GDS Microsoft Alliance Execution Strategist - Chief of Staff

GDS Microsoft Alliance Execution Strategist - Chief of Staff

Location: Wrocław - 2 days office/3 days remote

Let us introduce you the job offer by EY GDS Poland – a member of the global integrated service delivery center network by EY.

The opportunity

The Microsoft Alliance is one of EY’s most strategic ecosystem relationships, creating significant opportunities to accelerate client transformation through Azure, Data and AI, Copilot, Business Applications, Security, industry solutions and marketplace-led growth. As the alliance scales across global priorities, solution portfolios, regions, sectors, strategic accounts and Microsoft field motions, the role of disciplined leadership execution, governance, insights and stakeholder orchestration becomes critical to converting strategy into measurable business outcomes.

We are seeking a highly credible, commercially oriented and execution-focused Associate Director to operate as Chief of Staff for the Microsoft Alliance leadership team within the GDS Poland Alliances Program Operations CoE. This role will serve as a trusted strategic execution partner, helping shape the leadership agenda, run the alliance operating rhythm, drive governance discipline, connect cross-functional priorities, and enable leadership decisions across growth, go-to-market, co-sell, marketplace, investment, innovation, partner operations and business performance priorities. This is a senior, high-trust role for an individual based in GDS Poland who can operate confidently with global Alliance leadership, Microsoft stakeholders, regional Alliance teams, service line and sector leaders, solution owners, sales, marketing, finance, operations, technology and GDS teams. The role requires the ability to connect Microsoft ecosystem priorities, EY alliance strategy, commercial performance, leadership decisions and delivery execution into a coherent operating model that improves focus, accountability, decision velocity and measurable impact.

As a trusted advisor and execution leader to Alliance leadership, you will own the leadership operating rhythm, strategic initiative governance, performance visibility, stakeholder alignment, executive narratives, escalation management and continuous improvement agenda across the Microsoft Alliance ecosystem. Success in this role requires strong business judgment, executive presence, structured problem solving, commercial awareness, data-driven decision support, high discretion, matrix leadership and the ability to influence senior stakeholders without direct authority. This opportunity is designed for a professional in GDS Poland who thrives at the intersection of alliance strategy, executive office support, operating model governance, business performance management, AI-enabled productivity, stakeholder orchestration and scalable GDS enablement. The role provides a platform to directly strengthen the effectiveness, visibility and execution maturity of one of EY’s most important alliance relationships while helping leadership move from priorities to outcomes with pace and discipline.

Your key responsibilities

Lead alliance leadership operating rhythm and strategic execution governance:

• Own the Microsoft Alliance leadership operating rhythm across strategic priorities, leadership reviews, governance forums, decision logs, risk reviews, business performance discussions and executive follow-through.
• Design and run senior governance mechanisms that bring clarity to agenda setting, pre-read quality, decision orientation, action ownership, escalation paths and leadership accountability.
• Maintain an integrated view of alliance priorities across growth programs, workstreams, owners, timelines, dependencies, deliverables, KPIs, risks and leadership interventions required.
• Translate leadership decisions into structured execution plans, action logs, governance cadence and measurable outcomes, ensuring issues are followed through with pace and discipline.
• Continuously improve leadership effectiveness by simplifying operating rhythms, removing duplication, strengthening escalation protocols, improving meeting productivity and accelerating decision velocity.

Drive strategic initiative execution and senior Chief of Staff support:

• Act as a senior execution partner to Microsoft Alliance leadership, helping convert alliance strategy into annual priorities, operating plans, workstream charters, leadership actions and measurable business outcomes.
• Drive execution governance for priority initiatives across Microsoft alliance growth, co-innovation, co-investment, marketplace activation, campaigns, Microsoft field alignment, co-sell motions and go-to-market programs.
• Orchestrate progress across business, technology, market, solution, sales, marketing, finance, operations and GDS stakeholders to ensure strategic priorities move with clarity, accountability and commercial focus.
• Identify execution gaps, ownership ambiguity, risks, investment constraints, stakeholder misalignment and cross-team dependencies that could affect alliance outcomes, and recommend pragmatic corrective actions.
• Prepare leadership recommendations, decision papers and concise executive summaries covering initiative status, risks, blockers, trade-offs, prioritization choices and escalation points.

