Manager, Strategy & Special Projects

We're looking for a Strategy & Planning Manager to join Cisco's Growth Operations (GO) team. This is a high-visibility role designed for a strategic problem solver with a consulting toolkit and the confidence to drive cross-functional initiatives that touch every corner of Cisco's business. You'll lead fast-paced "sprints" that tackle Cisco's most complex business challenges, including framing problems, conducting analysis, managing senior stakeholders, and presenting solutions at the VP, SVP, and ELT levels.

You'll join the Strategy & Special Projects group within Cisco's Growth Operations. Our mission is to accelerate the company's most critical cross-functional initiatives by helping Cisco shift to recurring revenue models, elevate software growth, simplify customer experiences, and operationalize our AI and platform strategies. This tight-knit team is small but mighty: we're trusted by executives to drive clarity, speed, and alignment across complex, enterprise-wide projects.

We don't just analyze problems, we implement solutions. We enjoy tackling tough challenges that require extensive cross-functional collaboration and stakeholder alignment. Our team thrives on driving outcomes through execution, focusing on the collective "win" rather than seeking individual recognition. We are experts at solving complex coordination problems by building strong relationships, guided by analytical rigor and expertise that allow us to act as unbiased advisors and effective leaders.

You'll report to the Senior Director of Strategy & Special Projects and work closely with leaders across Engineering, Sales, CX, Product, Finance, and the Office of the CEO.

• Shape the future of how Cisco sells, supports, and scales by leading short-cycle, high-impact initiatives across domains such as licensing, commerce, support operations, and AI strategy.
• Influence VP-level and SVP-level decisions by framing challenges, building business cases, and driving organizational alignment.
• Deliver strategy through execution, owning everything from insight development to implementation roadmaps, change management, and ongoing governance.
• Be a force multiplier for executive teams and be equipped to lead your own stream of work or advise and enable other parts of Growth Operations.
• Own and lead complex strategic projects, often with minimal direction, including framing the problem, structuring workstreams, running analyses, and presenting recommendations.
• Drive cross-functional collaboration across business units, product, sales, marketing, and operations teams to gain alignment and clear decision paths.
• Translate ambiguous challenges into clear frameworks and data-backed plans of action.
• Present confidently at the executive level, articulating strategic issues, synthesizing insights, and aligning leadership on outcomes.
  
  

• MBA with at least 1 year of post-MBA consulting experience at a top-tier firm - OR - a Bachelor's degree with 6+ years consulting experience at a top-tier firm. (e.g., McKinsey, BCG, Bain)
• Experience managing senior stakeholders and communicating with executive presence.
• Experience leading / managing projects from end-to-end (defining scope, planning / driving the cadence, execution, monitoring)
• Strong analytical and quantitative skills; able to independently lead Excel modeling, scenario analysis, and KPI development.
• Outstanding communication skills, including written, verbal, and visual (decks, storytelling, data synthesis).

• MBA from a top 15 program
• Proven ability to drive outcomes in complex, matrixed organizations without formal authority.
• Comfortable navigating ambiguity and balancing both strategic thinking and hands-on execution.
• Experience in a Corporate Strategy, Strategic Planning, or BizOps role in large tech (e.g., ServiceNow, Microsoft, Dell, Google).
• Exposure to B2B enterprise hardware & software, SaaS, or platform business models.
• Familiarity with AI/ML concepts or experience working with teams implementing AI strategy.
• Experience leading cross-functional efforts that span Product, CX, Sales, and Engineering.
• High EQ with a track record of earning trust and building coalitions across diverse stakeholder groups.
• Highly proactive, intellectually curious, and thrives in fast-paced, unstructured environments.

At Cisco, we're revolutionizing how data and infrastructure connect and protect organizations in the AI era - and beyond. We've been innovating fearlessly for 40 years to create solutions that power how humans and technology work together across the physical and digital worlds. These solutions provide customers with unparalleled security, visibility, and insights across the entire digital footprint. Simply put - we power the future.

Fueled by the depth and breadth of our technology, we experiment and create meaningful solutions. Add to that our worldwide network of doers and experts, and you'll see that the opportunities to grow and build are limitless. We work as a team, collaborating with empathy to make really big things happen on a global scale. Because our solutions are everywhere, our impact is everywhere.

We are Cisco, and our power starts with you.