Community Affairs Manager/ Datacentre Affaires Locales

Overview

Microsoft's Cloud Operations & Innovation (CO+I) team is responsible for the full lifecycle of Microsoft's cloud infrastructure, spanning site selection, development, and operations. Our global footprint includes more than 400 datacenters in 34 countries, supported by over 165,000 miles of fiber optic cable. These facilities form the backbone of the Microsoft Cloud and are central to our commitment to reliable, secure, and sustainable digital infrastructure.

Microsoft is looking for a Community Affairs Manager/ Datacentre Affaires Locales for France. The Datacenter Community Affairs team supports the growth and operations of Microsoft's cloud infrastructure by managing relationships with local stakeholders, bringing insights and understanding of potential new and existing communities, developing and executing a local community engagement strategy to effectively manage social impact, risks, and opportunities. It also develops a community investment strategy, including social and environmental programs, in communities that host our datacenters.

We are looking for an experienced professional with track record in community affairs, public affairs and/ or community engagement in large infrastructure projects to support the evolution of the datacenter community affairs strategy in Europe. In this role you will be responsible for creating and implementing community strategy plans, community storytelling, local government and community engagement and delivering social impact programmes in France.

In alignment with our Microsoft values, we are committed to cultivating an inclusive work environment for all employees to positively impact our culture every day.

Responsibilities

• Local stakeholder & community engagement
• Act as the primary point of contact between Microsoft datacenters and local communities in France.
• Build and maintain strong relationships with local stakeholders, including residents, NGOs, businesses, and municipal actors (e.g., Authorities Having Jurisdictions, mayors).

• Support government engagement at local and regional levels, ensuring clarity on roles, expectations, and processes.

• Community Strategy & Social Impact

• • Create and implement location‑specific community strategy plans aligned with Microsoft's mission and CO+I priorities.
• Develop and execute community investment programs aligned with Microsoft global social and environmental commitments including the Microsoft Community Pledge e.g. STEM education and skilling, environmental sustainability.
• Coordinate qualitative (e.g. community listening sessions) and quantitative data collection and turn into actionable insights to understand community needs, risks, and opportunities.
• Reputation, Risk & Issues Management
• Monitor and address community concerns proactively; support complaint management and crisis‑related communications.
• Identify social risks, political dynamics, and sentiment shifts in priority communities and recommend mitigation actions.
• Coordinate hyper‑local narratives in collaboration with Comms.
• Ensure consistent, transparent, and community‑informed messaging across internal and external channels.
• Support storytelling efforts to highlight program impact, foster trust, and strengthen Microsoft's social license to operate.
• Program Delivery & Execution Excellence
• Lead the deployment of community programs on expected timelines.
• Ensure alignment of programs with local community needs.
• Track and report progress, insights, blockers, and outcomes to regional and global CA stakeholders.
• Internal & Cross Functional Collaboration
• Represent the voice of the community internally, ensuring community feedback inform datacenter planning, permitting, construction and operations.
• Work closely with Microsoft teams including CO+I permitting, engineering and construction teams as well as Corporate, External and Legal Affairs (CELA) and Communications to coordinate community relevant decisions and engagements.
• Participate in regional Community Affairs team initiatives, knowledge sharing, and continuous improvement practices.
• Measure, track and report impact and deliver a regular cadence of program updates to Community Affairs leadership team.

Qualifications

Qualifications & Experience

• Experience in community and/or local government affairs, preferably with a focus on large infrastructure and construction projects.
• Experience presenting, meeting and building trust with diverse stakeholders including local government officials, community leaders, non-profits, environmental groups, STEM education partners and students in a variety of environments (rural, suburban and urban).
• Experience managing contractors, agencies, and/or other third parties.
• Bachelors degree in public affairs, political science, business, public policy or similar
• This role requires fluency in written, reading, and conversational French and English as all business operations as well as stakeholder communications are conducted in French and English.

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.

While not required, we also look for the following Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience with community and stakeholder engagement in infrastructure projects preferred.
• Ability to work across functions effectively within virtual and in-person teams in a fast-paced, complex and matrixed environment.
• Excellent verbal and written communications and strong interpersonal skills.
• Strong project and program management skills.
• Ability to thrive in a fast-paced multinational environment working across multiple lines of business.
• Strong team player with excellent interpersonal skills.

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.