Business Program Manager

Overview

Cloud Operations + Innovation (CO+I) is seeking a Business Program Manager to support the CO+I leadership team responsible for Microsoft's Americas Region. The Americas Region plans, procures, builds, and operates Microsoft's infrastructure datacenters, and as that footprint scales, predictable management of the region's opex budget and headcount is critical to delivering on our commitments.

To help us accelerate our objectives, growth, and transformation, we are looking for a someone who will report to the Chief of Staff of the Americas Region. This role will be responsible for bringing predictability, visibility, and rigor to how the region plans, forecasts, and reports on its opex budget and headcount. You will own budget and headcount planning, forecasting, actuals and variance tracking, spend governance, and the Rhythm of Business, turning established standards and best practices into a repeatable, run-the-business operating model.

This individual must have a blend of strategy, planning, data and analytics, communications, and program management skills to successfully support the leadership team. Being part of this team would give you an opportunity to be part of a rapidly growing business and drive strategic execution on our key initiatives.

Candidates can be located anywhere in the U.S

In alignment with our Microsoft values, we are committed to cultivating an inclusive work environment for all employees to positively impact our culture every day.

Responsibilities

Who you are:

* A systems thinker who sees how planning, forecasting, tracking, and reporting connect, and who designs processes that scale across teams.

* A finance operator who is equally comfortable in the numbers and in the operating model, able to build a forecast and design the rhythm that drives accountability.

* Analytical, able to turn multiple data sources into a single, clear view and use analysis to answer business questions and sharpen forecast accuracy.

* A trusted partner to business leaders, business managers, and finance, who translates financial complexity into clear, actionable recommendations.

* An excellent and timely communicator who distills budget and headcount status into concise, decision-ready reporting for senior stakeholders.

* Agile and self-motivated, able to navigate multiple stakeholder requirements at once while staying curious about the business behind the numbers.

What you will work on:

* Own opex planning and execution across the region's non-Datacenter-Operations budgets: annual budget planning and target setting, quarterly reforecasting, actuals tracking, variance management, accruals, and reclasses.

* Manage headcount planning and tracking end to end, including position (PCN)-based forecasting, headcount scaling, and reconciliation of positions to budget, so leadership always has a current, accurate view of staffing.

* Govern spend by type, including vendor and purchase order (PO) management, and non-PO spend governance, travel and expense (T&E) and training budget planning, applying a principle-based link between spend and business need.

* Establish and run a consistent Rhythm of Business, including monthly and quarterly business reviews and budget checkpoints that keep budget owners aligned and accountable.

* Define and enforce ownership, accountability, hierarchy and cost center hygiene across finance, business managers, and business leaders, closing gaps in visibility and accountability.

* Build and maintain the region's single source of truth for financial and headcount reporting: standardize data definitions, create decision-ready reporting views, and continuously improve forecast accuracy.

* Identify efficiency opportunities and implement improvements, including AI-enabled processes and a unified data source, to strengthen accuracy, reduce manual effort, and enhance the internal and external stakeholder experience.

Qualifications

Required/

Minimum Qualifications:

* Bachelor's Degree in Business, Operations, Finance, or related field AND 6+ years experience in program management, process management, or process improvement OR equivalent experience.

Background Check 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.

Preferred/Additional Qualifcations:

* Master's Degree in Business, Operations, Finance, or related field AND 8+ years experience in program management, process management, or process improvement OR Bachelor's Degree in Business, Operations, Finance, or related field AND 12+ years experience in program management, process management, or process improvement OR equivalent experience.

* Demonstrated experience owning budget planning, forecasting, and variance management for a…