Government Affairs Lead – MEA HQ – Microsoft Corporation Recruitment

Job number: 887593
Location: Lagos
Profession: Legal & Corporate Affairs
Role Type: Individual Contributor
Employment Type: Full-Time

Job Description

• Microsoft has an immediate opportunity for a highly-skilled, experienced government affair professional to join the Middle East & Africa Headquarters (MEA HQ) team as the Regional Government Affairs Lead.
• The successful candidate will report to the Assistant General Counsel and Head of Legal & Government Affairs for MEA HQ.

Responsibilities

• Strategy/Program Management – You develop strategic goals and execute corporate public policy agenda and/or programs, creating and managing matrixed, highly complex project timelines, budgets, and plans; 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 Microsoft’s policy agenda 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 processes to facilitate program outreach and execution, assessing the feasibility of extending the program 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 Relationships – You develop and influence partnerships with coalitions, the Public Sector, and relevant interests groups 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.
• 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.