Manager, Strategy & Special Projects

Apply
  • Location:
    Offsite, Chicago, Illinois, US
  • Alternate Location
    Raleigh, NC / Irvine, CA / Atlanta, GA / US-Remote
  • Area of Interest
    Business Strategy and Operations
  • Compensation Range
    125500 USD - 186700 USD
  • Job Type
    Professional
  • Technology Interest
    *None
  • Job Id
    1438498

The application window is expected to close on August 4, 2025. 
Job posting may be removed earlier if the position is filled or if a sufficient number of applications are received.



Manager, Strategy & Special Projects



The Role

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.


Meet the Team

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.


Your Impact & Responsibilities

  • 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.


Minimum Required Qualifications

  • 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).

Highly Desired Qualifications

  • 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.


Why Cisco

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. 

Message to applicants applying to work in the U.S. and/or Canada:

When available, the salary range posted for this position reflects the projected hiring range for new hire, full-time salaries in U.S. and/or Canada locations, not including equity or benefits. For non-sales roles the hiring ranges reflect base salary only; employees are also eligible to receive annual bonuses. Hiring ranges for sales positions include base and incentive compensation target. Individual pay is determined by the candidate's hiring location and additional factors, including but not limited to skillset, experience, and relevant education, certifications, or training. Applicants may not be eligible for the full salary range based on their U.S. or Canada hiring location. The recruiter can share more details about compensation for the role in your location during the hiring process.

U.S. employees have access to quality medical, dental and vision insurance, a 401(k) plan with a Cisco matching contribution, short and long-term disability coverage, basic life insurance and numerous wellbeing offerings.

Employees receive up to twelve paid holidays per calendar year, which includes one floating holiday (for non-exempt employees), plus a day off for their birthday. Non-Exempt new hires accrue up to 16 days of vacation time off each year, at a rate of 4.92 hours per pay period. Exempt new hires participate in Cisco’s flexible Vacation Time Off policy, which does not place a defined limit on how much vacation time eligible employees may use, but is subject to availability and some business limitations. All new hires are eligible for Sick Time Off subject to Cisco’s Sick Time Off Policy and will have eighty (80) hours of sick time off provided on their hire date and on January 1st of each year thereafter.  Up to 80 hours of unused sick time will be carried forward from one calendar year to the next such that the maximum number of sick time hours an employee may have available is 160 hours. Employees in Illinois have a unique time off program designed specifically with local requirements in mind. All employees also have access to paid time away to deal with critical or emergency issues. We offer additional paid time to volunteer and give back to the community.

Employees on sales plans earn performance-based incentive pay on top of their base salary, which is split between quota and non-quota components. For quota-based incentive pay, Cisco typically pays as follows:

.75% of incentive target for each 1% of revenue attainment up to 50% of quota;

1.5% of incentive target for each 1% of attainment between 50% and 75%;

1% of incentive target for each 1% of attainment between 75% and 100%; and once performance exceeds 100% attainment, incentive rates are at or above 1% for each 1% of attainment with no cap on incentive compensation.

For non-quota-based sales performance elements such as strategic sales objectives, Cisco may pay up to 125% of target. Cisco sales plans do not have a minimum threshold of performance for sales incentive compensation to be paid.

Share

Apply