Job Description

Microsoft is on a mission to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more. Our culture is centered 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.

This position will lead Microsoft's work with two Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) - the University of Maryland Eastern Shore and Southern University - to build out the institutional capacity of their computer science, data science, electrical engineering and computer engineering programs. Additionally, they will be responsible for supporting Microsoft relationship with the association of 15 Historically Black Colleges and Universities with engineering schools, Advancing Minorities' Interest in Engineering (AMIE). While this position will report into the Diversity & Inclusion group, day to day management will sit with the Senior Director of University Relations as a part of Microsoft's Corporate and Legal Affairs group that works across Microsoft to drive relationships with key universities in North America.

This is an exciting opportunity to help surface areas of opportunity and develop best practices for how we 'show up' with, and support, an important set of institutions.

You will engage directly with varied stakeholders within Microsoft and at the universities to develop insights into the universities' needs, mobilizing existing Microsoft resources and programs to assist the schools, and suggesting and creating new initiatives as needed. You will partner with the executives who represent Microsoft's relationship with AMIE, and ensure the Microsoft team have clarity on writing reports to capture on insights from your work with the two universities and share best practices with the community of AMIE university and corporate partners.

An ability to operate independently, proactively, and intuitively in a shifting environment is essential. If mutually agreed, pending safety, you should expect to travel 25% of the time.

* Issue Resolution - You advise on and respond to key corporate social responsibility strategic issues, recommending prioritized actions, ensuring alignment with stakeholder positions, and escalating matters, as appropriate.
* Needs Assessment - You identify and recommend corporate social responsibility initiatives to address complex local, regional, national, and global community and civic engagement needs in alignment with Microsoft's corporate social responsibility standards.
* Communications - You influence and contribute to the corporate social responsibility communications strategy and ensure corporate social responsibility programs are integrated into internal and external stakeholder messaging; you participate in events to advocate for and communicate Microsoft's perspective on key strategic issues and garner the support of influential stakeholders.
* External Relationships - You identify and manage partnerships with nonprofit, international, advocacy, academic and other community-based groups to advance corporate social responsibility development programs; you implement improvement to Microsoft's corporate social responsibility initiatives based on community and stakeholder feedback.
* Engage directly with professors, department heads, student groups, labs, Provosts, and Deans on 2 HBCU campuses. Serve as a point of contact to direct university stakeholders to the right internal Microsoft stakeholders to form partnerships and access resources.
* Identify existing Microsoft resources and programs that will meet the need of the two partner HBCUs and operationalize their deployment on each campus.
* Surface and elevate university needs and opportunities that do not fit into current Microsoft outreach back to the University Relations team. Based on this information, propose new initiatives to the University Relations team and internal stakeholders.
* Provide technical expertise to broker Microsoft's connections with university stakeholders in computer science, data science, electrical engineering and computer engineering programs.
* Facilitate the sharing of information and best practices across internal teams, encouraging creative new ways to work together to assist these universities. Find ways to incentivize out-of-the box thinking and help steer collaborative efforts among team members to completion.
* Seek out opportunities to collaborate with other corporate partners for sustainable support for the HBCUs.
* Document best practices so they can be scaled to other universities, and shared with other AMIE member companies.
* Demonstrate exceptional people capabilities, ensuring diverse perspectives throughout.
* Engage for One Microsoft to ensure all stake holders are aware, aligned, supportive, and accountable for commitments and outcomes.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

* Detail Oriented - The ability to attend to and verify the accuracy and completeness of detailed information in documents, on the computer, and/or in other work products. This includes being able to code, file, compile, transcribe, classify, and/or track details from a variety of different sources/problems/issues.
* Formal Presentations - The ability to create and deliver formal presentations to others. This includes sharing information on a range of topics in a clear, concise, engaging and convincing manner; commanding the audience's attention; developing effective presentation materials (e.g., handouts, visual aids); and handling questions or argumentative positions from the audience.

* Representing the Company - The ability to establish, maintain, and manage relationships with key individuals/groups outside the organization (for example, government, community, industry, professional organizations) and understand that others view her/him as a spokesperson or representative for the company. This includes the ability to present the company's perspective to various external organizations.
* Relationship Management - The ability to develop and maintain positive working relationships with supervisors, staff, managers, customers, and vendors. This includes expressing empathy and compassion when dealing with the needs and problems of others, being approachable, taking time to address the concerns of coworkers, and treating others with respect and dignity.
* Technology Industry Knowledge - Knowledge of trends, direction, new products and changes in the technology as it applies to a particular area of focus, as well as specific knowledge about hardware, software and services.
* Public Speaking - The ability to effectively deliver speeches that communicate key information in front of an audience.

Required/Minimum Qualifications

* 10+ years of experience in corporate social responsibility, philanthropies, corporate affairs, or related area OR Bachelor's degree with 7+ years of experience in corporate social responsibility, philanthropies, corporate affairs, or related area

Additional or Preferred Qualifications

The ideal candidate will have strong customer-facing skills, technical skills, the ability to think broadly, drive projects to completion, and the presence to help bring all of Microsoft's assets into one integrated agenda with universities. They will have the ability to understand cultural norms at all levels of the university community, and the ability to navigate, engage, and influence a broad constituent base within Microsoft.
* 4 years of proven thought leadership and results
* Understanding of, and work experience with, the university environment
* Strong ability to represent Microsoft and build trusted external relationships
* Technical expertise of Microsoft products required; undergraduate degree in a technical field strongly preferred; degree from an HBCU a plus
* Commitment to developing, communicating, and executing against a shared vision, gaining support from a wide array of internal/external stakeholders
* Ability to think strategically, intuitively, empathetically, and to solve unstructured problems
* Ability to plan, develop, and articulate strategies for engaging with key audiences and to bring customer insights back to internal stakeholders in a useable form
* Track record of excellent teamwork and collaboration in a large organization across multiple teams
* Experience presenting strategy and results to executives
* Strong verbal, written, project management, and time management skills
* Good judgment, strong interpersonal skills, and a good sense of humor

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.