Lead business performance management, insights and executive reporting:

• Lead development of executive dashboards, performance scorecards, business review packs and leadership views that provide actionable visibility into Microsoft Alliance strategy execution and business performance.
• Track and interpret indicators related to pipeline visibility, co-sell progress, partner-influenced activity, investment execution, marketplace activation, campaign performance, solution priorities, stakeholder readiness and operational health.
• Use data, business context and stakeholder input to identify trends, surface insights and provide recommendations that improve governance, execution discipline, prioritization and leadership decision-making.
• Own preparation of monthly business reviews, quarterly business reviews, strategic planning materials, leadership forums and governance updates with a clear storyline, commercial lens and decision focus.
• Strengthen performance management discipline by improving data quality, KPI definitions, reporting consistency, insights generation, exception management and executive-level interpretation of alliance outcomes.

Orchestrate senior stakeholder alignment and cross-functional collaboration:

• Serve as a senior connector across global alliance leadership, Microsoft stakeholders, regional teams, service line leaders, sector stakeholders, solution teams, sales, marketing, finance, operations and GDS enablement teams.
• Influence alignment across senior stakeholders by clarifying priorities, resolving ambiguity, shaping execution pathways and ensuring leadership decisions are converted into action with clear owners and timelines.
• Coordinate leadership check-ins, planning workshops, Microsoft engagement reviews, business reviews and follow-up forums to ensure progress is visible, dependencies are managed and decision points are clear.
• Build trusted relationships across a matrixed global and regional stakeholder network, using credibility, collaboration, discretion and business judgment to drive outcomes without direct authority.
• Create consistency in communication, governance, planning, escalation and execution across Microsoft Alliance workstreams, regional stakeholder groups and partner operations priorities.

Shape executive communications, strategic narratives and leadership messaging:

• Shape leadership messaging, executive presentations, business updates, decision papers and strategic narratives for Microsoft Alliance priorities, governance forums and senior stakeholder interactions.
• Translate complex alliance, technology, investment, marketplace, co-sell and go-to-market topics into clear business narratives for global leadership, regional teams, Microsoft stakeholders and governance groups.
• Prepare executive briefing materials for leadership interactions with Microsoft, EY service lines, regions, sectors, solution owners, account teams and internal governance forums.
• Ensure communication of priorities, decisions, achievements, investment updates, risks, dependencies and follow-up actions is timely, consistent and aligned to the overall Microsoft Alliance strategy.
• Raise the quality and consistency of executive materials by applying strong storyline development, commercial framing, data-backed insights, audience sensitivity and senior-leadership-ready messaging.

Support operational excellence, AI-enabled productivity and continuous improvement:

• Identify opportunities to simplify governance processes, strengthen execution tracking, improve meeting effectiveness and reduce operational friction across alliance activities.
• Create repeatable templates, trackers, playbooks, reporting formats and operating mechanisms that improve consistency, scalability and knowledge reuse across Microsoft Alliance priorities.
• Support adoption of AI-enabled productivity tools, reporting automation and knowledge management practices to improve execution visibility, leadership insights and stakeholder experience.
• Strengthen documentation discipline, version control, repository management, briefing-note quality and knowledge-sharing across leadership and workstream teams.
• Promote a culture of accountability, transparency, inclusion, continuous improvement and practical innovation across the Microsoft Alliance operating rhythm.
• Champion scalable GDS Poland delivery practices by institutionalizing reusable playbooks, knowledge assets, automation opportunities and AI-enabled ways of working that improve leadership productivity and alliance execution maturity.

