Senior Director, Lease Center of Excellence

Microsoft Cloud Operations and Innovation (CO+I) is the team behind the Microsoft’s Cloud infrastructure and is responsible for innovating, planning, designing, building and operating one of the largest datacenter fleets in the world. We support product teams by providing a secure and compliant, cost efficient and highly available global infrastructure that Microsoft’s customers depend on.

We are seeking a Senior Director, Lease Center of Excellence who will be instrumental in elevating Microsoft’s strategic position and fostering transformative partnerships. This leader will drive innovation and operational excellence, leveraging industry insights to shape our strategic direction and cultivate meaningful alliances. With a commitment to excellence and to Microsoft’s vision, the Senior Director will play a pivotal role in steering our organization towards new horizons of success and sustainability.

The successful candidate will have established leadership capabilities with a blend of analytics and insight development, program management and executive level communication skills. In addition, the candidate will lead multiple simultaneous large-scale initiatives with a balance of technical leadership and business judgement. The successful candidate will be a solution-oriented person with a combination of business and planning-related domain expertise with the ability to work with diverse stakeholder groups to develop creative solutions to drive changes in our complex and rapidly growing Cloud Infrastructure.

The Senior Director, Lease Center of Excellence will lead and develop a team of professionals dedicated to ensuring business resilience, sustainability, and safety across our leased portfolio. This team will be at the forefront of adapting to disruptions successfully, optimizing resources to stay profitable and competitive, and reducing environmental impact through strategic decision-making and innovative solutions. 

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.  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

• Optimize lease portfolio performance by collaborating with stakeholders across the company (engineering, health & safety, sustainability, operations, marketing, sales, finance, legal) in the development of business strategy. Translate business strategy into an ecosystem strategy and identify and architect innovative solutions that embody the Lease Center of Excellence’s commitment to resilience, sustainability, and safety.
• Identify, develop, and propose opportunities to support our growth by managing relationships and upscaling our tools and processes to support our evolving needs. Ensure environmental, health and safety, anti-corruption/anti-bribery, and Service Level Agreement (SLA) considerations are being managed and executed with the highest standards of excellence and integrity, reflective of the Lease Center of Excellence’s ethos.
• Monitor operational performance and track efficacy relative to expectations post-implementation. Maintain an ongoing relationship with cross-functional stakeholders to ensure compliance and commitments are fulfilled, upholding the Lease Center of Excellence’s reputation for reliability and strategic foresight.
• Maintain a network of relationships across the industry with partners, potential partners, acquisition targets, competitors, investors, thought leaders, etc. Leverage these relationships in opportunity identification and execution, showcasing the Lease Center of Excellence’s leadership in the industry.
• Be an expert in the competitive landscape, including competitive and market dynamics and product and technology trends, reflecting the Lease Center of Excellence’s dedication to staying ahead of the curve and driving the sector forward.
• Collaborate closely with the Program Management Office and Lessor Relations teams to facilitate the strategic planning and execution of pivotal programs, enhancing the operational excellence of our leased data center portfolio.

People Management

This role will hire and develop a high performing team to deliver a best-in-class service, through executive presence and leadership, aligning to Microsoft’s culture. Our managers deliver success through integrity, empowerment and accountability by modelling, coaching, and caring.

• Model - Live our culture; Embody our value