Government Affairs Lead, Africa at Microsoft

Job Number: 1084468
Travel: 0-25 %
Profession: Legal & Corporate Affairs
Role type: Individual Contributor.

Background

• 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 achieve our mission.
• Microsoft has an immediate opportunity for a highly skilled, experienced government affairs professional to join the Corporate, External and Legal Affairs (CELA) team in the Middle East & Africa Headquarters (MEA HQ) as the Government Affairs manager for Africa. The successful candidate will report to the Government Affairs Lead for MEA HQ.

Responsibilities

• Strategy / Program Management - You advocate for, and manage, policy issues (e.g. social, political, legal, technical), and lead the company’s engagement and campaign with senior internal stakeholders related to government affairs on priority issues, stategies and/or programs; you are a subject matter expert and assess regulatory and/or legislative impact on Microsoft's goals and objectives; you develop and gather an intelligence network of data and relationship interactions.
• Program Development - You shape and contribute to Microsoft's policy agenda in Africa to address complex governmental issues/affairs and business priorities, and develop and/or recommend highly impactful solutions for advancing the agenda while managing risks and consequences; you develop and facilitate program outreach and execution to advance Microsoft’s policy and/or political agenda.  
• Issue Resolution - You advise on and respond to key strategic issues, recommending prioritized actions, ensuring alignment with stakeholder positions, and escalating matters, as appropriate.
• External Communication - You direct and align complex or conflicting policy with Microsoft's goals and strategies; you enhance company reputation by driving a communication framework and messaging for Government Affairs; you participate in and assist in developing internal/external events to drive Government Affairs' objectives and social media engagement.
• External Relationships - You develop and influence partnerships with coalitions, the Public Sector, relevant interests groups and industry thought leaders to achieve desired regulatory and/or legislative outcomes; you lead the implementation of improvements to initiatives based on community and stakeholder feedback; you establish Microsoft's reputation as a globally trusted provider of technology and you assist in navigating and minimizing roadblocks.
• Internal Collaboration - You advocate for and manage policy issues and lead Microsoft's engagement with internal stakeholders related to government affairs; you support senior stakeholders by regularly counselling on public policy, geo-political topics and/or cultural context; you provide direction to teammates and you act as a project lead across countries and teams.

Qualifications

• Business Acumen - The ability to understand the parts of the business and their interrelationships. This includes skill in understanding the industry, competition, and expected future developments and challenges, the business's competitive strengths and weaknesses, opportunities to grow the business and reduce operating costs; and awareness of the environment for opportunities.
• Detail Oriented - The ability to attend to and verify the accuracy and completeness of detailed information in documents, on the computer, and/or in other work products.  This includes being able to code, file, compile, transcribe, classify, and/or track details from a variety of different sources/problems/issues.
• Cross Cultural Skills - The ability to conduct business in multiple cultures. This includes the ability to recognize and adapt to cultural differences in work and communication styles across regions or countries.
• Relationship Management - The ability to develop and maintain positive working relationships with supervisors, staff, managers, customers, and vendors.  This includes expressing empathy and compassion when dealing with the needs and problems of others, being approachable, taking time to address the concerns of coworkers, and treating others with respect and dignity.
• Legal And Regulatory Requirements - Knowledge of the rules, regulations, sanctions and other statutory requirements, guidelines, and instructions relating to governing bodies and organizations, both internally and externally.  This includes knowledge of the legislative process and the ability to track all stages of a law or regulation’s progression from introduction to final passage and assess its impact on the technology policy.
• Political Advocacy, Lobbying and Engagement - Knowledge of public opinion and organized engagement to influence the political process. This includes skill in writing political communication materials, and lobbying to compel or persuade key constituencies and elected officials to take action on behalf of the company.  This may include regionally specific political knowledge and lobbying skill.
• Technology Policy - The ability to understand, anticipate, and forecast the impact of technology on policy. This includes knowledge and awareness of technology concepts, evolution, innovation, and internal and external technological advancements and trends; and of  policy related to technology, including Cloud, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, devices, accessibility, privacy, telecommunications, and internet topics.