Overview

At Microsoft, our core mission is empowering every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more. Industry Solutions Delivery (ISD) is a global organization of over 8,000 strategic sellers, industry experts, elite engineers, architects and consultants, working together to bring Microsoft's mission of empowerment – and cutting-edge technology - to life for the world's most influential customers.

Partner Commercial Lead (Regional) – As a Partner Commercial Lead for Asia, you will own the end-to-end commercial engagement with delivery partners in your region. Reporting to the ISD Partner Leader, this senior role drives Microsoft's FY26 Industry Solutions Delivery (ISD) partner strategy at the regional level – managing partner utilization and accelerating commercial cloud growth through effective partner selection, contracting, negotiating and performance management. You will lead a team of Partner Commercial ICs and work cross-functionally with sales and delivery teams to build a high-performing, curated partner ecosystem that delivers customer success while meeting ISD's profitability and growth targets.

Responsibilities

Partner Selection & Contracting: Serve as the regional expert on partner engagement during deal pursuits, acting as an impartial advisor on selecting the right partner for the right work based on capability and capacity. Lead negotiations with chosen subcontractor partners before deal closure – structuring scope, pricing, and contract terms that align with the deal's needs and ISD's financial targets. Ensure subcontractor agreements mirror customer contract requirements (e.g. milestones, SLAs, Ts&Cs flow downs) so that partners are accountable under the same conditions. Uphold compliant sourcing processes (e.g. running mini-RFPs among vetted partners when required) to justify partner choices and adhere to governance standards. Outcome: Optimal partner arrangements are secured for each deal, balancing competitive pricing with protections for margin and cloud consumption objectives.
Delivery Oversight & Partner Performance: Once projects are underway, act as the single point of ownership for partner performance across all ISD engagements in your region. Oversee partners at a macro level – monitoring delivery outcomes (timeliness, quality, compliance) and reviewing partner scorecard KPIs (e.g. quality ratings, Azure consumption, NNR, ECIF ROI) across programs. Conduct regular performance checkpoints and lead regular executive reviews with each key partner to assess results and future plans. Drive continuous improvement: if a partner underperforms or misses deliverables, work with their leadership on remediation plans and escalate within ISD as needed; conversely, recognise and champion high-performing partners to grant them more opportunities. Manage ongoing commercial aspects post-sale, such as negotiating any rate card adjustments or resolving commercial issues based on performance and market benchmarks. Outcome: A consistently high level of partner delivery excellence is maintained (measured by partner quality scores and successful project outcomes), and issues are proactively addressed to protect customer success and ISD's margins.
Drive Cloud Growth via Partners: Align every partner engagement with Microsoft's cloud growth ambitions. Work with deal teams to embed consumption-focused incentives and outcome-based elements into partner contracts, ensuring partners are motivated to deliver projects faster and drive Azure usage (e.g. milestone bonuses linked to cloud adoption). During delivery, track and maximise Azure Consumption Revenue (ACR) generated by partner-led projects, intervening if consumption lags and replicating best practices from partners who accelerate cloud adoption.
Partner Ecosystem & Strategy Execution: Execute the FY26 ISD Partner Strategy in your region by focusing partner investments on a selective set of trusted, high-performing partners. Rationalise the long-tail of vendors by guiding internal teams to use approved strategic partners and enforcing exception processes for any new/unvetted suppliers. Partner with Partner Operations and Compliance to ensure any new partners are onboarded and managed in line with global standards and processes, providing a consistent experience for both internal stakeholders and partners. Collaborate closely with the ISD Partner Leader and other regional Partner Commercial Leads to share learnings, maintain strict governance, and continually refine commercial frameworks (rate cards, templates, incentive models) that protect Microsoft's interests while enabling partner success. Outcome: A streamlined, strategic partner ecosystem that delivers at scale without compromising on quality or gross margin. Internally, sellers and delivery teams have a clear, efficient process to engage partners; externally, partners find it easy and rewarding to do business with ISD, fostering stronger alliances.
Team Leadership & Collaboration: Manage and mentor a regional team of Partner Commercial ICs, providing direction and ensuring consistency in how they support deals and projects. Set clear objectives for your team around partner deal structuring and delivery oversight. Foster a culture of data-driven decision making – using partner performance metrics (e.g. Partner Value Index scores, consumption dashboards) to guide actions. Coordinate with other leaders (sales, solutioning, delivery management, and the central Partner Operations & Compliance team) to remove blockers and continuously improve partner engagement processes across the region. Outcome: Your team operates as an effective hub for partner-related matters in the region, and stakeholders feel supported and aligned in executing the partner strategy.

