Director of Executive Communications

Overview

Azure Marketing is seeking an communications leader to shape the stories, messages, and executive platform for the Corporate Vice President of Azure Marketing. This leader will translate deep technical, business, customer, and market experience into clear, compelling stories that connect Azure innovation to what matters for customers, employees, partners, and the market. 

The Director of Executive Communications will bring both creative storytelling and strategic discipline to one of Marketing’s broadest and most technically complex portfolios. Working across Azure’s rapidly evolving business, this person will build a distinctive and durable narrative platform that brings together product innovation, customer needs, and Microsoft’s broader cloud and AI story. They will create messaging foundations that can scale across major announcements, keynotes, customer engagements, employee communications, and market moments. 

This candidate will have writing, storytelling, judgment, discretion, business counsel, and social communications experience. The right candidate will be a confident executive partner who can bring structure and focus to complex discussions, identify the messages that matter most, and translate them into distinctive communications across internal and external channels. They will bring a clear point of view, provide candid counsel, and help ensure the executive is exceptionally prepared for high-impact moments. 

This role also calls for visual and creative sensibility. From large-scale keynote presentations to executive social content, the Director will bring together narrative, design, and production to create compelling experiences for audiences. They will understand how visual storytelling, stagecraft, and executive delivery can elevate a message, whether developing the creative approach directly or guiding designers and production partners. 

This leader will balance long-range platform building with rapid-response execution. They will work closely with leaders across Azure, product and engineering, sales, corporate communications, executive offices, and the broader Marketing organization to bring together perspectives, identify opportunities, and align communications around the highest-priority moments. This is a fast-paced, dynamic environment in which priorities can shift quickly. The right candidate will thrive in ambiguity, exercise sound judgment with sensitive information, and operate at the speed of the business while strengthening the executive’s impact and authentic voice.

Microsoft’s mission is to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more. As employees we come together with a growth mindset, innovate to empower others, and collaborate to realize our shared goals. Each day we build on our values of respect, integrity, and accountability to create a culture of inclusion where everyone can thrive at work and beyond.

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.

Responsibilities

Executive counsel, voice, and strategy 

• Own the integrated executive communications strategy for the Corporate Vice President of Azure Marketing. 
• Serve as a trusted advisor, providing candid recommendations on narrative, audience, timing, channel strategy, opportunities, and risk. 
• Establish a highly collaborative working rhythm with the executive, bringing developed drafts and points of view and ensuring the executive is fully prepared for important engagements. 
• Develop and maintain an authentic, differentiated executive voice grounded in business priorities, customer needs, and the evolving cloud and AI market. 
• Prepare the executive for complex, sensitive, and high-stakes moments and provide calm, practical counsel when priorities change quickly. 

Narrative and content 

• Build and evolve a distinctive Azure Marketing narrative that connects a broad portfolio into a coherent customer and market story. 
• Create durable messaging frameworks that can scale across audiences, channels, product innovation, and major business moments. 
• Translate complex technical, product, customer, and business material into clear, credible, and human stories without losing substance or precision. 
• Develop speeches, keynotes, presentations, talking points, briefings, executive emails, videos, articles, social content, and other audience-facing materials. 
• Lead communications for major internal and external moments, including customer and partner events, employee engagements, media opportunities, and industry events. 
• Identify thought leadership opportunities that strengthen the executive’s credibility and advance business priorities. 

Executive events and visual storytelling 

• Shape the narrative, creative approach, and executive experience for large-scale keynotes, industry events, customer engagements, and other high-visibility speaking opportunities. 
• Partner with event production and creative teams to elevate executive presentations through thoughtful stagecraft, lighting, visual storytelling, and techniques for engaging large audiences. 
• Develop or direct high-quality executive presentations and visual assets, applying design judgment and brand principles to create distinctive, polished communications. 
• Collaborate with designers, creative agencies, and production partners to translate complex ideas into compelling visual experiences that reinforce the executive’s message and authentic voice. 

Social and audience engagement 

• Lead the strategy for the executive’s social presence, combining authentic voice, audience insight, distinctive creative concepts, and performance data. 
• Partner with creative, brand, agency, vendor, and production teams to develop high-quality assets and formats. 
• Shape leadership communications that help employees understand the organization’s strategy, priorities, decisions, and ways of working. 
• Align internal and external narratives so employees have the right context around major announcements and market moments. 

Planning, partnership, and measurement 

• Build and manage an integrated editorial calendar and executive communications pipeline. 
• Lead clear, efficient processes for intake, prioritization, drafting, review, and approval. 
• Build trusted relationships across Azure, product and engineering, sales, corporate communications, executive offices, and the broader Marketing organization to bring together insights and strengthen communications. 
• Guide agency, vendor, and extended-team support and ensure resources are focused on the highest-impact work. 
• Use audience feedback, engagement data, and business signals to assess impact and improve future communications. 
• Operate effectively amid ambiguity, sensitive information, accelerated timelines, and frequent change.

Other

• Embody our Culture and Values

Qualifications

Required/minimum qualifications

• Bachelor's Degree in Business, Business Administration, Marketing, Communications, Finance, or related field AND 6+ years communications, marketing operations, field operations, program management, project management, or related experience
• OR equivalent experience

Additional or preferred qualifications

• Master's Degree in Business, Marketing, Communications, Finance, or related field AND 8+ years communications, marketing operations, field operations, program management, project management, or related experience
• OR Bachelor's Degree in Business, Marketing, Communications, Finance, or related field AND 12+ years communications, marketing operations, field operations, program management, project management, or related experience
• OR equivalent experience.
• 4+ years specialized functional (e.g., retail, technology) experience.
• 6+ years experience supporting senior executives in an executive communications role.
• 3+ years experience working with social media platforms.
• Experience advising and supporting senior executives in a global, complex, or highly matrixed organization. 

• Experience developing executive communications across live events, employee communications, social, and thought leadership. 
• Experience leading cross-functional communications programs and advising through confidential, high-stakes situations. 
• Experience supporting major product launches, industry events, customer engagements, media moments, or organizational change. 
• Experience building and measuring an executive social platform. 
• Experience with executive presentation design, visual storytelling, and large-scale event production, including an understanding of stagecraft, audience engagement, and executive delivery. 

Communications IC5 - The typical base pay range for this role across the U.S. is USD $130,900 - $251,900 per year. There is a different range applicable to specific work locations, within the San Francisco Bay area and New York City metropolitan area, and the base pay range for this role in those locations is USD $165,600 - $272,300 per year.

Certain roles may be eligible for benefits and other compensation. Find additional benefits and pay information here:
https://careers.microsoft.com/us/en/us-corporate-pay

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.