Are you naturally curious, a self-starter, and someone who thrives in a complex, highly-matrixed work environment? Do you excel working as part of a geographically diverse team and are passionate about technology that supports higher learning institutions around the world?  We are looking for a Sales Strategy Leader for Higher Education who will be the driving force behind Microsoft’s global sales planning, readiness, and execution for the Higher Education sector. This dynamic role transforms market insights and customer feedback into actionable, field-ready strategies, cutting-edge tools, and measurable plans that propel teams to success. With a relentless focus on results, the Sales Strategy Leader for Higher Education conducts rigorous market research, distills complex analyses into clear, executive-level guidance, and champions the sales platforms and metrics that unlock account and territory excellence across every region and segment.

Operating at the heart of the Worldwide Public Sector Industry Solutions Team, this leader energizes cross-functional collaboration—mobilizing internal and external resources, forging multi-year go-to-market strategies, and partnering with Engineering, Marketing, and corporate teams. Their mission: to accelerate cloud and AI-driven transformation, fuel rapid revenue growth, and empower universities and research institutions to thrive in a digital-first world.

 

The desired candidate will:

Understand Higher Education’s mission and business objectives across the student lifecycle, academic services, and grant funded research; engage academic and administrative leaders to articulate how technology improves student experiences and academic outcomes.Act as a senior advisor to leadership (GM/CVP/EVP/CEO), leveraging deep sales/product knowledge and market awareness to inform strategic sales planning; build durable relationships with Finance, Marketing, Engineering, and Field Sales.Synthesize broad findings into actionable insights that guide go to market decisions, highlight competitive implications and solution area gaps, and set the frameworks/methodologies for structured problem solving.Own sales insights, readiness, and activation by directing platform/tool usage, stewarding key metrics, and influencing current/future planning initiatives and operations across all geographic regions and territories.Lead field landing by shaping account and territory planning strategies, refining landing plans and plays based on results, and closing the loop with product teams for continuous improvement.Guide innovative market research and analysis using product reports, revenue/geographic data, stakeholder feedback, and expert calls; challenge assumptions and own executive ratified framing for major research workstreams.Be fluent in cloud, AI, cybersecurity, and data estate concepts and understand the provider ecosystem, funding landscape, and support organizations unique to Higher Education.Mentor and amplify others, creating opportunities for less experienced team members to develop business partner relationships and expand their impact.

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. 

 

In alignment with our Microsoft values, we are committed to cultivating an inclusive work environment for all employees to positively impact our culture every day.