Business Manager

Overview

The Business Manager for APAC Data Centre Operations serves as a strategic business partner to the APAC Data Centre Operations leadership team, helping communicate regional strategy and priorities into all levels of organization.

This role partners across Data Centre Operations and key stakeholder teams to co-develop and implement business plans, establish clear priorities, drive leadership alignment, and maintain an effective operating rhythm across the APAC region. The Business Manager brings together operational and organisational insights to enable informed decision-making and ensure leadership priorities translate into measurable outcomes and most importantly, communicate across the organization.

The role creates clarity in a complex, fast-moving and geographically diverse environment, connecting regional priorities with broader organisational strategy while helping leaders anticipate risks, identify opportunities and resolve dependencies.

The Business Manager leads and coordinate leadership meetings, operational and business reviews, planning cycles, scorecards and key organisational milestones. The role ensures leadership forums are decision-oriented, supported by high-quality insights and connected to clear follow-through and accountability.

Given the scale and geographic diversity of APAC, the role plays an important part in connecting teams and priorities across markets, identifying common themes and dependencies while balancing regional consistency with local operating requirements.

As appropriate, the Business Manager supports business continuity and organisational readiness during periods of change, operational disruption or other special circumstances, partnering with relevant corporate and functional teams to coordinate planning, communication and execution.

Capabilities and Skills

Communication and Influence

Communicates complex business, operational and organisational information clearly and concisely. Builds trusted relationships and influences effectively across senior leaders, cross-functional partners and geographically distributed teams. Tailors communication to different audiences and enables effective leadership decision-making.

Strategic, Analytical & Operational Excellence Thinking

Understands the strategic priorities and operating environment of APAC Data Centre Operations and translates information into meaningful insights, options and recommendations. Connects operational and organisational information to identify trends, dependencies, risks and opportunities.

Business and Operational Acumen

Understands the operating environment and priorities of Data Centre Operations and applies this knowledge to business planning, decision-making and execution. Connects strategy with operational realities to help leadership prioritise and drive outcomes across the region.

Innovation and Simplification

Identifies opportunities to simplify business and communication processes, eliminate duplication and improve organisational effectiveness. Drives greater consistency and scalability in reporting, governance, communication and leadership operating mechanisms across the region.

Project and Change Management

Leads and coordinates complex cross-functional initiatives, establishing clear outcomes, milestones, dependencies and accountability. Helps the organisation navigate change while maintaining focus on business and operational commitments.

Personal and Interpersonal Effectiveness

Operates effectively in ambiguity and across diverse cultures, markets and stakeholder groups. Demonstrates sound judgement, adaptability, discretion and the ability to build trust while working through competing priorities and complex business situations.

Responsibilities

Business Strategy, Planning and Communication

• Partners with the APAC Data Centre Operations leadership team to translate organisational strategy into clear regional priorities, communicate the plans into measurable outcomes.
• Coordinates strategic and annual business planning processes, bringing together operational and organisational priorities into an integrated APAC plan.
• Develops insights, options and recommendations that enable leadership decision-making. Identifies potential gaps, emerging risks, dependencies and opportunities and works across teams to drive resolution.
• Tracks progress against key priorities and scorecards, ensuring leadership has visibility to business performance and areas requiring intervention or additional focus.
• Helps translate broader organisational priorities into actionable plans for APAC Data Centre Operations while ensuring regional insights and requirements are represented in wider planning discussions.

Executive Leader and Team Communications

• Supports the development of leadership communications that translate business strategy, priorities, decisions and organisational changes into clear messages for employees and stakeholders.
• Partners with Communications, HR and other relevant teams to develop and land internal communications across APAC Data Centre Operations.
• Synthesises complex information into concise executive narratives, presentations, business reviews and decision materials.
• Ensures communications reinforce strategic priorities and provide appropriate clarity around expectations, decisions and actions.

Maximising and Extending Leadership

• Acts as a trusted partner to the APAC Data Centre Operations leadership team to identify communication gap. Helping leaders maintain focus on their highest-priority business and organisational outcomes.
• Uses understanding of leadership priorities and organisational context to ensure team activities, forums and business processes are aligned to strategic objectives.
• Builds strong networks across APAC and relevant global stakeholder groups to accelerate execution, surface dependencies and resolve issues.
• Anticipates leadership needs, connects information across functions and markets, and helps convert complex or ambiguous issues into clear decisions and actions.
• Exercises a high degree of confidentiality, judgement and discretion in handling sensitive business, employee and organisational matters.

Organisational Health and Culture

• Partners with HR and the leadership team to support organisational health, employee experience and culture priorities across APAC Data Centre Operations.
• Uses organisational and employee insights to help leaders understand themes, priorities and opportunities for action.
• Supports leadership actions in response to employee signals and helps integrate organisational health priorities into the broader rhythm of business.
• Promotes collaboration, inclusion and connectivity across a geographically and culturally diverse APAC organisation.

Business Continuity and Organisational Readiness

• Supports continuity of business operations during periods of organisational change, operational disruption or other special circumstances.
• Partners with relevant stakeholders to identify business risks, clarify roles and dependencies, and coordinate appropriate responses.
• Supports leadership communication and decision-making during periods requiring heightened organisational coordination.

Special Projects, Programmes and Initiatives

• Leads or supports strategic cross-functional programmes that address emerging business needs or leadership priorities.
• Brings structure and execution discipline to ambiguous or complex initiatives that span multiple functions, markets or disciplines.
• Establishes objectives, milestones, governance and stakeholder alignment for key programmes and provides leadership visibility to progress, risks and decisions required.

Qualifications

· Bachelor's degree in Business Operation, Engineering or Computer Science or a related field with min 10 years of relevant work experience.

· Experience working across multiple stakeholders, functions or geographic markets in a complex business environment.

· Demonstrated ability to translate Operational strategy into structured plans, priorities, governance and communication.

· Strong written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to synthesise complex information for senior leadership audiences.

· Demonstrated analytical, organisational and project management capability, including the ability to manage multiple priorities and operate effectively in ambiguity.

· Tech savvy in IT Systems, Software and AI.

Preferred Qualifications

· Experience supporting a regional or multi-country organisation.

· Experience working with senior leadership teams and managing executive-level business planning and rhythm-of-business processes.

· Strong capability in translating operational and organisational insights into actionable recommendations and leadership decisions.

· Ability to operate across APAC markets, cultures and time zones and build effective partnerships across regional and global teams.

Background Check Requirements: 

Ability to meet Microsoft, customer and/or government security screening requirements are required for this role. These requirements include, but are not limited to the following specialized security screenings: 

• Microsoft Cloud Background Check: This position will be required to pass the Microsoft Cloud background check upon hire/transfer and every two years thereafter.

This position will be open for a minimum of 5 days, with applications accepted on an ongoing basis until the position is filled.

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Microsoft is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, ancestry, citizenship, color, family or medical care leave, gender identity or expression, genetic information, immigration status, marital status, medical condition, national origin, physical or mental disability, political affiliation, protected veteran or military status, race, ethnicity, religion, sex (including pregnancy), sexual orientation, or any other characteristic protected by applicable local laws, regulations and ordinances. If you need assistance with religious accommodations and/or a reasonable accommodation due to a disability during the application process, read more about requesting accommodations.