Business Program Evaluation and Improvement

Oversees teams who conduct cost-benefit analyses to examine performance to value drivers (e.g., profit and loss [P&L], return on investment [ROI]). Helps teams drive monthly business review (MBR) and helps teams run rhythms regularly to identify what is working and what is not and make improvements accordingly.
Oversees teams who collect and evaluate success criteria and performance metrics (e.g., Objectives and Key Results [OKRs] and Key Performance Indicators [KPIs]), such as acquisition, usage, impact, effectiveness, and customer feedback to use scorecards and dashboards to monitor programs and ensure all activities align with business and program objectives, and to report up to leadership and create leadership visibility. Ensures teams optimize data analytics (e.g., scenario analyses) to derive insights and training that help identify current and future program risks and mitigation plans, as well as opportunities to streamline and optimize programs based on lessons learned that impact the broader unit and/or Microsoft.
Oversees teams who utilize direction and strategy from leadership advocate and influence sponsorship regarding business area of expertise in order to create and execute plans that shift current priorities to new organizational initiatives and objectives, and influences others to change behavior accordingly. Provides strategic guidance to help teams define vision and strategy for change, broad and specific impact, and the flow of communication to the organization. Acts as a subject matter expert when helping teams ensure buy in and adoption of the new program or change by others in the organization. Ensures teams develop the collateral required to enable key stakeholders and others to be on board. Oversees teams who drive the training, reskilling, and mapping of individuals in partnership with Human Resources (HR).

Other

Embody our culture and values

Qualifications

Experience: 10+ years in enterprise technology partner management, consulting, or outsourcing roles. Proven track record in structuring large subcontractor agreements or alliances and managing vendor/partner performance at scale. Experience in cloud services is highly desirable (familiarity with Microsoft Azure and services business a strong plus).
Commercial & Negotiation Skills: Exceptional negotiation and contract management skills, with the ability to craft complex deal terms that balance risk and reward. Deep understanding of various commercial models (T&M, fixed-price, outcome-based) and how to apply them to drive desired outcomes. Adept at financial analysis, pricing strategies, and ensuring gross margin objectives are met in partner-engaged deals.
Strategic Thinking: Ability to translate high-level partner strategy into operational execution. Must understand how to optimise a partner ecosystem – e.g. selecting the right mix of global vs. local partners, leveraging economies of scale, and implementing governance to ensure compliance. Capable of making data-driven decisions on partner usage (when to engage partners, in what capacity) aligned with business goals.
Leadership & Collaboration: Strong leadership skills to manage a team and influence. Able to work cross-functionally – partnering with sales leaders, delivery project managers, contracting/legal, finance, and partner management offices. Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills, to represent partner interests in internal forums and to represent Microsoft's interests in tough partner negotiations.
Results & Performance Orientation: Data-oriented and outcome-focused, with experience setting and measuring KPIs. Comfortable using dashboards and scorecards to monitor partner performance (e.g. delivery quality, on-time delivery, customer satisfaction, consumption metrics) and to hold partners (and internal teams) accountable. Demonstrated ability to drive growth metrics (revenue, consumption) through programmatic initiatives or business development efforts.
Education: Bachelor's degree in Business, Engineering, or related field; MBA or equivalent is a plus. Professional certifications in project management or cloud technologies are beneficial but not required.

Success Metrics: In this role, success will be measured against key outcomes that align with ISD's strategic priorities:

Commercial Cloud Growth: Achieve incremental Azure cloud revenue growth in your region driven by partner engagements. This includes meeting or exceeding targets for Azure Consumption Revenue (ACR) influenced by partner-delivered projects. For example, success is reflected in accelerated consumption post-deployment (faster customer go-lives) and reaching usage milestones that contribute to the FY26 ACR goal.
Partner Utilisation & Gross Margin: Managing the proportion of services delivered by partners in the region while maintaining healthy gross margins on partner work. Sustaining margin verifies that negotiated terms and delivery oversight are protecting profitability.
Delivery Quality & Partner Performance: Maintain high partner performance as evidenced by metrics and stakeholder feedback. This includes strong Partner Value Index (PVI) scores or equivalent quality ratings for key partners, on-time delivery of projects, and minimal escalations. Successful Partner Commercial Leads will show improvements in partner performance over time – for instance, raising the average quality score or reducing project delivery issues with partners quarter over quarter.
Ecosystem Development: Partner with central Partner Operations & Compliance team to maintain the strength and health of the partner ecosystem in your region. Metrics might include a reduction in the number of active partners (focusing on a core set of strategic partners), higher partner satisfaction/engagement levels, and the cultivation of preferred partners who drive the most value. Qualitative success can be seen in closer alignment with top partners (e.g. regular exec engagements, partners investing in growing their Microsoft business) and in positive feedback from internal teams who find it easier to work with partners due to the frameworks you've implemented.

Your role is pivotal in marrying Microsoft's delivery capabilities with an empowered partner network to accelerate cloud consumption and customer success. By expertly managing partner collaborations – from initial contract through steady-state delivery – the Partner Commercial Lead ensures that ISD's engagements with partners are strategic, efficient, and ultimately drive significant business impact for Microsoft.

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.

Regional Partner Commercial Leader - Industry Solutions Delivery (Asia)