Business Operations Manager jobs in United Arab Emirates

Microsoft's Cloud Operations & Innovation (CO+I) is the engine that powers our cloud services. As a CO+I Lease Operations Program Manager, (LOPM) you will perform a key role in delivering the core infrastructure and foundational technologies for Microsoft's online services including Bing, Office 365, Xbox, OneDrive, and the Microsoft Azure platform. The Lease Operations Program Manager plays a vital role in managing and aligning the operations of Lease Data Centers within their assigned sub-region. This position is responsible for ensuring effective risk management, seamless communication, and operational consistency across the sub-region while serving as the primary liaison between local and regional leadership.

As a group, CO+I is focused on the personal and professional development for all employees and offers trainings and growth opportunities including Career Rotation Programs, Diversity & Inclusion trainings and events, and professional certifications.

Our infrastructure is comprised of a large global portfolio of more than 100 datacenters and 1 million servers. Our foundation is built upon and managed by a team of subject matter experts working to support services for more than 1 billion customers and 20 million businesses in over 90 countries worldwide.

With environmental sustainability and optimization at the forefront of our datacenter design and operations, we continue to grow and evolve as we meet the ever-changing business demands that hold Microsoft as a world-class cloud provider.

Do you want to empower billions across the world? Come and join us in CO+I and be at the forefront of the action!

Responsibilities:

Responsibilities and Accountabilities

1. Risk and Issue Management

• Host biweekly meetings with all Critical Environment Field Service Engineers (CE FSEs) in the sub-region to review risks and issues documented in the action tracker.
• Ensure proactive risk mitigation strategies and timely updates on open action items to minimize potential operational disruptions.
• Participate on global and centralized projects and ensure precise tracking on identified Risk and Issue.

2. Holiday and Handover Coordination

• Oversee holiday coverage and manage handover processes during leave periods for CE FSEs within the sub-region.
• Ensure continuity of operations and clear documentation during transitions.

3. Onboarding Program for New Hires

• Manage the onboarding process for new hires within the sub-region, ensuring alignment with Lease Operations Program standards and facilitating a smooth transition into their roles.
• Provide guidance and mentorship to support professional development.

4. Monthly KPI and OKR Reporting

• Prepare and present Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and Objectives and Key Results (OKRs) in monthly regional meetings, including:
• Action tracker updates.
• Site assessment status.
• Technical Service Bulletins (TSBs).
• Incident reporting.
• Site and LOPM onboarding progress.
• Seasonal readiness initiatives.
• Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE) metrics.
• Contribute to the preparation of presentations for the EMEA Leadership Team (LT).

5. Leadership Communication and Alignment

• Serve as the unified voice for LOPM, ensuring that critical messages are communicated effectively upward to regional leadership and downward to local CE FSEs.
• Align the LOPM team on strategic initiatives and key regional objectives.

6. Escalation Management

• Act as the primary escalation point for local CE FSEs regarding critical environment or lease provider (LP) issues impacting regional availability.
• Escalate unresolved or country-specific issues to regional LOPM or director as necessary.
• Collaborate with local CE FSEs in the region during incidents and assist with post-incident reviews

7. Team Collaboration and Support

• Strengthen collaboration and knowledge-sharing among CE FSEs in the sub-region.
• Ensure alignment with the regional Lease Operations Program through adherence to established standards and practices.
• Provide leadership, guidance, and support during incident response and escalation calls, especially in high-impact situations.

8. Lease Provider (LP) Liaison

• Serve as the central point of contact for regional LP representatives, ensuring clear and consistent communication on Lease Operations-related issues.
• Collaborate with other sub-regional CE FSEs to drive improvements with LPs and maintain consistency with regional standards.
• Be mobile in conducting on-site reviews across data centres in the region

Capabilities important to success include:

• Proven experience in Critical Environment (CE) operations or a related field.
• Experience in incident response and escalation management.
• Operational Planning & Project Management: Show structured thinking, planning, and the ability to execute by working through others, influencing without authority, and dealing with ambiguity
• Exceptional written and Interpersonal skills: Communicate effectively and concisely with stakeholders, senior managers, and leaders about our programs and objectives
• Customer/Stakeholder Focus: Gather stakeholder impressions of services and programs, integrating this feedback into decision making. Allocate and align resources to optimize the stakeholder and partner experience.
• Performance Goal and Standards Setting: Develop and communicate to realistic timelines via plans that consider potential obstacles and immediate + long-term consequences
• Understand datacenter business objectives: Critically review multiple plans and adjust as needed. Proactively communicate and address necessary trade-offs
• Process and Technology: Demonstrate a solid understanding of IT and CE environments including operational processes and industry best practices
• Flexibility and Adaptability: Regularly scan the environment to help anticipate changes that could affect key programs and projects. Effectively changes plans, goals, actions or priorities to respond to changing situations.
• Team Player: Ability to both contribute strategically to this relatively new team and support strategic decisions once debate is over.
• Execute the change management governance process at the Campus/Metro level that ties back to Global and Regional DC Operations Change Management standards
• Manage the daily Change Management functions at the Campus/Metro level including maintaining and documenting change management procedures, stakeholder management, technical and business impact assessment
• Lead the daily Campus/Metro Change Review meetings with local team members and stakeholders
• Monitor to ensure only approved and validated changes are executed
• Identify and manage scheduling conflicts working with stakeholders to negotiate implementation dates and schedules across IT, CE, and Facilities teams

Qualifications:

Qualifications

Required Qualifications:

• Academic Degree or Diploma and industry experience in mission-critical service management (e.g., providing IT services, manufacturing, warehouse, retail, military, or managing physical operations in an critical environment infrastructure).

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.

Preferred Qualifications

• Engineering Degree or Equivalent industry experience
• Experience in a 24x7x365 P roduction Critical E nvironment or related experience
• Experience in D ata C enter processes and tooling or related experience
• Experience in change control processes

Microsoft is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, ancestry, color, family or medical care leave, gender identity or expression, genetic information, marital status, medical condition, national origin, physical or mental disability, political affiliation, protected veteran status, race, religion, sex (including pregnancy), sexual orientation, or any other characteristic protected by applicable laws, regulations and ordinances. We also consider qualified applicants regardless of criminal histories, consistent with legal requirements. If you need assistance and/or a reasonable accommodation due to a disability during the application or the recruiting process, please send a request via the Accommodation request form .

Benefits/perks listed below may vary depending on the nature of your employment with Microsoft and the country where you work.