Director, AI Advertising Acceleration

Microsoft Advertising is a worldwide Sales, Marketing and Services organization on the cutting edge of the digital advertising industry. Microsoft Advertising offers a compelling portfolio of advertising products, innovative solutions and the opportunity to engage with some of the brightest minds in the digital space. Microsoft Advertising is the destination for experienced, collaborative, and passionate digital advertising professionals seeking a rewarding career and lifestyle. Microsoft Advertising is part of the Microsoft AI (MAI) division and has a clear vision for MSA FY25 and beyond: we aim to own the market position for how Microsoft AI is changing the way consumers engage with advertising.

Who We’re Looking For
We are seeking a dynamic and innovative leader to join our team as the Director of AI Ads Acceleration. In this role, you will be responsible for accelerating the adoption of Microsoft's AI Advertising products with advertisers (clients and agencies). You will leverage our AI offerings to deepen and expand client relationships, drive short-term revenue for AI-related initiatives, and infuse critical feedback from our advertisers into our AI product development.

This role requires close collaboration with Field Sales (GMS), the Microsoft commercial team, Ads Engineering, Marketing, Product Marketing, and our Business Planning Teams. We are looking for a skilled collaborator and builder who thrives in navigating highly ambiguous situations. The ideal candidate will have a proven track record of driving adoption of AI solutions, building strong client relationships, and delivering revenue growth. You should be adept at working across multiple teams and functions and have excellent communication and leadership skills. Experience in the advertising industry and a deep understanding of AI technologies are essential.

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.

Responsibilities
Sales Leadership AI Acceleration: Accelerate the adoption of Microsoft's AI Advertising solutions with clients and agencies by developing and executing strategic plans that showcase the value and capabilities of our AI offerings. Partner with sales account teams to identify opportunities where our AI solutions can deepen and expand client relationships, demonstrating how these solutions can drive business outcomes and revenue.
Scaled Sales Enablement and Cross-Group Collaboration: Ensure that the Global Agency team and broader Field Sale(GMS) is enabled to deliver our evolving AI narrative, identify opportunities and pull in right resources to deliver AI solutions across our Microsoft Advertising portfolio (via client workshops, QBR’s, industry engagements). Collaborate closely with Field Sales (GMS), the Microsoft commercial team, Ads Engineering, Marketing, Product Marketing, and Business Planning Teams to align on goals, share insights, and drive coordinated efforts that maximize the impact of our AI advertising solutions. Navigate and succeed in highly ambiguous situations, providing clear direction and leadership to cross-functional teams, fostering a culture of innovation and agility to adapt to changing market conditions and client needs.
Customer Engagement: Serve as the “voice of the customer” for Microsoft Advertising AI offerings and the “chief dot connector” for AI customer inputs. Gather and analyze customer feedback to drive data-driven decision-making and improve AI product offerings. This involves working closely with product, sales and marketing teams, participating in existing advertising forums, and using data analytics to identify trends and insights. Ensure that client needs and pain points are addressed in future product developments and enhancements.
Strategic Planning and Sales Leadership: Prioritize key accounts, being proactive in identifying opportunities, and planning effectively to bring AI solutions to market. Develop and implement strategic sales plans across our client base globally, setting clear goals and objectives, and ensuring alignment with AI leadership, GMS and overall business strategy.
Copilot Ads GTM Planning: Provide critical input into the GTM process to ensure a smooth AI Ads product launches generate excitement in the advertising community and are iterative, pulling in voice of the buyer. Use the established GTM processes and/or drive changes to those processes that may be required for our new AI offerings.
Senior Client Industry Leadership: Influence senior-level advertisers and agencies across the advertising industry by telling our AI story and showcasing the value of our AI-driven advertising solutions. This includes participating in industry events, EBC’s, leveraging existing/building relationships with key stakeholders, and positioning Microsoft as a thought leader in AI for advertising.
Growth Mindset Culture Leadership: demonstrate leadership in an inclusive and accountable culture built on adopting growth mindset and continuous improvement (ie – blameless retrospectives). Encourage open and diverse conversations that lead to a culture of trust and growth, celebrate accomplishments, and promote fun. Model a commitment to giving and receiving feedback as a part of growth, reflection, and progress for the people and the business. Act as a leadership voice and active ally to / participant in our MSA and MAI Communities.
Qualifications
Required Qualifications:
Bachelor's Degree in Business Administration, Engineering or related field AND 10+ years partner management, sales, business development, platform ecosystem/network, or partner channel development in the technology industry
OR 12+ years partner management, sales, business development, platform ecosystem/network, or partner channel development in the technology industry.
Experience cultivating trust-based relationships directly with senior level leaders internally and / or VP or C-level leaders externally; strong industry connections and / or demonstrated ability to establish and cultivate senior level partner relationships.
Direct experience leading ENG partnerships in a resource-constrained environment where trade-offs and prioritization are a regular part of the business dialogue.
Experience in developing and operationalizing business plans; strategic thinker with a proven track record of exceptional performance, high productivity, and meeting deadlines in a leadership role.
Preferred Qualifications:
Passion for building, including all of the ambiguity, risk taking, failure and iteration at high rates of speed that is entailed.
Commitment to inclusion that shows up in all levels of collaboration and problem solving; drives alignment and teamwork within a team, department, or across organizational boundaries. Combines resources and joins efforts to achieve company-wide goals.
Positive, can-do spirit and proactive problem solver.
High integrity collaborator who seeks win-win and broader organizational benefit while driving toward own goals.
Organizational agility/savvy and ability to work across organizational boundaries to build alignment at multiple levels of leadership and drive closure on issues; Effectively scopes problems. Builds and applies a job-relevant knowledge base. Makes decisions with conviction.
Confident public speaker and exceptional overall communicator and active listener who has successfully established open and bi-directional feedback mechanisms and who actively seeks constructive feedback; demonstrates persuasive enthusiasm to engage audiences of all kinds. Exhibits conviction that portrays a genuine passion to inspire and connect, in a manner that is easy to understand about a wide array of opportunities, using various media formats. Talented in storytelling and building a story
Solid self-discipline and time management abilities; Multitasker capable of switching easily and constantly between strategic and tactical work.
Adaptable: demonstrates curiosity and actively explores options. Responds efficiently to changing demands and circumstances. Functions effectively in ambiguous situations. Maintains a constructive attitude in times of stress.
Analytical Problem Solver: Uses relevant information to identify trends and inconsistencies in data. Offers practical and effective solutions to simple and complex problems.

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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. Read more