Impress employers and recruiters.
Choose from hundreds of resume examples.

Target Resume Now

About the Role

Microsoft Cloud Operations and Innovation (CO&I) is responsible for delivering core datacenter infrastructure. The Engineering Procurement and Construction (EPC) team is looking for a passionate, high-energy individual to help build the cloud datacenters that power the world’s largest online services. In alignment with Microsoft values, we are committed to cultivating an inclusive work environment for all employees to positively impact our culture every day.

Responsibilities

Lead project-specific contracting strategies across Sydney.
Define procurement approaches including competitive tender, framework drawdown, or single-source contracting where appropriate.
Partner with project management and cost management teams to optimize cost, schedule, delivery, and risk outcomes.
Own end-to-end RFP and contracting processes, including sourcing, prequalification, bid lists, commercial evaluation, and award recommendations.
Maintain a diversified and resilient supply chain, managing market capacity and programme risks.
Provide oversight of General Contractor procurement plans, subcontracting strategies, and key supplier performance matters.
Draft, review, and issue contracts in accordance with Microsoft-approved templates, approval pathways, and legal guidance.
Manage contractual exceptions, approvals, and compliance requirements in consultation with Legal, Procurement, Finance, and business stakeholders.
Review and support approval of change orders, contract amendments, and commercial modifications.
Administer contracts across the full lifecycle, including contractual notices, formal correspondence, change management, and commercial close-out.
Provide project teams with timely commercial and contractual advice to support decision-making and reduce claims exposure.
Support Lump Sum, GMP, ECI, framework, and other commercial models as required by the project portfolio.
Lead commercial assessment of EOT, delay, disruption, variation, compensation, and escalation claims.
Prepare Microsoft’s commercial position papers, negotiation strategies, and recommended responses.
Drive early dispute avoidance and structured resolution pathways where commercial issues arise.
Operate as the senior contracts point of contact across project teams, cost management, legal, procurement, finance, contractors, consultants, and suppliers.
Drive alignment across stakeholders and resolve cross-functional issues with minimal supervision.
Influence project outcomes without formal people management responsibility.
Ensure contract records, approvals, execution evidence, and correspondence are maintained to audit-ready standards.
Support use of Microsoft contracting and procurement systems such as LCE, Ariba, Icertis, Compass, and other approved tools as applicable.
Provide regular reporting on procurement plans, contract status, commercial risks, claims, and supplier performance.
Drives early business engagements for highly complex and/or undefined business areas or purchasing categories with cross functional leadership including product design, quality, and business teams, to share best practices, influence decision-makers, drive action, and optimize sourcing strategies, business requirements, spend, and short- and long-term priorities.
Facilitates industry and ecosystem engagements and provides expert consultation with leadership teams on sourcing decisions and optimizations that can be deployed at scale.
Develops and leads pricing and negotiation strategies for several complex purchasing categories, ensures that strategies clearly articulate tradeoffs, roles, and responsibilities across parties, and gains leadership support for strategies both internally and externally.
Anticipates negotiation setbacks, proactively drives action to mitigate contract disagreements, and coaches others on negotiation best practices across internal sourcing teams.
Manages supplier activity and progress across multiple accounts and complex purchasing categories, developing and executing supplier account plans detailing mutual priorities and focus for the supplier relationship for the upcoming period.
Trains external stakeholders during onboarding and identifies engagement programs to improve supplier performance to achieve business goals.

Requirements

Bachelor’s or Master’s Degree in Engineering, Supply Chain Management, Quantity Surveying, Construction Management, and/or Operations.
Proven minimum of 10 years of experience managing construction projects, demonstrating the ability to lead and deliver complex, large-scale projects from initiation through to completion.
Extensive experience in supply chain management, commercial negotiations, and contracting, as well as external supplier/contractor management across multiple projects in diverse locations.
Deep understanding of Commercial Contracting language and terms with proven negotiation skills with external suppliers / service providers.
Significant experience in contract management, procurement, commercial management, quantity surveying, cost management, engineering, construction management, or a related discipline.
Experience managing complex construction contracts, change orders, claims, commercial negotiations, and contractor correspondence.
Demonstrated ability to work across multiple concurrent projects and stakeholders in a fast-paced capital delivery environment.
Strong written and verbal communication skills, including experience preparing contractual notices, commercial recommendations, and senior stakeholder briefings.
Makes balanced recommendations that consider cost, risk, schedule, contract entitlement, and relationship impact.
Applies strong construction contract knowledge to procurement, execution, change management, claims, and dispute avoidance.
Builds alignment across project, legal, procurement, finance, and contractor stakeholders without relying on formal authority.
Identifies commercial risks early, develops mitigation strategies, and escalates with clear options and recommendations.
Maintains strong governance, documentation quality, approval control, and audit readiness across the contract lifecycle.
Works closely with site teams and contractors to ensure contract decisions support construction delivery realities.
Ability to meet Microsoft, customer and/or government security screening requirements are required for this role.
Microsoft Cloud Background Check: This position will be required to pass the Microsoft Cloud Background Check upon hire/transfer and every two years thereafter.

Skills

Commercial judgement
Contract expertise
Stakeholder influence
Risk management
Execution discipline
Onsite delivery mindset
Negotiation skills
Supply chain management
Contracting
Commercial negotiations
Supplier/contractor management
Commercial Contracting language and terms
Contract management
Procurement
Commercial management
Quantity surveying
Cost management
Engineering
Construction management
Change orders
Claims
Contractor correspondence
Written and verbal communication skills
Contractual notices
Commercial recommendations
Senior stakeholder briefings

Location

Sydney

Work Type

100% on-site

Experience Level

Minimum of 10 years of experience

Education Level

Bachelor’s or Master’s Degree

About the Company

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.
Microsoft Cloud Operations and Innovation (CO&I) is the team behind the cloud.
Within CO&I, the Engineering Procurement and Construction (EPC) team is responsible for delivering core datacenter infrastructure for Microsoft’s cloud business.
The MS portfolio consists of complex, multi-disciplinary, large scale, multi-year datacenter construction and lease projects.

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.