Role summary
The Senior Manager – Microsoft 365 is accountable for the secure, compliant, cost-effective, and user-centric operation and continuous improvement of IFS’s Microsoft 365 collaboration and productivity platform. The role requires deep, hands-on Microsoft 365 knowledge (architecture, service capabilities and limits, tenant governance, and operational troubleshooting) and leads day-to-day service ownership across core workloads (e.g., Exchange Online, Teams, SharePoint/OneDrive). It has a strong focus on Microsoft licensing governance and optimization, and on Microsoft Purview capabilities for information protection, data lifecycle/records management, eDiscovery, and compliance reporting. Working closely with Security, Data Governance, Procurement/Finance, and IT Operations, this leader ensures the platform is reliable and audit-ready while enabling business productivity at global scale.
Scope of responsibility
In scope
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Service ownership for Microsoft 365 collaboration and productivity workloads (tenant governance, configuration standards, lifecycle management, operational readiness).
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Microsoft Purview: information protection and labeling, data loss prevention (DLP), retention/records, eDiscovery (Standard/Premium as applicable), audit, communication compliance (where in use), and compliance reporting aligned to internal and regulatory requirements.
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Microsoft licensing governance and optimization across M365, Purview, and adjacent suites (e.g., Entra ID, Defender, Power Platform, Copilot where applicable): entitlement, assignment models, true-up/true-down support, and cost optimization.
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Roadmap and continuous improvement: evaluating Microsoft changes, retiring legacy configurations, and improving user experience and security posture.
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Operational governance: change management, incident/problem escalation oversight, service reporting, and vendor/Microsoft support engagement.
Out of scope (typical examples)
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Business ownership of content, documents, and information classification decisions (owned by data/domain owners), except where defined as part of the Purview operating model.
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Application-specific retention beyond Microsoft 365 and connected workloads (unless formally onboarded to Purview policies).
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Non-Microsoft data governance tooling administration (unless explicitly assigned).
Key responsibilities
Strategy, leadership, and stakeholder management
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Lead and coach a global team of engineers/analysts and/or vendors responsible for Microsoft 365 operations, ensuring clear priorities, runbooks, and measurable outcomes.
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Act as the senior escalation point for major incidents and high-risk changes related to Microsoft 365 and Purview.
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Partner with Information Security & Compliance, Data Governance, Legal, HR, Procurement, Finance, and key business stakeholders to align controls, policies, and platform capabilities.
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Own and communicate the Microsoft 365 service roadmap, risks, and decision points via regular governance forums and executive reporting.
Microsoft 365 platform and service ownership
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Ensure tenant governance and secure-by-default configurations across Exchange Online, Teams, SharePoint/OneDrive and related services, aligned to internal standards and regulatory obligations.
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Establish and maintain service standards, configuration baselines, and operational documentation (service descriptions, runbooks, support models, and architecture decisions).
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Drive lifecycle management: feature adoption, deprecation of legacy settings, and proactive remediation based on Microsoft advisories and security posture improvements.
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Ensure operational excellence: SLA/OLA adherence, monitoring, capacity considerations, and service continuity planning (in coordination with backup/BCP owners).
Microsoft Purview (compliance, protection, and data lifecycle)
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Design and operate the Purview capability stack and operating model (roles, responsibilities, approval workflows) in partnership with Security, Legal, and Data Governance.
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Implement and continuously improve information protection and labeling standards, including sensitivity labels, encryption, label policies, and user guidance.
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Own DLP strategy and configuration for endpoints and M365 workloads, including tuning, exception handling, alert triage, and measurement of business impact.
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Own retention and records management design (retention labels/policies, disposition reviews, deletion/archival controls) aligned to legal and regulatory requirements.
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Coordinate eDiscovery processes and readiness (Standard/Premium), including case workflows, holds, collections, and auditability; ensure clear hand-offs with Legal/HR.
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Provide compliance reporting and evidence support for audits (e.g., ISO 27001, SOC/SOX where applicable), including control mapping, dashboards, and traceable change history.
Microsoft licensing, commercial governance, and optimization
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Own the Microsoft 365 licensing operating model: license catalogue, assignment rules (group-based), access-to-license mapping, and governance for add-ons (e.g., Purview, Entra ID, Defender, Teams Phone, Copilot where applicable).
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Drive continuous license utilization analysis and optimization: reclaiming unused licenses, right-sizing SKU mix, reducing duplication, and ensuring compliant use aligned to Product Terms.
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Partner with Procurement/Finance to support renewals, true-up/true-down cycles, and negotiations by providing internal consumption analytics and scenarios.
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Establish and maintain transparent reporting on license consumption, forecast, cost drivers, and savings realized; communicate actions and decisions to stakeholders.
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Ensure audit readiness for vendor and internal licensing reviews, with evidence of entitlements, assignments, and governance controls.
Service management and delivery
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Own change governance for Microsoft 365 and Purview: change planning, risk assessment, stakeholder communications, and post-change validation.
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Manage service improvements through a structured backlog and quarterly planning, balancing security/compliance, user experience, and cost.
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Coordinate with Service Desk and other IT teams to ensure effective 1st/2nd/3rd line support, knowledge management, and consistent end-user communications.
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Maintain a strong relationship with Microsoft (and partners), ensuring timely escalations, service health monitoring, and alignment to the Microsoft roadmap.
Key interfaces
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Information Security & Compliance (policy, risk management, control assurance, incident response)
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Legal and HR (eDiscovery, investigations, employee communications, retention obligations)
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Data Governance / Data Owners (classification standards, stewardship, retention requirements)
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Procurement and Finance (commercial governance, renewals, forecasting, chargeback/showback if applicable)
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IT Service Desk and IT Operations (support model, incident/problem/change management)
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Architecture / Enterprise Platforms (integration patterns, identity, endpoint management, monitoring)
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Business stakeholders and champions (adoption, feedback, productivity outcomes)
Key deliverables and success measures
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Service reliability: availability and performance within agreed targets; reduction in recurring incidents through problem management.
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Security & compliance posture: measurable reduction in high-risk misconfigurations; timely remediation of Microsoft advisories; audit findings closed on time.
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Purview outcomes: label coverage and adoption, DLP signal quality (precision/recall via tuning), retention policy coverage for critical data sets, eDiscovery readiness tested.
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Licensing optimization: realized savings from reharvesting/right-sizing; improved forecast accuracy; documented licensing governance controls.
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User experience: improved self-service, reduced time-to-resolution, and improved satisfaction for collaboration services.
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Operational maturity: current documentation, runbooks, and a predictable change cadence with strong stakeholder communications.
