Community Affairs Manager

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 fibre 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 for Vaasa region, Finland. 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 Vaasa region.     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.    #COICareers  Responsibilities Local stakeholder & community engagement  Act as the primary point of contact between Microsoft datacenters and local communities in Vaasa region.   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