Here’s an interesting marketing gig from my former employer:

Senior Director Global Brand Job

Location: WA, Redmond, US
Job Category: Marketing
Location: WA, Redmond, US
Job ID: 739272-29547
Division: Marketing

Position Summary:

This newly created, highly strategic leadership role will develop, refine and drive cross company brand strategy across the company’s global portfolio of consumer and commercial products. You will take the lead in driving cross company engagements including brand architecture, strategy, naming and identity, and brand health, articulating the value of Microsoft in order to drive business value for our key consumer and commercial businesses. You will do this in an engineering-driven environment in which the brand strategy, architecture and messaging for Microsoft and its sub-brands are not always well defined or consistent among the various focused business units.

Major Responsibilities:

Work closely with leaders from across the company to gather and gain critical insights – from the Senior Marketing Leadership team to the marketing leaders across global segments and in the field organization – to develop and execute against the brand strategy. You will do this by working with virtual teams in a highly matrixed environment and will succeed by:

• Investing heavily of your time and energy to build strong working relationships with numerous people at all levels of the organization
• Bringing to bear the ability to strongly offer a well-structured, well-supported and clearly articulated point of view in the face of strong opposition.
• Demonstrating a high level of tenacity, diligence and patience and a strong ability to adapt to different styles and ways of working.

You will have a “seat at the table” with the consumer and commercial business unit leaders as they develop and refine their business strategies. You will need to have or quickly develop a keen understanding of Microsoft’s complex business strategies, models and key products and services and need to quickly be able to contribute valuable customer insights, competitor intelligence and branding solutions to the discourse. You will do this by:

• Demonstrating a clear passion for technology and a willingness to immerse him/herself fully in the details of Microsoft’s businesses.
• Accessing existing or developing/commissioning new customer and competitor research and insight work to quickly gain a deep understanding of the consumer/customers, his/her wants and needs and how Microsoft and its sub brands deliver against these versus its competitors.

Gain the trust and admiration of Microsoft senior leadership by leveraging your unique combination of marketing expertise and business understanding to help them drive their business forward

Marrying consumer and customer insights with a deep reservoir of personal knowledge and experience in building brand strategies and managing brands (positioning, architecture, naming, messaging, personality, tone & manner, etc.)

Identifying and leveraging the various marcom channels and touch points that are relevant to the consumer and commercial businesses. Tapping into the centers of excellence within the Brand team to effectively land key strategies

Partner with peers within the brand team to determine/develop brand analytics and measurement (brand valuation, brand health measurement, return on brand investment) and setting up the measurement systems and processes to monitor the ongoing health of the commercial brand(s).

Help ensure that Microsoft’s broad go-to-market efforts are tied to a clear brand strategy.

Work closely with Microsoft’s brand development specialists to develop and execute on key brand initiatives.

Experience Needed:

• Sixteen plus years of increasingly senior experience in brand strategy on the corporate and/or agency side. This includes 10+ years of business-building roles (ie. business analytics, marketing, sales, etc.) including a minimum of 5+ years senior-level experience driving marketing and/or brand strategy and execution.
• A strong track record of success working in a consultative or advisory capacity at the senior-most levels of top-tier organizations.
• A strong track record of success in the B2B and/or B2C branding /marketing strategy arena.
• Has a knowledge of both sophisticated management and operational systems found in larger companies and the ability to operate effectively within a matrix environment, where influencing and relationship-building skills are essential.
• A track-record of building sustained relationships with senior leaders in an environment where you had to consistently message new or unpopular thinking
• Ability to teach and mentor more junior colleagues, helping them learn new skills and methodologies
• Bachelor’s degree required, MBA or advanced degree preferred

Other Personal Characteristics

• An effective, inspirational leader with a high degree of drive, energy and intellectual ability.
• An individual with the intellectual curiosity and horsepower to quickly grasp complex business models, products/technologies.
• A natural collaborator. An individual with the intellectual agility and organizational savvy to solve complex issues and find win-win solutions when dealing with a number of very demanding parties.
• One who is comfortable with a high degree of ambiguity and sees/seizes opportunity to shape and make things happen in unclear, chaotic situations.
• A high level of comfort with the role of advisor / consultant. One who is very comfortable in a matrixed environment and can operate effectively without having to “own” the resources that are at his/her disposal.
• An individual with a passion for technology.

