WW Surface Sr. Category Manager - Partner Engagement

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The worldwide Surface Category team is at the heart of the consumer business at Microsoft. The Surface consumer business is incredibly fast paced, growing, with a significant portfolio of innovative products. This is an opportunity to join an integral team with high impact on the global Surface business. Our team works closely with our Global Sales, Finance, Marketing, Category, Ops teams around the world as well as adjacent organizations.

We are seeking a strategic and detail-oriented WW Surface Sr. Category Manager – Partner Engagement to manage global retailer partnerships, disclosure planning, and go-to-market execution for Surface. This role is critical in ensuring our global retail partners are aligned and enabled for successful product launches and lifecycle management. You will work closely with regional category leads, sales, marketing, and engineering teams to deliver seamless partner experiences and drive business impact.

In Surface, our business goal is clear: Profitably Grow Surface Volume & Share. We accomplish this goal in two ways:

• Selling TO our retail partners: Use customer insights, market data, store level analysis, and device sales information to evaluate our business performance and develop seasonal, launch & sustain plans to improve our partners business, win share, sell units, and drive revenue/ GM.
• Selling THRU our retail partners: Plan and execute thoughtful and impactful promotions and full-funnel-marketing plans, focused on driving purchase intent, conversion & post purchase advocacy & consumer lifetime value for Surface devices & accessories.

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.

Required/Minimum Qualifications

• Master's Degree in Business, Marketing, Economics, Social Science, Computer Science, Information Technology, or related field AND 3+ years experience in retail, ecommerce, data science, research, marketing or business-related roles OR Bachelor's Degree in Business, Marketing, Economics, Social Science, Computer Science, Information Technology, or related field AND 4+ years experience in retail, ecommerce, data science, research, marketing or business-related roles OR 5+ years experience in retail, ecommerce, data science, research, marketing or business-related roles OR equivalent experience.
• 4+ years category management, product management, marketing strategy, business planning, product planning, or related work experience OR related field OR equivalent experience.

Additional or Preferred Qualifications

• Master's Degree in Business, Marketing, Economics, Social Science, Computer Science, Information Technology, or related field AND 5+ years experience in retail, ecommerce, data science, research, marketing or business-related roles OR Bachelor's Degree in Business, Marketing, Economics, Social Science, Computer Science, Information Technology, or related field AND 6+ years experience in retail, ecommerce, data science, research, marketing or business-related roles OR 7+ years experience in retail, ecommerce, data science, research, marketing or business-related roles OR equivalent experience.
• 7+ years Consumer Electronics/IT ecosystem experience with a focus on devices and services sales across consumer segments.
• 5+ years experience in go to market (GTM), marketing strategy, business planning, or similar roles.
• 5+ years of experience translating key performance indicators (KPIs) into actionable plans to accelerate growth or address performance gaps.
• 5+ years of experience influencing diverse stakeholder groups, including internal teams and external partners, across a matrixed global organization.
• 3+ years project/vendor management experience.
• Effective delivery on Quarterly and Annual Account Budgeted Revenue and key scorecard metrics.

Category Management IC4 - The typical base pay range for this role across the U.S. is USD $106,400 - $203,600 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 $137,600 - $222,600 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

Microsoft will accept applications for the role until August 21st, 2025.

• Partner Disclosure Planning: Lead global partner disclosure planning, including scheduling, coordination, and alignment across regional teams (EMEA, Asia, Americas) to ensure timely and compliant product communication.
• Forecasting & Data Analysis: Own and manage forecasting templates and return data analysis for Surface devices to support accurate planning and performance tracking.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Collaborate with Sales, Marketing, Windows, and Engineering teams to deliver executive briefs, partner-facing materials, and Voice of the Customer insights that inform strategic decisions.
• Retail Stakeholder Engagement: Maintain trusted relationships with retail partner stakeholders and internal teams to ensure alignment on product lifecycle milestones and launch readiness.
• Performance Reporting: Track and report on partner feedback, volume estimates, and disclosure outcomes to inform strategic planning and continuous improvement.