Business Planning Manager, Gaming (Store on Xbox / Store on Windows)

Gaming in the Microsoft Digital Store is a multi-billion-dollar eCommerce business, reaching tens of millions of customers in over 240 markets across Xbox and PC. Gaming transactions is an essential component of Microsoft’s larger ambition to reach billions of gamers across the planet. Here on the Microsoft Store Digital Games Category Management team, we have the tremendous opportunity to contribute to those ambitions by operating and driving the day to day gaming category, including forecasting financial and business performance, partnering with publishers as the face of the Microsoft Digital Store and working with some of the world’s best engineers to make our shopping experience even better for both gamers and publishers. 

To help us better understand and meet gamer shopping needs as the industry undergoes dramatic changes, we are hiring a cross functional Gaming Business Planner. The role will span all lines of our Gaming transactions portfolio to provide strategic alignment and framing as we work to evolve our business management to be more aligned with customer behavior. In addition to the strategic framing work, this role will also champion pricing excellence within a new toolset as we work to provide more pricing flexibility to our global partners. 

What our team offers:

At the core, we are a customer-focused team that encourages a diverse & inclusive culture. We are respectful, collaborative, accountable and approach work with a fun, positive attitude. The right candidate can expect to have opportunities to grow their experiences and career while helping to shape our strategic approach to game commerce in a rapidly evolving landscape as well as help reimagine our reporting capabilities to ensure we’re keeping pace with the dynamic nature of the business.  

What I will do for you:

• Champion your successes at every level of our leadership.
• Empower you with the opportunity to gain new experiences and improve upon your strengths.
• Support who you are as your authentic self.
• Make career development a consistent priority.
   

How you could make an impact:

• Combine your understanding of the gaming space and strategic framing skills to drive a deeper understanding of our customer’s evolving shopping needs as their gaming habits span multiple platforms, devices and acquisition models.
• Use your cross-group collaboration and business management skills to evolve and grow our view of the customer to be more aligned to behavior and less to current lines of business.
• Leverage your attention to detail and ability to understand and manage complex systems to champion the launch of our new pricing toolset both internally and externally within the publishing community.
• Utilize your data analysis and visualization skills to improve the informativeness and accuracy of our highly visible rhythm of business work including budgeting, forecasting, and ongoing performance guidance.

Responsibilities:

• Deliver strategic thought leadership on creating a more connected gaming and shopping experience across device types and business models through support of major company initiatives including console generations, streaming and subscriptions.
• Conceptualize and champion features to enhance the gamer shopping experience across platforms and acquisition models.
• Execute pricing table updates and analysis to enable partner satisfaction and customer growth.
• Manage rhythm to implement value added tax (VAT) changes, determine tolerances for foreign exchange rates fluctuations and change Store currencies.
• Formalize partner and internal stakeholder communications related to pricing. Evangelize pricing best practices to internal stakeholders across other Store categories.
• Redesign and evolve our financial performance communications and rhythm-of-business reporting deliverables through research, data analysis and compelling storytelling to deliver action-oriented insights aimed to improve the business and customer experience.

Minimum Qualifications:

• 2+ years of experience in one or more of the following: data analysis or business planning or strategy.
• Experience using Excel to perform data analysis and business modeling.

• Project management skills coordinating deliverables across several stakeholders.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Proven determination and work ethic.
• Intellectual curiosity and eagerness to learn.
• Strong attention to detail.
• Integrate and contribute to a Team First culture.
• Ability to drive impact individually and through cross group collaboration.
• Advanced ability in Excel to perform data analysis and business modeling.
• Proficient user of PowerPoint to tell a succinct business story based on data analysis.
• Solid relationship and communication skills for working with senior managers and Microsoft-wide groups.
• Strong executive presence and business maturity for internal presentations.
• 5+ years of eCommerce, gaming, or data analysis experience or equivalent practical or functional experience.

Microsoft is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, ancestry, color, family or medical care leave, gender identity or expression, genetic information, marital status, medical condition, national origin, physical or mental disability, political affiliation, protected veteran status, race, religion, sex (including pregnancy), sexual orientation, or any other characteristic protected by applicable laws, regulations and ordinances.  We also consider qualified applicants regardless of criminal histories, consistent with legal requirements. If you need assistance and/or a reasonable accommodation due to a disability during the application or the recruiting process, please send a request via the Accommodation request form.