Solution Specialist Sales Director

Overview

As the Director, Solution Specialist Manager (Security), you will lead a team of solution specialists focused on driving security business growth across strategic accounts. This role blends deep security domain expertise with strong sales leadership, requiring you to coach sellers, engage directly with customers, and own the forecast and execution of the business. Operating at a highly visible level, you will help shape strategy, represent the business to senior stakeholders, and ensure the team delivers against both revenue and customer impact goals in a complex, evolving security landscape.

Manages and aligns team with the organizations vision and customer success objectives, ensuring adherence to sales frameworks and guidelines. Guides and supports team in anticipating and addressing competitive threats and gaps in the market across all solution areas. Guides team to lead end-to-end artificial intelligence (AI) and cloud-driven transformation initiatives for customers. Collaborates with area or organization leader to ensure an accurate forecast through pipeline management and a deal-based forecast in each of the core solution areas. Facilitates cross-team collaboration to enhance operational excellence and support the execution of the business strategy. Guides team to utilize technology to foster business growth across solution areas and ensures the use of artificial intelligence (AI)-powered analytics and forecasting tools to enhance precision. Actively seeks to match solution scenarios with customer and partner organizations, focusing on how Microsofts offerings can complement and add value to their business operations. Serves as a customer and partner advocate within the subsidiary/area, offering feedback to solution area leaders to refine strategy and encourage continuous improvement to seize market opportunities and build trust. In addition, this role has people management responsibilities including driving employee growth and development, executing projects, and managing performance.

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.

Responsibilities

Customer Engagement and Partnership

• Serves as a customer and partner advocate within the subsidiary/area, offering feedback to solution area leaders to refine strategy and encourage continuous improvement to seize market opportunities and build trust. Advocates for a focus on customer success and supports the development of tailored strategies that meet their unique needs and goals. Encourages the early engagement of strategic partners in the sales process to enhance customer adoption and facilitate value realization. Participates in various rhythms of business (RoB) within the enterprise, taking into account both external (e.g., customer) and internal (e.g., sellers, internal teams) viewpoints. Delivers insights and feedback to internal teams to improve go-to-market (GTM) strategies and execution. Guides team in identifying and aligning sales plays with market and customer needs.
• Actively seeks to match solution scenarios with customer and partner organizations, focusing on how Microsofts offerings can complement and add value to their business operations. Acts as a trusted advisor to customers and partners, utilizing insights to foster marketplace success. Engages in conversations with customers that highlight the strategic relationship between Microsoft, partners, and customers business goals, thereby nurturing ongoing business partnerships. Advocates for customer support resources through Unified Support that aid in accelerating business value realization and transformation.

People Management

• Managers deliver success through empowerment and accountability by modeling, coaching, and caring. Model: Live our culture. Embody our values. Practice our leadership principles. Coach: Define team objectives and outcomes. Enable success across boundaries. Help the team adapt and learn. Care: Attract and retain great people. Know each individual's capabilities and aspirations. Invest in the growth of others.

Sales Operations and Pipeline Management

• Facilitates cross-team collaboration to enhance operational excellence and support the execution of the business strategy. Works to simplify complexity within solution areas and contributes to the development of go-to-market (GTM) strategies for cross-solution plays that support business outcomes. Coordinates the integration of solutions across the full technology stack, engaging stakeholders to demonstrate the business value proposition. Works with team to identify gaps and facilitate the creation of development plans that build technical sales acumen and capabilities across the team.
• Guides team to utilize technology (e.g., automation, Power Platforms, Sales Agents) to foster business growth across solution areas and ensures the use of artificial intelligence (AI)-powered analytics and forecasting tools to enhance precision. Encourages team to identify new revenue streams across the subsidiary and supports sales execution efforts to capitalize on market-specific opportunities and align with AI-enhanced sales methodologies and best practices. Implements aspects of the enterprise sales strategy, adapting the corporate framework into practical plans within the local market context to enhance revenue and business growth. Manages and directs organizational resources and helps build a strong sales pipeline to gain market share and compete in key growth areas. Helps identify opportunities for customers to use technology in ways that transform their business operations and accelerate growth.
• Collaborates with area or organization leader to ensure an accurate forecast through pipeline management and a deal-based forecast in each of the core solution areas. Monitors management of the sales pipeline and opportunities by reviewing overall pipeline progress to identify stalled deals and areas where guidance is needed. Supports the active management of opportunities, helps address potential roadblocks, and provides input to ensure sales targets and business objectives are met. Assists in the development and execution of sales strategy to optimize return on investments (ROI) and optimizes resources that drive impact across the solution area with operational vigor.

Sales Strategy and Execution

• Guides and supports team in anticipating, identifying, and addressing competitive threats and gaps in the market across all solution areas. Leverages deep knowledge and interpretation of market trends and artificial intelligence (AI)-driven market intelligence tools to generate insights, influencing decisions that drive the organization forward. Develops tailored business solutions that respond to customer demands and market signals and validates that proposals meet customers' strategic needs. Implements and oversees strategic sales plans for each solution area that respond to customer demands, industry needs, local regulations, and market trends to stimulate business growth and capture total addressable market (TAM) across the subsidiary. Develops a pipeline of diverse talent that responds to the needs of the market and enhances the organizations ability to realize the total addressable market (TAM).
• Guides team to lead end-to-end artificial intelligence (AI) and cloud-driven transformation initiatives for customers. Implements AI- and cloud-powered wins that both enhance customer business capabilities and demonstrate the transformative impact of cutting-edge AI technologies and cloud services Coaches team on how to differentiate Microsoft's offerings from competitors by leveraging unique selling propositions to create competitive advantage and capture market interest. Encourages teams to pursue innovation and excel in achieving market impact with innovative solutions. Promotes innovation and agility through AI and cloud adoption, aligning solutions to customer priorities and business outcomes.
• Manages and aligns team with the organizations vision and customer success objectives, ensuring adherence to sales frameworks and guidelines. Leads conversations around leveraging innovative solutions, ensuring that these innovations create a noticeable impact on the market. Promotes the integration of security principles in all customer engagements to uphold trust and compliance. Encourages innovation and problem-solving within team to stay ahead in the competitive technical sales landscape.

Qualifications

Required/minimum qualifications

• Bachelors Degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, Business Administration, Information Security, or related field AND 6+ years experience in technology-related sales or account management OR equivalent experience.

Additional or preferred qualifications

• Masters Degree in Business Administration (i.e., MBA), Information Technology, Information Security, or related field AND 8+ years experience in technology-related sales or account management OR Bachelors Degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, Business Administration, Information Security, or related field AND 12+ years experience in technology-related sales or account management OR equivalent experience.
• 6+ years solution or services sales experience.
• 3+ years people management experience.
• 10+ years security solution sales experience.
• 7+ years senior technical sales leadership experience in cloud services growth and consumption.
• 5+ years people management experience, including managing high performance sales and technical-specialist teams, coaching solution specialist and account development strategies, and/or leadership roles in multi-tiered large organizations.
• Experience selling in SLED (State, Local, and Education) sector preferred.

Solution Area Specialists M5 - The typical base pay range for this role across the U.S. is USD $133,000 - $222,700 per year. There is a different range applicable to specific work locations, within the San Francisco Bay area and New York City metropolitan area, and the base pay range for this role in those locations is USD $170,300 - $239,800 per year.

Certain roles may be eligible for benefits and other compensation. Find additional benefits and pay information here:

https://careers.microsoft.com/us/en/us-corporate-pay

This position will be open for a minimum of 5 days, with applications accepted on an ongoing basis until the position is filled.

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.