Worldwide Games Category Lead
Microsoft
Worldwide Games Category Lead
Redmond, Washington, United States
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Overview
In Consumer Sales Organization (CSO) our purpose is to earn fans and drive growth by building emotional connections to delight and empower everyone. We engage with consumers globally throughout their shopping journeys, navigating both physical storefronts and digital visits across Direct and Partner Channels in Gaming, Windows, M365 and Surface. Together with our ecosystem partners, we strategize and implement plans for customer engagement and economic growth.
As a member of our team, you’ll be part of growing a multi-billion-dollar business, charting new areas of innovation, and impacting billions of lives around the world. You also will be a part of a culture centered on embracing a growth mindset, a theme of inspiring excellence, and encouraging teams and leaders to bring their best each day. If that appeals to you, it’s an exciting time to be here in CSO.
The Worldwide Games Category Lead will be responsible for driving the global retail strategy and performance of the Games & Content category across the Americas, APAC, and EMEA regions. This role requires a strategic leader with a proven ability to manage high-performing teams, optimize business processes, and align cross-functional stakeholders. The successful candidate will lead global planning, go-to-market execution, and investment optimization for both physical and digital games content at retail, ensuring alignment with Xbox’s broader ecosystem and business objectives. This role also plays a critical part in leveraging market insights and regional feedback to shape product, pricing, and promotional strategies that maximize growth and profitability.
Within Gaming, we accomplish Microsoft’s mission in two ways
- Drive consumer engagement and revenue at retail: Use consumer insights, market data, store level analysis, and 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.
- Amplify the Xbox brand through our retail partners: Plan and execute thoughtful and impactful through-line-full-funnel-marketing, focused on driving purchase intent, conversion & post purchase advocacy and consumer lifetime value for Gaming devices, content, accessories, and services.
What our team offers
At the core, we are a customer-focused team that encourages a diverse & inclusive culture. We are respectful, collaborative, accountable and approach work with a fun, positive attitude. The right candidate can expect to have opportunities for career growth and development while shaping our strategic approach to the rapidly changing transactional video and advertising environments.
What I will do for you
- Champion your successes at every level of our leadership.
- Empower you with the opportunity to gain new experiences and improve upon your strengths.
- Support who you are as your authentic self.
- Make career development a consistent priority.
How you can make an impact
As a Worldwide Games Category Lead , you will create the Worldwide Retail Strategy for Xbox Games & Content, influencing future product plans and enabling the field by defining the category story, delivering regional insights, creating programs aligned to the business priorities, and setting/striving to achieve success metrics.
This role is flexible in that you can work up to 90% from home however working hours will vary given timezone requirements.
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.
Qualifications
Required/minimum qualifications
- 6+ years category management, product management, marketing strategy, business planning, product planning, or related work experience AND Bachelor's Degree in Business, Marketing, Communications, Economics, Public Relations, or related field OR equivalent experience.
- 2+ years people management experience.
- 12+ years category management, product management, marketing strategy, business planning, product planning, or related work experience AND Bachelor's Degree in Business, Marketing, Communications, Economics, Public Relations, Engineering, or related field OR 8+ years category management, product management, marketing strategy, business planning, product planning, or related work experience AND MBA/Master's Degree in Business, Marketing, Communications, Economics, Public Relations, or related field OR equivalent experience.
- 6+ years experience managing and expanding a category, attaining sales and profitability targets, and leading complex projects (e.g., large-scale or multi-year projects for multi-national or matrixed organizations) with internal stakeholders (e.g., sales management, finance) OR equivalent experience.
- 3+ years people management experience.
Category Management M5 - The typical base pay range for this role across the U.S. is USD $130,900 - $251,900 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 - $272,300 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 23rd, 2025.
#Consumer
Responsibilities
Leadership & Team Management
- Lead a high-performing, globally distributed team responsible for managing the Games & Content category across the retail channel in the Americas, APAC, and EMEA regions.
- Foster a culture of collaboration, accountability, and excellence by clearly defining roles and responsibilities.
- Establish and maintain a rhythm of business (ROB) that streamlines internal processes and enables agile decision-making.
- Structure the team to minimize duplication of effort and ensure efficient communication flow across stakeholders.
Global Games & Content Planning
- Drive the annual Games & Content budgeting process, including regional target setting and alignment.
- Co-develop and execute global Games & Content priorities in partnership with regional teams.
- Consolidate, influence, and approve regional forecasts and Initial Planning Quantities (IPQs) to ensure alignment with global objectives.
Performance Management
- Oversee quarterly forecast updates, monthly business reviews, and weekly performance reporting to track progress and identify opportunities.
- Lead go-to-market (GTM) strategy and execution for Multiplatform (Xbox, PlayStation, Nintendo) FPP (Fully Packaged Product) titles from Activision, Blizzard, Bethesda, and Xbox Game Studios.
- Manage GTM for digital games content (C2C) across the same publisher portfolio.
- Drive regional accountability for Games & Content performance, ensuring delivery against KPIs and business targets.
- Align demand planning with regional needs and the broader Gaming Business Group.
Investment Optimization
- Maximize retail opportunities while balancing Xbox P&L requirements and strategic priorities.
- Monitor performance metrics and implement course corrections as needed to optimize outcomes.
- Own and manage retail marketing and product lifecycle investments to maximize return on investment (ROI).