The Senior Program Manager, Water Positive Communities role on the Sustainable and Connected Communities (SCC) team within the Energy, Connectivity, and Sustainability (ECS) organization plays a pivotal role in advancing Microsoft’s mission to empower communities through technology and sustainability. SCC operates at the intersection of digital connectivity and environmental stewardship, driving initiatives that deliver internet access, clean energy, and water solutions to underserved regions worldwide.

Anchored in a people-first, hyper-local strategy, the team partners with governments, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and private sector organizations to co-design scalable solutions that foster digital inclusion, climate resilience, and economic opportunity. By integrating connectivity with energy and water access, SCC helps unlock transformative benefits across education, healthcare, and entrepreneurship—aligning with Microsoft’s commitments to be carbon negative and water positive by 2030 while enabling inclusive growth in an AI-powered era.

Agreement Management / Governance

• Develop and implement agreements and execution plans for managing water replenishment and sustainability agreements tied to datacenter operations, including workback schedules, milestones, and reporting.

• Collaborate with local governments, NGOs, and internal teams to establish post-agreement governance for water-positive projects and oversee execution plans across multiple geographies.

• Demonstrate measurable impact (e.g., replenishment volumes, community benefits).

• Manage escalations with large partners and municipalities to resolution; provide recommendations on continuing or adjusting agreements.

• Capture and share learnings to improve future water-positive pipeline and maximize business and societal value.

Business, Technical, and Societal Expertise

• Recommend innovative solutions for advancing Microsoft’s water-positive and sustainability agenda, mitigating risks while ensuring compliance.

• Gather resources across internal engineering, sustainability teams, and external water stewardship organizations to deliver positive impact near datacenters.

External Relationships

• Identify and manage partnerships with water-focused nonprofits, watershed advocacy groups, and academic institutions to advance replenishment programs.

• Implement improvements to water-positive initiatives based on community and stakeholder feedback.

Internal Collaboration

• Serve as a strategic partner for water-positive initiatives by supporting business development opportunities and removing roadblocks.

• Lead cross-group projects involving Engineering, CO+I, Legal, and Community Affairs to ensure alignment on sustainability goals.

• Escalate misalignment when necessary to mitigate reputational risk and maintain program integrity.

Partner & Customer Focus

• Act as a trusted advisor to partners and municipalities on water stewardship strategies, leveraging domain expertise to influence decision-making.

• Guide discussions on integrating water-positive practices into datacenter planning and operations.

Partnership Strategy

• Create business value propositions that link water replenishment goals with community benefits and Microsoft’s sustainability commitments.

• Influence internal and external stakeholders to support water-positive opportunities.

Representing Microsoft

• Communicate Microsoft’s leadership in water-positive sustainability at industry forums and community events where needed.

• Advocate for programs that replenish water sources near datacenters and contribute to climate resilience.

• Develop recommendations for leveraging Microsoft technology to monitor and optimize water usage.

Strategy / Program Management

• Develop strategic goals for water-positive programs aligned with Microsoft’s carbon negative and water positive by 2030 commitments.

• Manage complex project timelines, budgets, and governance for replenishment initiatives across multiple regions.

• Use data analytics and dashboards to track replenishment volumes, ROI, and community impact.

• Lead change management strategies to drive adoption of water stewardship practices internally and externally.

• Master's Degree AND 3+ years work experience in corporate social responsibility (CSR), philanthropies, corporate affairs, government affairs, business and international development, or related area
  • OR Bachelor's Degree AND 4+ years work experience in corporate social responsibility (CSR), philanthropies, corporate affairs, government affairs, business and international development, or related area
  • OR equivalent experience.

• 3+ years experience managing a corporate social responsibility (CSR) or related program.
• Demonstrated skills in data and analytics tools such as PowerBI, OR other visualization tools
• Natural ability to represent the company across industry forums, community events and showcase advocacy for climate resilience, communication is key.
• Demonstrates skills to support, implement, and evaluate the impact of corporate social responsibility programs (e.g., philanthropy, sustainability, environmental) that support business development and Microsoft goals
• Ability to lead change management efforts and drive adoption for core practices for water stewardship
• Successful in managing projects end to end with respect to the project deliverables, optimization of the contribution of the people involved, and assessment of the impact of project decisions.
• Demonstrated written and verbal communication skills across varying external and internal partners, including all levels of the organization.