Solution Area Specialists Manager - AI Business Solutions

Job description

**Overview** As the **Solution Sales Manager - AI Business Solutions**, you will lead the strategy, execution, and people leadership required to accelerate customer transformation through Microsoft Business Applications, AI, and cloud solutions. This role provides direction and guidance across cross-functional teams, leading strategic engagements with executive stakeholders and decision makers for high-value customers to deepen relationships, identify business priorities, qualify opportunities, and accelerate revenue growth. You will define the overarching sales strategy for regional teams, including whitespace analysis, territory planning, and market opportunity identification. Leveraging AI-driven market intelligence, predictive analytics, and customer insights, you will proactively uncover business opportunities, assess emerging trends, identify market gaps, and guide sales initiatives that address complex customer priorities and measurable business outcomes. The role strategically directs teams across regions in the innovation, positioning, and deployment of AI- and cloud-enabled business solutions that help customers modernize operations, improve decision-making, strengthen customer engagement, and achieve sustainable transformation. You will empower specialists and solution engineers to deliver compelling solution value propositions, build trusted executive relationships, and demonstrate Microsoft’s leadership in secure, responsible, AI-powered business transformation. In partnership with internal executive stakeholders, you will drive comprehensive pipeline reviews across the territory to improve forecasting accuracy, strengthen sales discipline, and exceed revenue targets. You will also oversee the development and implementation of customer-specific sales strategies aligned to each customer’s security priorities, business application needs, and customer success plan—using AI-powered analytics and insights to strengthen long-term partnerships and accelerate growth. As a people manager, you will lead and develop a high-performing team of Solution Area Specialists and Solution Engineers focused on Business Applications. This includes driving employee growth and development, coaching for impact, managing performance, executing strategic projects, and fostering a culture of collaboration, accountability, innovation, and customer obsession. In this role, you will also accelerate your career growth, develop deep business acumen, hone your selling skills, and become adept at deal structuring. Ultimately, this role is accountable for helping customers leverage Microsoft technology to achieve successful business outcomes while growing Microsoft revenue across the assigned territory. This opportunity supports flexible work arrangements, including the ability to work from home where business needs, customer commitments, and local policy allow. 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** - **Lead strategic customer engagement:** Guide cross-functional teams in executive-level conversations with high-value customers to understand business priorities, shape transformation agendas, deepen relationships, and identify, qualify, and accelerate strategic sales opportunities. - **Define and execute regional sales strategy:** Establish the overarching strategy for assigned markets, including whitespace analysis, account prioritization, opportunity development, territory planning, and competitive positioning for Microsoft Business Applications, AI, and cloud solutions. - **Uncover market opportunities and drive predictive planning:** Leverage AI-driven market intelligence, trend analysis, customer insights, competitive signals, propensity data, renewal data, consumption data, and usage analytics to identify emerging needs, market gaps, and future demand across the territory. - **Accelerate AI and cloud transformation:** Direct teams across regions in the innovation, positioning, and deployment of AI- and cloud-enabled solutions that advance customer transformation, integrate Microsoft Business Applications and AI capabilities, and deliver measurable business outcomes. - **Own pipeline discipline, forecast accuracy, and deal execution:** Empower teams to conduct comprehensive sales pipeline reviews with internal executive stakeholders, strengthen pipeline hygiene, improve forecasting precision, support complex deal structuring, mitigate risks, and consistently exceed sales and consumption targets through AI-powered analytics and forecasting tools. - **Embed security, trust, customer success, and partner scale:** Oversee customer-specific sales strategies aligned to security priorities and customer success plans, demonstrate Microsoft’s commitment to secure and responsible AI-powered transformation, and activate partner ecosystems to drive co-selling, partner attach, adoption, value realization, and long-term customer partnerships. - **Lead, coach, and develop high-performing teams:** Attract, develop, and retain strong talent; model Microsoft’s culture and values; coach employees for growth; manage performance; build an inclusive and accountable team culture; and enable Specialists and Solution Engineers to operate as trusted advisors who translate customer priorities into business application solutions that drive Microsoft revenue growth. **Qualifications** **Required Qualifications (RQs)** - 9+ years technology-related sales or account management experience - OR Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, Business Administration, or related field AND 8+ years technology-related sales or account management experience. **Preferred Qualifications (PQs)** - 12+ years technology-related sales or account management experience - OR Bachelor's Degree in Information Technology, or related field AND 10+ years technology-related sales or account management experience - OR Master's Degree in Business Administration (i.e., MBA), Information Technology, or related field AND 8+ years technology-related sales or account management experience. - 10+ years services sales or account management experience. - 5+ years people management experience. - 2+ years manager of managers experience. 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.**](https://careers.microsoft.com/v2/global/en/accessibility.html)