Apply thru this link

Truly hysterical Hanukkah video:

One of my recruiting colleagues asked that I post this position in my network.  Here is another top TA job.

Job Title: Vice President, Global Talent Acquisition

Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Industry: Professional Services

Responsibilities and Qualifications:

Our client, a well-respected global professional services company, is seeking a Vice President of Global Talent Acquisition.  The Vice President will be responsible for establishing a best in class talent acquisition operation and providing overall leadership to the enterprise-wide talent acquisition function. Reporting to the Senior Vice President of Global Talent Management, this individual will design and implement strategies to meet the growth needs of the organization. In addition, s/he will be responsible for global strategic sourcing of talent and function as a strategic partner in workforce planning and major business initiatives.

Qualifications

• Minimum of 15 years of experience in human resources; minimum of eight years in high volume talent acquisition function within a corporate environment.
• Minimum of five years of experience in leading a global talent acquisition team.
• Undergraduate degree required in human resources or related discipline; MA/MBA preferred.
• Effective in working within a matrix organization and proven success in leading and influencing change.
• Experienced human resources professional with a breadth of experience in multiple human resources disciplines including generalist, talent management and compensation.
• Must have proficient and thorough understanding US-based and international employment regulations.
• Ability to assess organization trends and proactively educate and enhance people, process and systems to build a best in class talent acquisition function.
• Strong analytics and business acumen required.
• Proven relationships with search partners and a network in leading companies.

Contact Information:

Tammy Townes
Salveson Stetson Group

Townes@ssgsearch.com

As someone who is in the process of relocating to Portland Oregon from the Commonwealth of Virginia I find it amusing that this weekend’s big football game between Oregon State’s Beavers and University of Oregon’s Ducks is referred to as the “civil war”.  I mean really…….CIVIL WAR??

I don’t know about you but I’ve always thought ducks and beavers coexisted quite peacefully.  I’m a huge fan of the Discover Channel and I don’t believe I’ve ever seen ducks and beavers battling it out in the ponds and streams of our great land. Have you?

As I watched today’s game I was at first conflicted about who to root for during this epic battle.  Ducks….Beavers….who would it be?  After pondering the whole issues I decided it would be the Ducks.  Yes, the mighty Ducks (not to be confused with that lousy hockey team….for the record I am still a huge Caps Fan!

As it turns out, I am actually a huge fan of the duck.  This includes Daffy and Donald.  It also includes Aflac.

Then there are all of the culinary ducks:  Confit, Peking, and A L‘orange. I also can’t forget about all of the cooking virtues of duck fat.

I’ve even been to the store, “Culinary Duck” that is located in the town of Duck!

I guess what really bothers me about this entire thing is the Civil War reference.  Even though I was not born in Virginia (again for the record, I was born in NY), I am a bit defensive about a school rivalry moniker that is clearly more deserving of my current home.

The Civil War was actually fought in Virginia (given the local politics there….some might say, that war is still being fought there).  The capital of the Confederacy was located there (Richmond for all of you non-history buffs).  And of course, the Civil War ended there (Appomattox, VA).

Yes, in my mind the mega battle between Virginia Tech and UVA should henceforth be called the real collegiate Civil War.  The passion. The history.  The imagery.  So who would you root for, Hokie or Cavalier?

Happy Chanukah to all my friends and family of the tribe!

I guess one of the advantages of traveling as much as I do is the ability to stay current with a variety of monthly periodicals.  In this month’s GQ Magazine there is a recipe for The High-Rise Pancake.  This traditional German pancake is more souffle-like than the pancakes you make on your stove top.  There are only a half-dozen ingredients so I decided to give it a whirl.  WOW!  So easy to make.  So amazingly good.  I brushed a little warm maple syrup on mine.  Since GQ has yet to publish the recipe online, here it is:

(appeared in December, 2010 GQ Magazine)

Ingredients:

• 3  Tablespoons Butter
• 2  Eggs Beaten
• 1/2  Cup Flour
• 1/2  Cup Milk
• 1 Teaspoon Salt
• (pinch of nutmeg if you got it)
• Drop of Vanilla (not in recipe but I added it)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees
2. Put the butter in a 8-10 inch ovenproof skillet (I used an 8 inch non-stick pan)
3. Mix all of the ingredients together with a whisk.
4. When butter is melted, take pan from oven and quickly pour in the ingrediants
5. Return to the oven and back for 18 to 20 minutes until puffy and evenly browned on the outside
6. Remove from oven.  Traditionally this pancake is serviced with lemon juice and powdered sugar.  I brushed a little maple syrup on mine.
7. Enjoy!

