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.

Microsoft Corporate, External and Legal Affairs (CELA) has an opening for a motivated, skilled and talented legal and corporate affairs professional to: (1) lead, manage and inspire the twelve professionals who make up the CELA Germany Customer & Partner Solutions (CPS) team, (2) provide market leading legal and government affairs advice, support and counsel to the Germany Area Vice President and wider Microsoft Customer & Partner Solutions (MCAPS) team in Germany; (3) partner with the MCAPS business to achieve the company’s ambitious revenue, deployment and growth objectives; and (4) support the company’s public policy objectives in a wide range of areas. The role reports to Jeff Bullwinkel, VP & Deputy General Counsel for Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA).

Responsibilities

• MCAPS Transactional and Digital Transformation Support: The CELA Germany lead will be responsible for managing and coordinating the legal services required to negotiate and close customer, partner and vendor contracts to deliver revenue, deployment, usage and growth of Microsoft’s products and services. The successful individual must be able to blend legal and corporate affairs guidance and business-focused insights to conceive and implement creative solutions to legal and regulatory deal-related issues, with a focus on supporting the digital transformation of Microsoft’s existing and new customers.
  
• Cloud and AI Adoption and Public Policy Engagement: The CELA Germany Lead will be focused, in particular, on accelerating our customers’ move to the cloud and adoption of AI-powered solutions and will devote considerable time externally focused on positioning Microsoft as the most trusted, responsible and inclusive cloud and AI services provider. In that connection, the larger CELA Germany team is responsible for promoting an enabling public policy environment in Germany and across the EU (working in concert with CELA Europe’s government affairs team in Brussels) with a focus on new and emerging regulations relating to digital services, digital markets, data, and AI.
• Microsoft Runs on Trust: The CELA Germany Lead will serve as the CELA representative on the Germany MCAPS Compliance Committee and will play a key role in ensuring the MCAPS business runs on trust, complies with the law, and adheres to company policies.
• Team Leadership and People Management: The CELA Germany Lead will lead, manage, coach, and develop the talented team of Munich-based commercial attorneys, Berlin-based government affairs specialists and other legal and business professionals and inspire them to achieve high impact, top performance and individual growth.
• Trusted Advisor: The CELA Germany Lead will serve as a trusted advisor and counselor to the Germany Area Vice President and her/his leadership team and will serve as a member of the Germany MCAPS business leadership team.
  
• CELA CPS Leadership Team: The CELA Germany lead will be an important part of the global CELA CPS Leadership team and will be expected to make positive and active contributions to this diverse and dynamic team, including contributing to the setting of strategy, tactics and commitments in support of company and CPS long-term, annual and quarterly goals.
  
• Budget, Vendor and Outside Counsel Coordination: The CELA Germany Lead will manage the CELA Germany budget and drive synergies in management and retention of outside counsel, strategic advisors and other vendors.

Qualifications

Experience: At least 15 years of relevant experience combining corporate and field experience in managing complex legal, regulatory, and government affairs issues. Demonstrated executive presence is a must and direct experience in strategic and complex commercial transactions is an important prerequisite. The successful candidate must be business savvy and have a demonstrable capability to support and serve as a trusted legal and business advisor to very senior and experienced executives with high standards and expectations for the support and partnership they require from their CELA lead.

Experienced People Manager and Team Leader: Experienced leader, manager, coach and developer of talent with a proven ability to motivate and inspire a team to achieve high impact, top performance and individual growth.

Strong and Proven Communication Skills: Highly developed written and oral communication skills and ability to communicate legal and government affairs advice promptly and pragmatically in a business context in German and English is a must. Proven experience as a team leader and external and internal spokesperson. Must be able to proactively advance company positions through high impact engagement in small and/or large group settings, including communications with business leaders. Proven ability to establish trusted advisor relationships with business leaders in key positions of responsibility, and to work effectively with colleagues throughout CELA and in all the business support functions.

Decision Making in a Fast-Paced, Dynamic and Sometimes Ambiguous Environment: The environment in which the CELA Germany Lead will operate is highly matrixed, cross-functional and collaborative and requires skills and capabilities to engage effectively with a variety of different internal stakeholders across a diversity of disciplines and multiple areas of expertise. The successful candidate must have a proven ability to navigate through ambiguity, assess and mitigate risk, a demonstrated capability to adapt to rapidly changing circumstances and demands, and, most importantly, sound decision-making capabilities coupled with a willingness to make tough decisions and make them promptly.

Program Management and Prioritization: Proven ability and skills to conceive, analyze, develop and execute medium-to-long term strategies and campaigns involving hard issues and multiple stakeholders. The successful candidate must demonstrate that he or she can relentlessly prioritize, can help teams focus on doing a few things very well with high impact, and can thrive in an environment with big tasks and tight constraints on resources and time.

Team Focus and Making Others Great: A strong record of being an effective team player, dedicated to collective successes as well as working behind the scenes to help make others great. The successful candidate must have the ability to promote cooperation and facilitate problem resolution in a timely, creative and professional manner.

Growth Mindset: Track record of experimentation, learning from both successes and failures, and driving resolution with urgency and speed.

Company Values: Demonstrated commitment to the company’s core values, including a commitment to high ethical standards, unquestioned integrity, and a commitment to advancing CELA’s diversity and inclusion commitments.

Education: A graduate degree in law or political science and public policy.

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.