Principal Project Manager

As part of Microsoft Industry Solutions Delivery, RMQA (Risk Management and Quality Assurance) operates within the Delivery Excellence organization with the objective to mitigate risk and assure quality in deal shaping and project execution via effective solutioning, estimation and delivery monitoring by applying lessons learned, providing early warnings, resolving delivery issues and implementing a comprehensive quality accreditation program.

 

The Quality Assurance Lead is a key role in the lifecycle management of Microsoft’s services engagements with our customers. Working very closely with local sales, pursuit leads, architects and where needed, consulting project managers, the QA Lead will support deal opportunities from qualification to signed contract. In delivery, the QA Lead will provide risk management and quality assurance services on selected project, the depth of which, based on the engagement’s health. The QA Lead is also expected to provide portfolio assessment, insights and recommended action to the Delivery organization timely. Throughout the pre-sales motion and delivery execution, the QA Lead will be deeply engaged with the stakeholders associated with the transaction they cover, at every level of the organization and is the quality/risk management focus point for the field teams.

 

Microsoft Industry Solutions

Microsoft Industry Solutions engages directly with customers around the world to deliver business value from the latest Microsoft technology. We bring together the best Microsoft innovation to empower companies on their digital journeys - from envisioning new possibilities to delivering and supporting the resulting solutions. Simply put, through professional services and support, we help customers and partners get the most out of their investment in our technology.

For more information, visit www.microsoft.com/Services.

Join us and be one who empowers billions! That’s incredible reach. When you combine that with your own inspiration, plus the freedom and support to make your ideas happen, you can make a huge impact on how people work and live all over the world.

Responsibilities

We are looking for someone with experience with the assessment and mitigation of risk and quality within multi-million-dollar Digital Transformation opportunities during pre-sales and delivery. You will need to demonstrate a proven track record in deal risk assessment and delivery monitoring. Additional experience in complex project management along with delivery review, project P&L management, project financial reporting, budget & resource planning, scheduling, risk management and project stabilization is essential. Experience with Azure consumption and engagement with associated stakeholders in the field is a plus.

You’ll be experienced in establishing strong and trusted relationships at C-level with a solid understanding of IT project governance, contract development, negotiations, and vendor management. Your previous experience with customer relationships is also important as you may be required to engage with various customer stakeholders.

Risk Management and Quality Assurance during delivery

• Assess and monitor overall quality during delivery in close cooperation with the Area teams. Identify root causes and drive corrective actions.
• Develop and maintain risk assessments for delivery projects on a regular basis. Such risk assessments will be based on quality assurance reviews and potential business impact of risk (i.e. quantification in terms of possible cost overrun and/or missed ACR milestones) to the expected returns from our services engagements.
• Identify and capture good practices (lessons learned) in delivery engagements and make those available as business insights within the quality community, area/regional management and promote re-use when relevant.
• Provide extended delivery QA services, of which depth and scope will be associated with the project’s risk exposure. In addition to quality assurance and risk assessments, such services may include for example: change impact orchestration, escalation management, resource and scheduling planning support, contract traceability, customer dialogue on risks and quality, or project stabilization planning and actions.
• Provide early warning on emerging risk and leverage, where relevant, Area and Regional Review Boards in creating awareness and alignment on relevant mitigation actions.
  
  

Risk Management and Quality Assurance during pre-sales

• Review quality in the approach to deal shaping based on established methodologies, testing approaches, governance models, expected commercial performance, lessons learned (from both pre-sales and delivery) and other quality assurance techniques and provide recommended actions to course correct where needed.
• Develop and maintain risk assessments for deals through each step of MCEM. Such risk assessments will be based on quality assurance reviews and potential business impact of risk (i.e. quantification in terms of possible cost overrun and/or missed ACR milestones) to the expected returns from our services engagements.
• Identify and capture good practices (lessons learned) during pre-sales, make those available as business insights within the quality community, area/regional management and promote re-use when relevant.
• When significant risks are identified during pre-sales, engage with sponsors and other executives associated with the deal to foster internal alignment on those risks and associated mitigations.
• Whenever required by the Pursuit Team, engage customers during deal negotiations to support contract collateral reviews and more generally over potential risks (and their mitigation) that can occur in delivery.
  
  

Portfolio Management, Community and Collaboration

• Drive consistency, adoption and integration of quality standards within Microsoft’s processes, policies, rules, guidelines and systems, as well as support their creation.
• Assist in developing and streamlining Risk and Quality review processes and practices, internal or external to CSRM.
• Help define programmatic actions to remediate systemic risks or issues found in the portfolio in close coordination with the Regional QA Manager, Area team, or other units within Delivery Excellence.
• Create and deliver monthly business review (MBR) content related to the Area and/or Regional delivery portfolio.
• Contribute during internal portfolio reviews towards analysis of delivery patterns, delivery insights, and prioritization of key projects to be covered in delivery.
• Actively participate in the quality, risk and delivery communities and associated initiatives.
• Where relevant, support the engagement of the Risk Management and Quality Assurance Directors in pre-sales and delivery.

Other

• Embody our culture and values
  
  

Qualifications

Inter-personal

• Cross-boundary collaboration and inter-personal awareness
• Excellent verbal and written communication, as well as presentation skills
• Good executive presence
  
  

Work related experience

• Professional services practice management
• Project management
• Customer Delivery Engagement
• Quality Assurance / Risk Management in the context of IT services delivery
  
  

Skills And Abilities

• Analytical problem solving
• Building customer/partner relations
• Impact, influence and ability to deal with ambiguity
• Strategic insights
• Negotiation and conflict management
• Attention to details
• Self-motivation and ability to work independently
• Strong organization and prioritization skills
  
  

Microsoft – Ability To Develop

• Familiarity with Microsoft Industry Solutions Offering and Value Selling
• Knowledge of Microsoft internal processes and policies  
• Experience with Microsoft Delivery Methodology  
• Understanding of Microsoft product and technology portfolio
  
  

Training And Certification

• 10+ years in technical project / program management, including quality / risk management experience, with large scale, complex enterprise projects
• Quality certification expertise (e.g., ISO, CMMI, Six Sigma) preferred.
• PMP (PMI) or risk related certification preferred 
• Degree in Business or IT Management, preferred
• Location/Travel: You may be based in either India or countries managed under India. You may be required to travel, up to 20%, for quality audits, coaching and connecting with local/area management. A flexible schedule including remote work is possible for project calls and meetings in varying engagements.
  
  

Microsoft is an equal opportunity employer. Consistent with applicable law, 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 and/or a reasonable accommodation due to a disability during the application process, read more about requesting accommodations.