acquired gaming service. This person will partner closely with teams across Microsoft including Gaming, Finance, Business Planning, Sales, Marketing, Operations and Engineering to build and execute an integration plan and process which includes connecting external systems with Microsoft commercial systems for both short and long-term launch initiatives.

This role requires exceptional collaboration and project management skills. The ability to navigate complex internal processes is critical to executing and maintaining alignment of complex/cross-organizational initiatives. You will propose and manage process changes to help us achieve our customer retention, acquisition and growth goals.

This person will have a strong focus on operational excellence across our start-up organization, constantly seeking efficiency & effectiveness in the work you lead. You will need a high tolerance for and even appreciation and enjoyment of ambiguity and change; you will need to demonstrate problem-solving, leadership and decisiveness with limited oversight; and you will need to effectively navigate across a wide range of levels, roles, and personality types with ease.

Responsibilities

• At least 5 years of relevant business experience in one or more of the following: business management, finance, operations, project management and/or program management.
• Incredibly high level of organizational capabilities and/or project/program management.
• Drive to see initiatives through from start to finish in a complex, matrixed environment.
• Be a proven problem solver and innovator to work through blockers & challenges to see something through.
• Proven track record of implementing operational processes that enable the team in a quick, clean, programmatic way.
• Exceptional decision-making, critical thinking, problem-solving and process improvement ability.
• Demonstrated ability to manage multiple priorities, projects, and deadlines simultaneously.
• Proven relationship building skills necessary to collaborate and disseminate information across multiple organizational functions.
• Strong communicator with demonstrated success in clearly and persuasively communicating complex or sensitive business issues to senior management.
  

Qualifications

Required Qualifications:

• A minimum of 5 years of experience in business management, global project, or operations management
• 1+ years’ experience in Cloud Technologies, Gaming Live Services (Live Ops, Games-as-a-Service), or centralized Game operations
• Bachelor’s degree business, finance, engineering, operations, or equivalent experience
• 4+ years’ experience using SharePoint, OneNote, Excel, PowerPoint, Teams, Skype, and analytics tools (Power Platform apps, etc.) and communications technologies
• 5+ years of project management experience with a track record of success in high-performing management teams
  

Preferred Qualifications

• Comfortable dealing with a fast-paced, ambiguous environment and engaging in cross-group collaboration
• Efficient, problem solver who is comfortable working independently, thinking holistically about key issues, and helping influence positive outcomes
• Able to synthesize large amounts of information into crisp actionable plans and collaborate across a variety of audiences to execute
• Exceptional verbal, written, and presentation skills with a focus on tangible, measurable results
  

Microsoft is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, ancestry, color, family or medical care leave, gender identity or expression, genetic information, marital status, medical condition, national origin, physical or mental disability, political affiliation, protected veteran status, race, religion, sex (including pregnancy), sexual orientation, or any other characteristic protected by applicable laws, regulations and ordinances. We also consider qualified applicants regardless of criminal histories, consistent with legal requirements. If you need assistance and/or a reasonable accommodation due to a disability during the application or the recruiting process, please send a request via the Accommodation request form.

Benefits/perks listed below may vary depending on the nature of your employment with Microsoft and the country where you work.