State and Local Government and Education (SLED)

Role Overview

The Services Account Executive is the account-aligned owner for Microsoft Services sales. This role develops trusted relationships with customer executives and business and technology leaders, translates mission and operational priorities into actionable services strategies, and orchestrates Microsoft teams and partners across the full sales lifecycle. The successful candidate balances strategic opportunity creation with disciplined management of a high-volume territory and a durable portfolio of consulting, Microsoft Unified Services, renewal, and expansion opportunities.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead consultative services sales by listening to customer priorities, shaping a clear point of view, and aligning Microsoft consulting and support capabilities to measurable business and mission outcomes.
• Own the services sales lifecycle across assigned accounts, including account planning, opportunity identification, qualification, solution shaping, pipeline generation, forecasting, negotiation, close, renewal, and expansion.
• Build and maintain relationships with customer executives, procurement leaders, business decision-makers, technology leaders, and other stakeholders who influence strategy, funding, acquisition, delivery, and adoption.
• Create and execute territory and account plans that balance large, strategic consulting and Microsoft Unified Services pursuits with the operational rigor required to progress a broader volume of strategic and transactional opportunities.
• Identify, qualify, lead, and close strategic cloud, artificial intelligence, security, data, business applications, consulting, and Microsoft Unified Services opportunities connected to customer priorities.
• Orchestrate a One Microsoft approach across account teams, solution specialists, customer success teams, consulting teams, customer success, delivery resources, legal, finance, operations, and partners.
• Integrate consulting and Microsoft Unified Services into a single customer value proposition, including implementation, adoption, operational health, risk management, and long-term platform success.
• Develop high-quality close plans for qualified opportunities; manage commercial terms, contracting dependencies, approvals, risks, and customer commitments through formal agreement.
• Maintain accurate and timely opportunity, pipeline, forecast, renewal, and account-planning information; use data and sales process discipline to identify risk, focus resources, and improve execution.
• Serve as a trusted advisor who brings industry insight, Microsoft capabilities, and relevant customer patterns to help customers make informed transformation decisions.

State and Local Government and Education Business Acumen

• Demonstrate knowledge of public-sector buying and contracting environments, including requests for information, requests for qualifications, requests for proposals, invitations to bid, procurement rules, cooperative contracts, funding cycles, and stakeholder governance.
• Understand the distinct missions, operating models, and buying patterns across state government, local government, and education customers.
• Apply relevant industry knowledge across Health and Human Services; Public Safety and Justice; Transportation; Public Finance; higher education; University athletics; academic research; and Academic Medical Centers.
• Recognize how policy, funding, procurement timing, incumbent relationships, delivery capacity, and organizational readiness affect opportunity strategy and sales-cycle progression.
• Position consulting and Microsoft Unified Services as connected components of the customer journey, creating seamless paths from strategy and implementation through adoption, operational health, and ongoing value realization.

Key Foundational Characteristics

Growth mindset, grit, and calm leadership: Sets the tone through realistic optimism, resilience, curiosity, and composure under pressure. Uses a clear problem-solving framework when challenges or recurring themes arise, distinguishes between issues that can be resolved independently and those requiring escalation, and escalates with appropriate context, options, and a recommended path forward.

Strategic hunting and disciplined account management: Demonstrates the experience or ability to create and pursue large, complex consulting and support opportunities while maintaining the operational rigor needed to manage renewals, expansions, and a steady volume of transactional deals. Allocates time and resources intentionally so near-term execution supports, rather than displaces, long-term growth.

State and Local Government and Education fluency: Understands public-sector procurement, competitive solicitations, stakeholder complexity, and the operating priorities of major sub-verticals. Can explain how consulting and support should be positioned together to reduce risk, accelerate outcomes, strengthen adoption, and create durable customer value.

Executive presence and influence: Communicates with clarity, credibility, and sound judgment. Builds alignment across senior customer stakeholders and complex internal teams without relying on formal authority.

Business ownership and operational excellence: Runs the territory as a business, establishes priorities, maintains pipeline and forecast discipline, identifies risks early, and follows through on commitments with urgency and accountability.

Customer and mission orientation: Starts with the customer mission and desired outcomes, not the portfolio. Connects technology and services decisions to the operational, constituent, student, patient, workforce, or community impact the customer is seeking.

Required Qualifications

1. Bachelor's Degree in Business, Information Technology (IT), or related field AND 8+ years consultative sales experience in the commercial or public sector (e.g. finance, local government) or related work OR equivalent experience.

Bachelor's Degree AND 4+ years consultative sales experience in the commercial or public sector (e.g. finance, local government) or related work OR equivalent experience. 

Preferred Qualifications

• Bachelor's Degree in Business, Information Technology (IT), or related field AND 8+ years consultative sales experience in the commercial or public sector (e.g. finance, local government) or related work OR equivalent experience.
• Experience in enterprise sales, services sales, consulting sales, account management, business development, or a related customer-facing role in the commercial or public sector, or equivalent experience.
• Demonstrated ability to originate, qualify, shape, and close complex services opportunities involving multiple customer and internal stakeholders.
• Experience building account or territory plans and managing a pipeline across opportunities of different sizes, time horizons, and levels of complexity.
• Ability to communicate business value and solution strategy to executive, business, technical, procurement, and operational audiences.
• Ability to collaborate across sales, customer success, technical, delivery, operations, legal, finance, and partner teams.
• Working knowledge of cloud transformation, artificial intelligence, security, data, business applications, consulting, and enterprise support concepts.

Services Account Management IC4 - The typical base pay range for this role across the U.S. is USD $107,600 - $187,500 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 $145,600 - $205,600 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.

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.