The job market seems to be preparing itself for big gains in 2011 as evident by the number of senior level corporate Talent Acquisition positions currently being recruiting.  Here are just a few positions that have crossed my desk in the past few weeks:

1. Starbucks – Head of Talent Acquisition
2. Expedia – VP Talent Management
3. Amazon – Head of Talent Acquisition
4. Williams-Sonoma – VP Talent Acquisition
5. eBay – Director of Executive Talent Acquisition
6. Experian – VP Talent Management
7. Wells Fargo – VP Recruiting
8. SunTrust – Head of Talent Acquisition
9. Tyco – Director of Talent Acquisition
10. Boston Scientific – VP Global Talent Management
11. GENCO – VP Talent Management
12. Hasbro – VP Global Talent Management
13. Goodyear Tire & Rubber – Head of Talent Acquisition
14. Salesforce.com – VP Recruiting
15. CIT – VP Recruitment

I am a bit of a culinary geek and I wanted to share with you the one knife I think all serious home chefs need to add to their collection.  I’ve owned this knife for nearly 2 years and since it has yet to make the journey to my corporate apartment digs in Portland, I find myself missing it every time I try to prep nearly any type of food.

This is a 6 inch, Honesuki utility/boning knife.  It is made from Stainless Damascus san mai blade with a VG10 stainless steel core (Hrc 60 – 61).  That is a very fancy way of saying it is extremely hard steel that holds a very sharp edge.  It is used in Japan primarily as a boning knife (note the beak-like tip) but unlike traditional American or European boning knifes, the blade is wider with more heft.

The knife’s shape provides finger clearance when working over a cutting board. A gentle rock to the blade makes it an optimal chopping knife. The thin, aggressive point makes it even capable of detail tasks where a paring knife would otherwise be used.

I love this knife and use it a lot.  It’s not cheap.  The cost is around $200.  It is generally tough to find but you can order it from my favorite knife shop (located in beautiful Kirkland, Washington – The Epicurean Edge.

I just got back from buying a new car.  Well, actually, not a new car but a used car.  The lease was finally up on our GMC Acadia and instead of signing up for a new lease, we made the decision this time around to actually buy something.  In this case we bought a used Jeep Grand Cherokee.  As I left the dealership I felt a bit sad. I wasn’t sad about buying the car itself, after all, we needed another set of wheels.  I was sad because neither of my sons joined me in for the care buying experience.  It seems to me that this generation finds no allure of the car buying experience.

Years ago, buying a car was part of a boy’s right of passage – kinda like a Bar Mitzvah but without all the chanting.  I remember those rare special occasions when my Dad decided to buy a new car – hoping that one day he would take me with him.  When that day finally came, it was magical!

Buying a car when I was a kid was a very big deal and nobody was as prepared as my Dad.  When we got to the dealership my Dad gave me that nod – like I was part of some kind of caper.  The salesman greeted us as soon as we closed our car door.  “Looking for a new car?” he asked.  “Maybe” my Dad replied – smiling at the salesman and looking back at me.  The game was afoot.  My Dad selected a car and I got to sit in the backseat while we took the rest ride.  The salesman droned on and on about this and that oblivious to the fact that my Dad had crafted out his plan way in advance.  He knew what he was going to say and how he was going to say it.  He was a master of the car haggle and in the end, we always got a good deal.  I remember sitting in the passenger seat as we pulled into the driveway – victorious!  We got to show off our fresh kill to the family and neighborhood.  I can still smell the scent of new car and cigarettes.

Today, my kids could care less about whether we have a new car, old car or any car for that matter.  They only get excited when a new game comes out (you should have seen them a few weeks ago when Call of Duty Black Ops was released).  I think in the years to come, people will be buying their cars on Amazon, waiting for the UPS truck to pull up with their car towed in the back on a trailer.  Some think that this is progress.  I actually think its this generation’s loss.  Oh wait, the UPS guy is here – maybe my new CDs are finally here!