ISD Partner Commercial Lead - UAE

About the Role

Microsoft's Industry Solutions Delivery (ISD) is a global team comprising over 7,000 professionals including strategic sellers, industry and security specialists, engineers, data scientists, architects, consultants, and delivery experts. The team collaborates with partners to deliver tailored, industry-focused solutions that address specialized customer challenges and propel digital and AI transformation using Microsoft technologies.

We are looking for an Industry Solutions Delivery Area or Organizational Unit Partner Commercial Lead. This position requires translating strategic priorities into structured operational rhythms, establishing governance, and achieving clear business outcomes. The role collaborates across sales and delivery functions and stakeholders to engage the appropriate partners, design effective commercial frameworks, and maintain strong delivery performance to influence critical ISD business metrics.

This position is crucial in aligning Microsoft's delivery strengths with the partner ecosystem to foster cloud adoption and customer success. The successful candidate will have extensive experience managing partners in consulting services environments, structuring commercial agreements, and overseeing performance governance within complex technology or service settings.

Key Responsibilities

• Implement the ISD global partner strategy within a designated Area or OU by aligning partner interactions with business goals, integrating strategy into operational routines, and encouraging adoption among sales and delivery teams.
• Monitor progress via milestones, governance meetings, and data analysis to enable timely adjustments and measurable outcomes.
• Advise on partner selection during pursuits, evaluating capabilities, capacities, previous performance, risks, and compliance to recommend optimal partners. Ensure decisions follow sourcing policies including mini-RFP or RFx when applicable.
• Lead negotiations and commercial structuring with selected partners before deal closure, covering scope, pricing, milestones, SLAs, and contract terms to safeguard margin, meet customer promises, and drive incentives for delivery quality, compliance, and cloud growth.
• Hold accountability for partner performance across the Area/OU portfolio by overseeing delivery quality, compliance, KPIs, conducting performance reviews, managing escalations, and fostering stronger collaborations with high-performing partners while addressing underperformance.
• Collaborate closely with leadership teams across ISD sales and delivery and partner organizations to maximize business impact, align with CE&S and GPS partner teams for consistency and knowledge sharing.
• Promote cloud growth through partners by embedding consumption-linked incentives and outcome-focused contract elements, motivating partners to accelerate project delivery and boost Azure adoption.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Business, Operations, Finance, or a related discipline, plus experience in enterprise technology partner management, consulting, or outsourcing, or equivalent background.
• Proven ability to create large subcontractor or strategic alliance agreements and manage partner performance at scale.
• Strong negotiation and contract management competencies with experience crafting complex commercial agreements balancing risk and value.
• Emirati National holding a valid UAE Family Book.
• Legal authorization to work in the UAE, either through citizenship, valid visa, or work permit.

Preferred Qualifications

• Master's degree in Business, Operations, Finance, or related field and experience in program management, process management, or process improvement.

Additional Information

This job will remain open for at least 5 days and applications are considered until the role is filled.

Microsoft is an equal opportunity employer committed to diversity in the workforce and will consider all qualified applicants regardless of protected attributes. Accommodations during the hiring process are available upon request.