Site Acquisition Director at Microsoft Nigeria

Job Number: 913528
Location: Nigeria
Travel: 25-50 %
Profession: Business Programs & Operations
Role type: Individual Contributor
Employment Type: Full-Time

Job Description

• Microsoft Cloud Operations + Innovation (CO+I) is the engine that powers Microsoft's cloud services and our team is focused on delivering high quality infrastructure to support cloud operations. As Microsoft’s Cloud business continues to mature, our infrastructure expansion accelerates, and datacenters are central to this growth.
• To support this, the acquisition and development of our owned, designed and constructed Data Center facilities will scale to meet the demands of our customers, while we also continue to lease and acquire Data Center capacity at pace, particularly in our high growth markets, working closely with datacenter operators in each region, and across the Globe.  
• The Global Acquisition team is responsible for delivering high quality Data Center capacity in line with our projected growth. This Director Role will be a pivotal member of the EMEA team, who owns the delivery in region to support our Cloud growth in both existing and new geographies, as needed by the wider business.
• As we grow rapidly in both new and existing markets, we will develop clear business strategies, aligning our land and lease portfolio, to ensure we can deliver high quality Data Centers both now and in the future, to tie to our Customer growth. We are responsible for the development and ownership of key strategic partnerships with lessors, working collaboratively to ensure we deliver contracted capacity safely and effectively, on time and within budget.
• The role of the Site Acquisition Director is a unique role, working to support the General Manager of Site Acquisition, to deliver the strategic direction and management of the high growth of the region.
• The role will manage a team of Site Acquisition Managers, as well as providing provide support to all leasing activities, by helping with strategic purchasing opportunities, contract amendments, completion of post lease/contract paperwork and ownership of contract expansions in stabilized markets.

Responsibilities

• To develop high quality metro strategies based on market expertise, with time to market and cost efficiencies being core to this process
• To align with our teams to ensure effective co-ordination of activities to ensure region success (capacity planning, network, energy etc.)
• To lead cross functional teams to evaluate, select, negotiate, and recommend leases for approval
• Work with Finance reps to conduct Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) lease or build options to drive cost down, and help business to achieve deployment objectives
• Collaborate with internal business units and stakeholders to ensure primary responsibilities are aligned with group’s strategic directions
• Manage multiple lease projects and coordinate with internal team members, consultants, vendors, and external stakeholders
• To be accountable for lease execution from inception through to ‘go-live’ date ~ delivering each milestone within critical timelines required by the business
• Work with internal law & corporate affairs personnel to drive preparation of executable lease documents
• Additional responsibilities include performing analytics and conducting market research on targeted metros and regions, new countries, metros, and target locations. The role will support the team with strong analytical reporting on market strategies, outlining risks on delivery (cost and timelines) and supporting the team with day to day activities as needed.
• In addition, the role will manage or support new colocation leases and extensions as well as lease renewals. This role will work closely with our regional demand planning, engineering, construction, security, networking, energy, and operations teams as well as with various global teams and leaders.
• The candidate must also be able to converse with finance, operations, security, and networking representatives to prepare business cases and deal summaries – and present those to senior staff for approval, prior to routing executable documents

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Arts or Sciences or Business or technical discipline
• 7 to 10 years’ experience in site selection and acquisition role within a Cloud Service Provider or Real Estate Group in a multi-national
• Strong knowledge of real estate and mission critical environments, such as Data Centers and/or critical environments
• A strong experienced leader, with proven track record guiding teams through complex negotiations at Director level
• Background in real estate development and land acquisition – with a strong understanding of local laws, permitting etc.
• General understanding of hybrid real estate solutions such as build-to-suit, Retail, and Wholesale datacenter leases
• Experience in leading complex negotiations, contract formation, and contract negotiations
• Confident, takes ownership, willingness to “do what it takes” to get the job done with proven experience leading complex negotiations/initiatives to successful completion
• Ability to be a strong team player, plus an ability to deliver independently; must be able to deliver results or projects in a timely manner
• Strong knowledge of the Data Center industry, operators in region and market dynamics in EMEA essential
• Strong analytical, creative thinking, written, and verbal communications skills
• Proven ability to apply critical thinking in complex situations
• Willing to travel domestically or internationally as needed
• Experience with corporate communications and public relations strategies
• The ideal candidate will have experience working in a team environment delivering multiple real estate projects simultaneously and a strong support for the team
• This position requires an individual that has prior hands-on experience in supporting a team managing complex lease and land negotiations, knowing when assistance is required and stepping into support the individual
• Strong co-ordination experience and ideally some knowledge of negotiating lease in a fast-paced environment
• Strong reporting acumen to ensure the strategy is outlined clearly and effectively
• Key role to support the General Manager, outlining any changes and possible risks on delivery of strategy based on team progress and ability to deliver land and lease acquisitions on time and in budget