Industry Advisory--retail

Microsoft’s Industry Team focuses on empowering customers on their AI Transformation. This team is responsible for understanding the Retail and Consumer Goods industry and our customers’ business and priorities, develop strong relationships with senior leaders by generating interest into Microsoft solutions accelerating their AI Transformation and driving revenue growth for Microsoft.

As an Industry Advisor, you will have the opportunity to drive industry solution-focused sales for Microsoft. This role is responsible and accountable for originating sales, driving industry-led conversations with customers, qualifying the pipeline, and accelerating through Microsoft’s partner ecosystem. Accountabilities include developing and winning market-making opportunities that deliver customer value and enable transformational customer outcomes.

This is a flexible work opportunity, requiring travel, with the option to work from home 50% of the time.

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.

**Commercial role**

A commercial expert in a large FMCG organisation serves as the strategic anchor for driving growth, profitability, and market relevance across diverse product categories and geographies. This role blends deep industry expertise with consultative sales leadership to orchestrate complex transformations and unlock value at scale.

They are responsible for:

- ** Strategic Sales Leadership**: Leading commercial growth programmes, go-to-market strategies, and sales excellence initiatives that deliver measurable top-line impact
- ** Retail and Category Expertise**: Bringing hands-on experience from roles in category management, merchandising, and supply chain across large retailers
- ** Technology Integration**: Translating retail and consumer insights into compelling narratives powered by AI, cloud, and data platforms—enabling predictive analytics, personalised engagement, and unified commerce.
- ** Stakeholder Management**: Engaging C-level decision-makers and board members across regions to align on transformation agendas

This role demands a rare blend of FMCG & Retail foundations, sales acumen, and technology fluency—making the expert uniquely positioned to lead large-scale transformations and drive commercial excellence in a rapidly evolving FMCG & Retail landscape.

**Responsibilities**:

- Originate and qualify new opportunities while driving account-based revenue by defining and executing industry plays across assigned consumer goods accounts (e.g., agile and sustainable supply chains, optimized channels and global routes-to-market, next-gen product design and branding).
- Lead and orchestrate sales activities and customer engagement in partnership with account teams to deliver value, build trust, and exceed customer expectations as a strategic advisor.
- Leverage deep industry expertise across the Retail value chain to accelerate customers’ digital agendas—driving AI transformation, inspiring innovation through industry-relevant use cases, and generating net-new growth in cloud, data, and AI with Microsoft.
- Ignite, shape, and secure market-making business partnerships by building and leveraging relationships with CxOs and senior business executives.
- Collaborate with external partner ecosystem (e.g., business leaders, GSIs, ISVs) on client and partner planning, and developing industry-specific strategies that add credibility and depth.
- Spark innovation and reimagine future capabilities by facilitating ideation and envisioning sessions and co-developing multi-horizon roadmaps.
- Embody Microsoft’s culture and values by modeling a growth mindset, contributing to others’ success, and delivering impactful results that build on collective ideas and efforts.

**Qualifications**:
**Required/Minimum Qualifications**
- Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, Engineering, Business or related field AND 7+ years customer-facing experience in consumer goods, retail, management consulting, consultative selling, technology or industry-relevant equivalent management or technical work experience
- OR Master's Degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, Engineering, Business or related field AND 5+ years customer-facing experience in consumer goods, retail, management consulting, consultative selling, technology or industry-relevant equivalent management or technical work experience
- OR equivalent experience

**Additional or Preferred Qualifications**
- Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, Engineering, Business or related field AND 15+ years customer-facing experience in a combination of consumer goods and retail industry _and_ma