Overview

Microsoft is a place where passionate innovators come together to collaborate, envision what’s possible, and take their careers further. In a world driven by cloud-enabled innovation, we embrace openness, creativity, and limitless thinking.

Our mission is to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more. We bring this to life through a growth mindset, a commitment to innovation, and a culture grounded in respect, integrity, and accountability, where everyone can thrive at work and beyond.

The Global Skilling Product Team (GSPT) is on a mission to build world-class skilling products and experiences that inspire customers, partners, Microsoft sellers, and future generations. Our goal is to reach 100M+ learners globally through impactful skilling, upskilling, and reskilling solutions.

We are seeking an experienced Director of Operations-AI Skilling to lead the Operations team within the Product Team in Global Skilling, reporting directly to the GM, Global Skilling Product Team (GSPT). In support of Global Skilling’s priorities to empower the global workforce, skill a world-class sales organization, reach new learner audiences, drive real-world impact with AI, and energize the team, this leader evolves Content Publishing and Credential Operations to operate at product speed, accruing to product priorities — enabling product and agentic skilling experiences to scale globally with reliability, efficiency, and measurable impact.

This role will evolve content operations for our skilling experiences using AI and automation to modernize the entire content lifecycle from content ingestion, publishing, release and maintenance. Leads a team of operations leads and partners closely across product, engineering, content & insights, field and partner, audience and outbound, and community and culture teams. Sponsors process design and business outcomes for highly complex processes across the organization. Oversees process execution across teams by utilizing broad knowledge of process tools and methodologies. Sets strategic goals for process monitoring and evaluation across the organization. Sponsors risk mitigation across multiple complex process lifecycles. Sponsors incorporation of continuous improvement methodologies and determines prioritization for teams across the organization. Oversees change management efforts. Oversees governance for multiple complex process documentation and design across the organization. Oversees governance for multiple large supplier contracts for suppliers working on behalf of Microsoft. In addition, this role has people management responsibilities including driving employee growth and development, executing projects, and managing performance.

Responsibilities

AI-first Process design and execution:

• Owns and drives the AI first strategy and vision for the entire content lifecycle from first principles – ingestion, creation, publishing, localization and maintenance with continuous improvement methodologies, efficiencies and scale. Determines prioritization for process improvement, including optimizing, maintaining, and transforming current processes to increase efficiency and effectiveness for teams across the organization. Holds teams accountable for dependable, high-quality work and creates opportunities for automation with AI and agentification.

• Develops operations roadmap with clear end-to-end views of expected business outcomes for owned processes across the organization by leveraging data, research, and assessments. Guides stakeholder engagement rhythm to ensure engagement and alignment across teams to drive process outcomes. Leads the identification of alternative solutions and options to resolve challenges with executive business partners across the organization.

• Sponsors process design and the development of business outcomes for highly complex processes across the organization to assess process performance for teams across the organization. Oversees definition of yearly goals and creates solutions for anchoring to industry standards and process measures, implementing controls, maintaining compliance, optimizing customer experience, and helping to increase efficiency and reliability of business operations for teams across the organization.

Specifically, the role owns the following operational focus areas:

• Content Operations, Publishing & Release — Unified intake for all content, an AI-based video authoring and publishing pipeline, an AI agent for taxonomy and metadata tagging, and automated freshness governance, while reducing dependence on legacy content platforms. Supports the increased complexity of expanded modalities and channels and shorter, faster content lifecycles, and stands up and executes the operations required to support new broadcast content channels.

• Delivery Operations — Predictable capacity through dedicated teams and responsive scheduling with fewer exceptions through regional flexibility, clear separation of delivery execution from operational excellence, and tool-driven operations on a modern delivery platform that support scale and agility in place of manual workarounds.

• Organizational Operations — Leverages and aligns consolidated content and delivery tools as they become available in product launches, sunsets legacy tools and processes, and operationalizes content ingestion with the support of new tools.