Skills and attributes for success

• We are looking for a senior, business-oriented professional in GDS Poland who brings strategic judgment, executive presence, structured thinking, operational discipline, stakeholder influence, alliance ecosystem awareness and strong commercial acumen. The successful candidate will be comfortable partnering with senior leaders, navigating ambiguity, shaping executive-level narratives, and driving outcomes across complex Microsoft Alliance priorities and global workstreams.
• Significant experience in chief-of-staff, business operations, strategic programs, alliance operations, partner operations, GTM operations, transformation office, consulting or executive governance roles.
• Ability to translate senior leadership priorities into structured operating plans, executive actions, governance cadence, KPIs and measurable business outcomes.
• Strong understanding of Microsoft ecosystem themes including Azure, AI, Copilot, Data and AI, Security, Business Applications, marketplace, co-sell, partner funding and partner-led growth motions.
• Strong executive communication skills, including the ability to simplify complex alliance, technology, investment and go-to-market topics into compelling leadership narratives and decision-ready materials.
• Proven ability to influence and align senior stakeholders across matrixed alliance, regional, solution, sales, marketing, finance, operations and delivery teams.
• Strong analytical capability with experience building executive dashboards, business reviews, performance scorecards, leadership updates, insights packs and decision papers.
• High attention to detail, sound judgment, discretion, prioritization capability, strong follow-through, comfort with ambiguity and a continuous improvement mindset.
• Curiosity, adaptability and genuine interest in Microsoft ecosystem growth, AI-enabled transformation, strategic alliances, partner operations and scalable GCC/GDS enablement models.

To qualify for the role, you must have 

• 15+ years of relevant professional experience in chief-of-staff support, business operations, strategic program management, PMO, alliance operations, partner operations, GTM operations, consulting, technology commercialization, transformation office or strategic operations.
• Demonstrated experience supporting senior leaders, leadership teams or cross-functional business programs across regional or global stakeholder groups.
• Experience owning or leading governance models, executive reporting, business reviews, initiative tracking, performance management, KPI discipline, RAID management and leadership operating rhythms.
• Strong stakeholder management and executive communication skills, including experience preparing leadership-ready materials, strategic narratives, structured updates and decision-oriented recommendations.
• Ability to manage multiple senior priorities, identify execution risks early, resolve ambiguity, create structure from limited inputs and drive disciplined follow-through in a fast-paced, matrixed environment.
• Experience working with technology-enabled transformation, cloud, AI, automation, data, Microsoft ecosystem programs, partner-led growth, co-sell programs, marketplace motions or digital solution portfolios.
  
  

Ideally, you’ll also have

• Experience supporting global, multi-region or cross-market business priorities from a GDS Poland, professional services, consulting, technology, hyperscaler, alliance-led or GBS enablement environment.
• Exposure to Microsoft ecosystem programs, including Azure, Copilot, Data and AI, Security, Business Applications, Microsoft Marketplace, AppSource, co-sell, partner incentives, funding programs or related solution areas.
• Experience in alliance management, partner ecosystems, co-innovation programs, co-investment programs, GTM execution, campaign governance, partner operations or strategic business operations.
• Experience in a Big Four, professional services, consulting, technology-led, cloud ecosystem or global enablement environment.
• Understanding of leadership governance, business performance management, operating model design, stakeholder communications, transformation programs, innovation lifecycle management and scalable CoE delivery models.
  
  

Technologies and Tools:

• Microsoft 365 productivity and collaboration tools, including Outlook, Teams, SharePoint, OneDrive, Word and PowerPoint, for leadership coordination, governance documentation, stakeholder updates and executive-ready communications.
• Microsoft Excel and Power BI for business performance trackers, leadership dashboards, KPI reporting, trend analysis, initiative monitoring and executive reporting.
• Microsoft Planner, Project, Lists or equivalent work management tools for milestone tracking, action logs, RAID management, governance cadence, dependency tracking and status reporting.
• Microsoft Copilot or other EY-approved AI-enabled tools for meeting summarization, leadership briefing notes, content drafting, insight generation, trend analysis and productivity improvement, in line with EY guidelines.
• CRM, pipeline and sales enablement platforms such as Microsoft Dynamics 365, Salesforce, Seismic, Highspot or equivalent tools for alliance performance visibility, opportunity tracking and go-to-market follow-through.
• Data visualization, workflow automation and collaboration tools, including Power Automate, Power Apps, Forms, Viva Engage or equivalent platforms, to improve operating rhythm, feedback collection, knowledge sharing and reporting efficiency.