Director, Sales Operations - Territory Design

The Americas Sales Enablement & Operations (SE&O) organization sits at the center of translating Microsoft’s commercial strategy into field execution. Within SE&O, the Business & Sales Operations (BSO) group serves as the center of excellence for cross-business planning, execution performance, and sales operations transformation. Our team builds the programs, frameworks, and systems that enable thousands of sellers across the Americas to operate at their best—at scale and with precision.

The Resource Design team within BSO is responsible for how Microsoft structures its sales organization: how sellers are aligned to accounts, what coverage models apply across business units, and how territory decisions are governed, executed, and maintained throughout the fiscal year. This work directly shapes seller experience, customer coverage, and commercial outcomes across the Americas.

We are looking for a Director, Sales Operations – Territory Design to own one of the most consequential programs in Americas field operations: how we structure, assign, and govern seller territory coverage across the region.

This is a strategic, cross-functional leadership role for someone who thrives at the intersection of business strategy, operational design, and stakeholder influence. You will lead the full lifecycle of territory design for the Americas—from annual strategy development and planning, through in-year execution, exception management, and system coordination. You will partner deeply with business unit leaders, field managers, worldwide strategy and governance teams, finance, and HR to ensure sellers are aligned to the right accounts in the right coverage model—with rigor, transparency, and consistency.

This role is ideal for a strategic operator who is energized by complexity, knows how to build frameworks that actually land across large organizations, and can influence aligned decisions at the executive level without always having direct authority. If you have led large-scale planning processes, built repeatable operational systems, and navigated competing priorities across matrixed organizations—this is the role for you.

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.

Territory Strategy & Annual Planning

• Own the end-to-end Americas territory design process: develop the principles, frameworks, and governance approach that structure how sellers are aligned to accounts across the region
• Lead the annual territory planning cycle from kickoff through approval—managing timelines, tooling, OU-level engagement, and submission workflows across all American business units and divisions
• Partner with business unit teams and field leadership to model year-over-year changes in coverage, incorporating shifts in strategy, headcount, account segmentation, and market structure
• Engage worldwide strategy and governance teams to translate global policy into Americas-level design decisions; represent Americas interests in WW discussions on business rules and coverage standards
• Drive leadership alignment on territory principles, account categorization, and coverage model decisions at the division and executive levels
• Build and deliver leadership-facing reporting, insights, and executive-ready materials throughout the fiscal year—from planning kick-off through post-rollover

Red Carpet & Customer Transition Readiness

• Lead the Americas Red Carpet program, establishing the engagement model, readiness framework, and governance approach required to enable business continuity, and high-quality seller transitions.
• Partner with Worldwide Red Carpet, FastStart, and Sales Excellence, and field leadership teams to translate transition strategy into actionable field guidance, landing plans, communications, and office hours for sellers, managers, and leaders.
• Monitor transition completion, adoption, and risk indicators; proactively remove execution blockers, drive stakeholder accountability, and continuously enhance transition processes.

In-Year Execution & Governance

• Manage in-year territory changes, exceptions, and escalations with consistency and sound judgment—balancing business unit flexibility with worldwide governance requirements
• Serve as the escalation point and decision-maker for complex scenarios: corporate divestitures, account segment transitions, non-standard coverage models, and late-cycle change requests
• Maintain alignment between territory design outcomes and downstream resource planning and seller assignment systems, ensuring data accuracy, business rule adherence, policy compliance, and execution integrity through rollover
• Coordinate with engineering and planning teams on territory system readiness, rollover timelines, and field visibility communications
• Ensure audit readiness and risk mitigation across territory decisions, maintaining documentation of governance decisions and exception rationale

Cross-Functional Partnership & Stakeholder Management

• Engage deeply across a broad stakeholder ecosystem: business unit Chiefs of Staff, field leaders and managers, resource management, quota, finance, HR, and worldwide strategy teams
• Lead change management and communications by translating complex sales operations concepts into clear frameworks, decision criteria, and actionable guidance for diverse audiences—from individual sellers to regional leadership
• Build and maintain trusted working relationships across the Americas, acting as the authoritative voice on territory design principles, governance, and process
• Represent the territory design function in cross-functional forums, executive reviews, and planning processes

Process Modernization & Scale

• Continuously improve the tools, platforms, and processes used to design and execute territory coverage—with a bias toward automation, simplification, and scale
• Build repeatable, high-quality frameworks that reduce planning cycle time, improve account data integrity, and enable faster, more consistent coverage decisions across the Americas
• Innovate how territory design insights are developed and shared—delivering the right information to the right stakeholders at the right time

Other

• Embody our culture and values

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's Degree in Business Administration, Marketing, Finance, Sales, Accounting, Information Systems, Social Sciences, or related field AND 10+ years experience in sales operations, business operations, project management, analytics, compensation, sales performance analytics, finance/business analyst, process improvement, business development, consulting, finance, marketing, or a related field OR equivalent experience.

Preferred Qualifications

• 12+ years of experience in sales operations, business operations, strategy, management consulting, or a related field
• Demonstrated experience leading large-scale, cross-functional planning or operational programs in complex, matrixed organizations
• Proficient analytical and structured problem-solving skills; ability to frame ambiguous problems, synthesize competing inputs, and drive decisions with clarity
• Reliable stakeholder management skills—comfortable influencing without authority, navigating competing priorities, and presenting recommendations to senior leaders
• Experience building operational frameworks, processes, or systems from the ground up in dynamic environments
• Effective written and verbal communication skills; ability to develop executive-level materials, narratives, and leadership updates
• Ability to manage multiple high-priority workstreams simultaneously and deliver results under deadline pressure
• Experience in sales coverage design, account segmentation, territory planning, or go-to-market strategy
• Familiarity with large enterprise B2B sales organizations and how field sales operations function at scale
• Background in management consulting, business transformation, strategy, or sales operations leadership
• Experience with data and business intelligence tools (e.g., Power BI, Excel) for reporting and insights
• Proven ability to lead through influence and alignment in a large, global organization
• Bachelor’s degree required (Business, Finance, Operations, Information Technology, or related field)
• Advanced degree (MBA or equivalent) beneficial but not required

Sales Operations IC6 - 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.