About the Role
The UK Commercial Executive role operates at the intersection of commercial strategy, negotiation, and customer transformation in a fast-paced, high-accountability environment. The Commercial Executive is expected to demonstrate thought leadership in complex deal making, applying creativity, commercial acumen, and strategic insight to design innovative deal structures that balance customer outcomes with Microsoft business objectives. Success in this role requires exceptional negotiation skills, the ability to influence senior stakeholder decisions, and the confidence to navigate ambiguity, resolve complex commercial challenges, and drive agreement to close. We are recruiting a number of roles for Public Sector OR Financial Services sector.
Responsibilities
- Lead the commercial strategy and negotiation of complex, high-value opportunities.
- Design and build innovative commercial constructs that address unique customer challenges while maximising business outcomes.
- Act as a trusted commercial advisor to customers and Microsoft stakeholders, influencing business decisions through data-driven insights, commercial expertise, and strategic recommendations.
- Challenge conventional thinking and apply creativity to develop innovative commercial constructs, unlocking opportunities that would not be achieved through standard deal approaches.
- Demonstrate thought leadership in deal making by identifying creative approaches to commercial, contractual, and financial challenges.
- Explain commercial structures, investment processes, T&Cs and brief stakeholders in the business.
- Track deals to close with absolute accountability.
- Examine deals from different angles, modelling different variables to make the most effective deal.
- Ensure compliance is embedded in the deal making process.
- Demonstrate thought leadership and strategic influence across multiple stakeholders to ensure Microsoft presents the strongest possible customer-focused solution.
- Lead collaboration and orchestration across Sales, Finance, Legal, Deal Desk, Operations, and Partner teams to shape innovative commercial constructs and deliver successful deal outcomes.
- Assess when executive engagement and escalation is required based on the size, complexity, risk profile, or strategic importance of an opportunity.
- Build trusted relationships with senior internal and external stakeholders, influencing decisions and navigating competing priorities to achieve alignment.
- Work collaboratively with Microsoft's partner ecosystem to deliver customer-centric commercial solutions and accelerate business growth.
- Provide feedback and influence the development of local programmes, commercial motions, and best practices that improve deal quality and business performance.
- Share expertise, coach others, and foster a culture of continuous improvement in commercial strategy, negotiation, and deal making.
- Develop a deep understanding of customer priorities, challenges, and desired business outcomes.
- Align commercial strategies and solution investments to support customer transformation goals.
- Act as a trusted advisor to senior customer stakeholders, translating complex commercial concepts into clear business value.
- Design commercial approaches that balance customer needs, risk management, and long-term partnership success.
- Anticipate potential challenges and proactively identify solutions that support successful deal execution and customer satisfaction.
Requirements
- Several years’ experience in commercial sales, negotiation, deal shaping, or opportunity orchestration roles.
- Proven track record of negotiating complex commercial agreements that support customer transformation and business growth.
- Experience designing and optimising commercial constructs through financial modelling, scenario analysis, and strategic deal planning.
- Demonstrated success leading strategic opportunities from inception through to successful close, navigating governance, compliance, and stakeholder alignment.
- Experience influencing senior executives and C-suite stakeholders through compelling commercial recommendations and business-focused storytelling.
- Proven ability to drive alignment across Sales, Finance, Legal, Deal Desk, Operations, and Partner teams to deliver successful customer outcomes.
Skills
- Exceptional communication, influencing, and analytical skills.
- Ability to translate complex commercial concepts into clear, actionable insights for a wide range of stakeholders.
- Strong commercial negotiation skills.
- Ability to develop and execute strategies that balance customer priorities, business objectives, and long-term growth.
- Commercially astute and comfortable working with financial concepts.
- Ability to use data-driven analysis and scenario planning to inform decision-making and shape deal outcomes.
- Strong understanding of the commercial deal lifecycle, including governance, risk management, compliance, and stakeholder management.
- Ability to build credibility and engage confidently with senior decision-makers, articulating commercial trade-offs and strategic recommendations.
- Highly collaborative.
- Proven ability to lead through influence, orchestrate cross-functional teams, and drive alignment across complex stakeholder groups.
- Demonstrated thought leadership, creativity, and sound judgement when solving complex commercial and contractual challenges.
Location
- Paddington, London
Work Type
- Full-time
Experience Level
- IC5
Salary/Compensations
- £ 95,300.00 - £ 123,900.00 per year
Benefits
- Certain roles may be eligible for benefits and other compensation.
About the Company
- Microsoft is on a mission to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more.
- Our culture is centered on embracing a growth mindset, a theme of inspiring excellence, and encouraging teams and leaders to bring their best each day.
- In doing so, we create life-changing innovations that impact billions of lives around the world.
- You can help us to achieve our mission.
- Do you want to be part of a commercial sales team at one of the largest cloud companies in the world at the most exciting transformative time in the industry?
Equal Opportunity
- 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.
