Director of Business Programs

Microsoft Customer and Partner Solutions (MCAPS)-Core accelerates customer outcomes and business growth. By uniting product, engineering, marketing, sales, customer success, and partners around a common customer mission, we help customers realize value faster and turn innovation into measurable business impact. Through deep technical expertise and differentiated go-to-market execution, we win competitively, capture market share, and scale repeatable growth motions. We differentiate through value creation - delivering world-class, AI-powered customer experiences that accelerate adoption, strengthen loyalty, and create sustainable competitive advantage, driving growth that outpaces the market.

The Customer & Commercial Success (CCS) organization, an organization within MCAPS-Core, is the connected engine that turns Microsoft’s commercial strategy into execution at scale — making it simpler and faster for the field to win for every customer, in every segment, region, and role. The organization brings together planning, landing, execution excellence, services portfolio and delivery, and field activation across ATU, STU, and CSU to accelerate customer value, drive growth, and strengthen the end-to-end experience across every customer moment.

Customer Service & Support is scaling an AI plan across the organization, and its value depends on the field adopting it and the market understanding it. This role owns the capability that makes that happen: turning technical AI and supportability work into credible, accessible stories, and governing how those stories reach frontline engineers, CSS leadership, cross-units, and external audiences.

This is a cross-organizational, executive-facing function — the adoption and communications infrastructure for the CSS AI plan. The Director of Business Programs will architect the messaging, run a frontline AI-video and content program end to end, and own the operating model that governs how AI wins are released in coordination with CSS Comms and executive-communications partners. As the AI portfolio matures, the role increasingly carries confidential AI-strategy and organizational-messaging work, which is why it sits with a full-time employee accountable for the outcome.

You will succeed here if you think in narratives and systems at the same time: generative and fast on the story, disciplined and repeatable on the process, and credible across organizational boundaries where message ownership is shared and contested.

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.

Key responsibilities

• Own the AI strategic messaging architecture for CSS/A&I - define how the AI portfolio is framed for distinct audiences (frontline engineers, CSS leadership, cross-units partners, external), and keep that framing consistent as the portfolio evolves.
• Run the frontline AI-video and content program end to end - select subjects, interview product and engineering SMEs, direct scripting and production, drive the stakeholder review and sign-off chain, and release across Viva Engage, CSS Comms, and A&I Comms pathways.
• Own the dissemination operating model and governance - maintain the cross-team protocol for how AI stories get published in partnership with (not in conflict with) CSS Comms and exec-comms ownership; keep releases running cleanly through that protocol.
• Translate technical work into adoption - connect messaging to named AI initiatives and pilots so communications measurably support field adoption, not just awareness.
• Lead across organizational boundaries - coordinate Full-time Employees (FTEs), senior stakeholders, product groups, and comms partners; resolve competing message-ownership situations with clear escalation and decision paths.
• Deliver executive-ready narratives on demand - produce the framing, decks, and stories CSS leadership needs for key AI-plan moments.
• Carry confidential, forward-looking messaging - as scope matures, own confidential AI-strategy and organizational-change communications with the discretion and accountability the work requires.

Required/minimum qualifications

• Bachelor's Degree in Business, Operations, Finance, or related field AND 8+ years experience in program management, communications, or process improvement
  • OR equivalent experience.

Other Requirements

• Ability to meet Microsoft, customer and / or government security screening requirements are required for this role.  These requirements include, but are not limited to the following specialized security screenings: Microsoft Cloud Background Check: This position will be required to pass the Microsoft Cloud Background Check upon hire / transfer and every two years thereafter.

Additional or preferred qualifications

• Master's Degree in Business, Operations, Finance, or related field AND 12+ years experience in program management, communications, or process improvement
  • OR Bachelor's Degree in Business, Operations, Finance, or related field AND 15+ years experience in program management, process management, or process improvement
  • OR equivalent experience.
• Experience in strategic communications, corporate/internal communications, product marketing, or content strategy, including owning programs end to end.
• Demonstrated ability to translate complex technical subject matter (ideally cloud, AI, or customer-support domains) into clear, accessible narratives for varied audiences.
• Hands-on experience taking multimedia/video content from concept through script, production, stakeholder sign-off, and release.
• Proven cross-functional stakeholder leadership in a large, matrixed organization — coordinating senior stakeholders and peers who do not report to you.
• Track record of building repeatable communications processes or governance (operating models, protocols, editorial/release cadences), not just producing one-off content.
• Proficient written and verbal communication, sound editorial judgment, and the ability to move decisively while managing competing priorities.
• Familiarity with Microsoft CSS, Azure, and the AI/agentic product landscape.
• Experience with internal channels (Viva Engage, Teams) and enterprise adoption/change communications.
• Experience messaging AI or agentic products, including responsible-AI-aware framing.
• Comfort operating across shared or contested communications ownership (e.g., business-unit comms vs. executive comms) and navigating it without escalation.
• Experience partnering with product and engineering leaders and standing in front of SMEs to source authentic stories.

Business Program Management IC6 - The typical base pay range for this role across the U.S. is USD $130,900 - $277,200 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 $165,600 - $303,600 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.