Community Affairs Manager, UK

Overview:

In alignment with our Microsoft values, we are committed to cultivating an inclusive work environment for all employees to positively impact our culture every day. The Datacenter Community Affairs team is part of Microsoft’s datacenter organization – Cloud Operations Innovation (COI). It supports the growth and operations of Microsoft’s cloud infrastructure by managing relationships with local stakeholders, bringing insights and understanding of potential new communities, developing a local community engagement strategy to effectively manage social impact, risks, and opportunities. It also develops a community investment strategy, including social and environmental programs, in communities that host our datacenters.

We are looking for an experienced professional with a track record in communications, research, social responsibility (CSR), and community engagement to support the evolution of the datacenter community affairs strategy in select locations in Europe. The individual in this role will be responsible for research initiatives to create and implement community strategy plans, community communication, local government and community engagement, and community development in the UK.

Qualifications:

Experiences Required:

• Strong construction or technology-related experience, preferably engaging with skilling and/or sustainability non-profit partners, public/government affairs, research, and/or communications.
• Experience presenting/meeting with diverse stakeholders including government policymakers, community leaders, non-profits, environmental groups, educators and school administrators, education partners, and students in rural, suburban, and urban environments.
• Experience in building trust with local municipality, non-profit decision-makers, and community members, articulating the impact of the cloud and Microsoft’s commitment to responsible technology leadership.
• Able to set clear expectations internally and externally based on community needs, available funding, and timelines.
• Understanding of research methodologies and experience in developing and sharing strategic recommendations from a broad range of data sources (e.g., survey data, social intelligence, qualitative research, online telemetry, business metrics).
• Experience with creating and implementing external communications plans, including crisis communication management, utilizing modern communication strategies.
• Ability to work across groups managing individuals both directly and indirectly, marshalling resources toward a common goal and drive for results.
• Experience managing contractors, agencies, and/or other third parties.
• Strong team player with excellent interpersonal skills.
• Skilled at prioritization, creating order out of ambiguity.
• Excellent communications skills (e.g., listening, written, oral, and data visualization).
• Ability to thrive in a fast-paced multinational environment working across multiple lines of business.

Basic Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent work experience.
• Ability to communicate and work in English.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience with infrastructure development and/or construction preferred.
• Strong project/program management skills.
• Strong technical skills, understanding Microsoft Cloud offerings.
• Excellent verbal and written communications skills.
• Track record of developing 6-month plans and driving them to completion.
• Able to work across cultures effectively, valuing diversity within a virtual team.
• Working knowledge of international business practices.

Responsibilities:

• Act as a primary point of contact between the local community and Microsoft’s datacenters.
• Coordinate qualitative (e.g., community listening sessions) and quantitative data collection and turn that research data into actionable insights to understand and prioritize community needs, as well as identify social risks and opportunities.
• Use research findings and exercise thought leadership to develop location-specific community strategy that delivers on Microsoft’s mission and vision, including immediate corrective and preventive action recommendations, identifying key internal stakeholders (like Land Development, Design, or Construction) to implement these recommendations.
• Develop a local community communication plan, sharing knowledge of the crucial role of datacenters, their local value, as well as the impactful and meaningful projects Microsoft supports.
• Lead strategic engagements with local community groups such as municipal leaders and community-based non-profit organizations to drive community acceptance.
• Collaborate with the global functional team to localize and implement our community research methodology, community communications priorities, as well as community development initiatives in each community.
• Coordinate activities with a broad set of COI stakeholders, including Land development, Research, Construction, Permitting, Engineering and Design, Energy, Government Affairs, End to End, and Operations teams as well as with local Microsoft teams.
• Measure impact mapped to the global Community Affairs scorecard and deliver a regular cadence of program updates to Community Affairs leadership team.
• International and national travel.

• What experience do you have in communications, research, social responsibility, and community engagement?
• Can you give examples of your experience in engaging with diverse stakeholders, such as government policymakers, community leaders, non-profits, and educators?
• How do you build trust with local municipality, non-profit decision makers, and community members?
• Have you worked on research initiatives to create and implement community strategy plans before?
• Can you provide examples of crisis communication management and implementing external communications plans?
• How do you prioritize and manage resources to meet community needs?
• Have you worked in a fast-paced multinational environment before? How did you manage working across multiple lines of business?
• Can you explain your experience in managing contractors, agencies, or other third parties?
• What is your experience with infrastructure development and construction?
• How do you turn research data into actionable insights to understand and prioritize community needs?

• What are the key objectives and goals of the Datacenter Community Affairs team?
• What are the main responsibilities and tasks of this role?
• How does this role contribute to Microsoft’s mission and vision?
• What are the key challenges and opportunities of community engagement in the datacenter industry?
• Can you provide examples of previous community engagement initiatives and their outcomes?