CELA Director for ATO at Microsoft

Microsoft Corporation (commonly referred to as Microsoft or MS) is an American multinational technology company headquartered in Redmond, Washington, that develops, manufactures, licenses, supports and sells computer software, consumer electronics and personal computers and services. Its best known software products are the Microsoft Windows line of operating systems, Microsoft Office office suite, and Internet Explorer and Edge web browsers. Its flagship hardware products are the Xbox video game consoles and the Microsoft Surface tablet lineup. As of 2011, it was the world’s largest software maker by revenue, and one of the world’s most valuable companies.

Overview

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 attorney within the Corporate, External, and Legal Affairs (CELA) team in Middle East and Africa (MEA), to support the Africa Transformation Office (ATO).  The attorney will oversee legal and government affairs issues affecting Microsoft’s business and investments across Africa through the ATO.

The attorney will work closely with the CELA MEA HQ team and the local CELA teams for each of the subsidiaries in Africa, including South Africa, Egypt, and the Multi-Country Cluster, which includes Kenya and Morocco, among others.  Given the diversity and geographic dispersity of the region, the ATO CELA Director will play a strategic role in helping close important deals, prioritizing opportunities across the region and identifying common problems and solutions that can and should be scaled across the continent.

The successful candidate will be an excellent collaborator and orchestrator, particularly across groups and teams within Microsoft.  A bias for action is a must.  The attorney should have the ability to create and develop business opportunities by leveraging the full range of CELA assets, including Industry, Global Government Affairs, Commercial, the Digital Crimes Unit, and Microsoft’s corporate social responsibility narrative and assets.

The role can be based in Abuja, Lagos, Nairobi, or Cairo.

Responsibilities

Key Areas of Responsibility

• The attorney serves on the MEA Leadership Team (LT) and acts as a general advisor to the ATO business leadership on all legal and government affairs issues, in many instances addressing novel legal, regulatory and policy questions. This person coordinates with the MEA CELA teams as well as internal and external subject-matter experts to ensure coverage of all legal and government affairs matters critical to the ATO.


• The attorney supports commercial transactions and partnership driven by the ATO.  These transactions range from programmatic licensing agreements to unique marketing and digital transformation business arrangements.


• The attorney has primary responsibility for ensuring compliance of the ATO team with all relevant laws and regulations.


• The attorney is responsible for identifying opportunities where the ATO team can standardize and simplify processes, create breadth and scale mechanisms, and orchestrate solutions to problems that cross organizations and geographies.


• Serves as a trusted advisor and strategic business partner to senior executives and colleagues within and outside of CELA by providing counsel on a broad range of interdependent issues (e.g., legal, business, public relations, government affairs, and corporate affairs,) and the impact laws could have on their businesses; collaborates and advises on strategy to drive meaningful conversations grounded in in-depth awareness of Microsoft and its industry; partners with the business to create solutions that enable business performance.


• Drafts new and novel policies and agreements; negotiates a variety of transactional documents (e.g., procurement agreement, joint development deal, settlement agreements, inbound and outbound licensing); provides strategic guidance and coordinates with Legal and Corporate Affairs colleagues on partner transactions and negotiations; advocates Microsoft interests in transactions, litigations, and proceedings.


• Ensures business is being conducted in a legally compliant manner and mitigates associated risks; advises and helps clients understand complex compliance issues; facilitates development of creative solutions to complex issues.

Strategy/Program Management 

• Provides strategic vision and leadership for developing and executing top-priority program frameworks for achieving policy and/or political goals.


• Directs strategies to ensure regulations and legislation positively impact Microsoft’s products, operations, associates, and customers by collaborating with coalitions and relevant interest groups to achieve desired regulatory or legislative outcomes; negotiates and aligns complex or conflicting policy with Microsoft’s goals and strategy; monitors and responds to complex regulatory issues and new policies.

Subject Matter Expertise and Influence

• Develops and implements strategies for leveraging partnerships with external partners, international and regional organizations, and key influencers in Africa to significantly impact the advancement of Microsoft’s policy and societal impact projects in Africa.


• Maintains relationships with key influencers to gather and apply intelligence findings through a network of key senior executives and external stakeholders regarding highly strategic or sensitive issues affecting Microsoft’s long-term objectives or future issues.

Operational Excellence

• Proactively partners across internal groups to develop and advocate policies and best practices related to legal and regulatory issues; fosters communication, collaboration, and the sharing of best practices; proactively investigates and identifies tools and processes in use across the company.

Communication

• Leads and encourages collaboration with the CELA leadership team, Microsoft senior executives, and ATO to ensure a coordinated CELA voice on issues with Microsoft-wide impact or high external visibility

Qualifications

• 15 years experience as an attorney with experience in developing and managing strategic relationships to advocate and influence public policy and regulatory priorities across Africa.


• Juris Doctorate Degree or Equivalent International Law Degree


• Active license to practice law in relevant jurisdiction


• Deep understanding of the intersection of law, policy, and technology.


• Experience managing attorneys and/or other professionals.


• Experience dealing with diverse cultures and teams and a proven record of building strong client relationships.


• Excellent team player with the ability to work and communicate with senior management, across teams, in a high-pressured business environment, with a flexible, open, collaborative and results-oriented attitude.

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. 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.

Benefits/perks listed below may vary depending on the nature of your employment with Microsoft and the country where you work.

• Industry leading healthcare


• Savings and investments


• Giving programs


• Educational resources


• Maternity and paternity leave


• Opportunities to network and connect


• Discounts on products and services


• Generous time away

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