• Process Maintenance and Optimization – Partners across different disciplines to champion process decisions for improvement and build a business case for change. Sponsors change management efforts using broad understanding of the business (e.g., readiness, timing, impact on stakeholders, data, tools, systems, policy, return on investment [ROI]) to land the change. Communicates overarching future goals and roadmap to executive stakeholders. Sets broad strategic goals and roadmap for process monitoring and evaluation for teams across the organization.

Executive Communication & Stakeholder Engagement:

• Sets broad strategic goals and roadmap for process monitoring and evaluation for teams across the organization. Uses analyses and takes business capabilities into consideration to define the strategic roadmap and subsequent automation of highly complex processes by translating data into action. Analyzes data to benchmark and interpret key performance indicators (KPIs) to better understand highly complex processes and define and lead changes, if needed.

• Leverages data analysis results to guide teams toward opportunities to mature and align to industry standards. Guides and recommends leadership direction and communicates findings to executive stakeholders to promote continuous feedback loops.

Analytical Problem Solving:

• Analyzing and Solving Problems — Analyzing and interpreting data, solving complex problems, and translating insights into actionable strategies that support informed decision-making and business growth.

• Utilize data-driven approaches to identify trends, risks, opportunities, and areas for improvement.

Operational Excellence:

• Driving Process Efficiency and Quality — Spearheading business process optimization and operational excellence by managing projects, ensuring adherence to quality standards, and implementing improvements that result in increased efficiency and reliability of business operations.

• Enabling Adaptive Process Innovation — Harnessing creativity and design thinking to enable the development and implementation of innovative process designs that manage change, enhance decision-making capabilities, and drive organizational agility and transformation.

• Enhancing Organizational Communication and Engagement — Articulating ideas and narratives, managing conflicts, and negotiating outcomes while respecting cultural diversity to foster an inclusive and collaborative workplace environment.

Supplier Governance:

• Oversees governance for multiple large supplier contracts for vendor/supplier/external staff to work on behalf of Microsoft. Sponsors standardization of vendor processes. Leverages supplier performance, controls, and metrics and makes strategic decisions to improve supplier processes and define new targets. Leads strategy in collaboration with suppliers.

People Management:

• Managers deliver success through empowerment and accountability by modeling, coaching, and caring.
  • Model — live our culture, embody our values, and practice our leadership principles.
  • Coach — define team objectives and outcomes, enable success across boundaries, and help the team adapt and learn.
  • Care — attracts and retains talented people, knows everyone's capabilities and aspirations, and invests in the growth of others.

Other

• Embody our culture and values.

Qualifications

Minimum Qualifications:

• Master's Degree in Engineering, Business, or related field AND 6+ years process management, process execution, process optimization, or related experience

  • OR Bachelor's Degree in Engineering, Business, or related field AND 8+ years process management, process execution, process optimization, or related experience
  • OR equivalent experience.

• 4+ years people management experience.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Master's Degree in Engineering, Business, or related field AND 12+ years process management, process execution, process optimization, or related experience (e.g., data analytics)

  • OR Bachelor's Degree in Engineering, Business, or related field AND 15+ years process management, process execution, process optimization, or related experience (e.g., data analytics)
  • OR equivalent experience.

• 7+ years people management experience.

• Lean, Business Process Management Professional, Change Management (e.g., Prosci), Six Sigma, and/or Agile certifications a plus.

• 12+ years of experience in process management, business operations, research operations, product operations, or a related discipline.

• 8+ years of experience leading complex, cross-functional operations, process transformation, or product operations programs at enterprise scale.

• 3+ years of experience managing supplier or vendor performance, operational budgets, and related governance controls.

• Experience working within product and design organizations is a plus.

• Experience in skilling, learning, credentialing, EdTech, or other digital learning environments is a plus.

• Experience leading publishing operations, content lifecycle management, or marketing insights in a digital publishing environment.

• Experience managing Process Managers, UX Designers, or other multidisciplinary operations and design professionals is a plus.

• Demonstrated experience using AI technologies and automation to transform and modernize business operations.

• Proven ability to identify, design, implement, and govern AI-driven process improvements at enterprise scale.

• Proven ability to analyze complex business challenges, synthesize data and insights, and translate findings into actionable strategies and measurable outcomes.

Process Management M6 - 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.