Customer Program Manager

Cisco Systems, Inc; Greater London; On-site; GBP 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

Cisco Systems, Inc in London/remote-friendly setup seeks an experienced Program Manager to drive strategic customer-facing programs from inception to closure. You will ensure scope, financial health, and quality, connecting customer goals with Cisco delivery objectives.

The role emphasizes governance, cross-functional leadership, and leveraging AI-enabled tools to continuously improve delivery outcomes across global engagements.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree or higher with 8+ years’ experience, or Master’s with 6+ years, or PhD with 3+ years, or equivalent professional experience.
• PMP certification is preferred and relevant to governance and delivery.
• Demonstrated expertise in financial management (forecasting, P&L, budget execution) and enterprise delivery governance.

Responsibilities

• Lead large-scale, cross-functional programs across full lifecycle.
• Define roadmaps, deliver plans and monitor performance to align with delivery standards and customer outcomes.
• Manage budgets, forecasts, revenue and margin reporting, ensuring governance and contractual compliance.

Skills

Stakeholder management

Leadership

Financial forecasting

Delivery governance

Cross-functional collaboration

Education

Bachelor’s degree (engineering, business or related)

Master’s degree

PhD

PMP Certification

Tools

SOW drafting

Vendor management

Forecasting tools

Job description

Meet the Team

The Project/Program Management team serves as the architectural foundation for our customer success stories, operating at the critical nexus of Cisco’s advanced technology and the evolving business requirements of our enterprise clients. We are a team of expert practitioners dedicated to operational excellence, driving complex, high-value transformations that deliver measurable results and long-term value for our global customers.

Your Impact

This role is the primary driver of the end-to-end lifecycle for our most strategic customer-facing programs. You will be accountable for orchestrating the entire engagement—from initiation through to closure—ensuring that scope, financial health, and quality standards are met while acting as a vital link between the customer’s business goals and Cisco’s strategic delivery objectives. You will be instrumental in driving continuous improvement through AI-enabled tools and methodologies, ensuring that every project is a catalyst for deeper customer partnerships and sustained growth.

Your Impact

• Strategic Delivery & Lifecycle Management: Lead large-scale, complex programs across the full project lifecycle. You will define the roadmap, execute the delivery plan, and monitor performance to ensure that all workstreams are synchronized with Cisco’s delivery standards and the customer's desired business outcomes.
• Operational & Financial Governance: Maintain absolute rigor over financial health by managing budget execution, conducting accurate forecasting, and ensuring transparent revenue and margin reporting. You are responsible for ensuring that all delivery data is accurately reflected in Cisco systems, maintaining compliance with internal governance and external contractual requirements.
• Stakeholder Influence & Relationship Building: Serve as a trusted advisor to high-value leaders, including IT and CXO-level stakeholders. You will cultivate deep, enduring customer relationships, expand footprint through identified opportunities, and act as a bridge between the customer and internal Cisco teams (SDMs, CXMs, and Sales) to ensure unified messaging and execution.
• Contractual & Partner Coordination: Navigate the complexities of partner management by sourcing bids, reviewing performance, and ensuring that Statements of Work (SOW) and Terms and Conditions (T&Cs) are strictly aligned with project delivery and financial plans. You will collaborate with SDMs to ensure partner selection and performance meet our high standards for service delivery.
• Innovation & Continuous Improvement: Champion the modernisation of delivery through the application of AI and automation tools. You will lead retrospective initiatives, share knowledge across engagements, and mentor project teams to ensure that lessons learned are institutionalized as best practices.

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree with 8+ years of relevant experience, or Master’s degree with 6+ years, or PhD with 3+ years, or equivalent relevant professional experience.
• Proven experience leading large-scale, cross-functional programs within a global, technology-driven environment.
• PMP (Project Management Professional) certification.
• Demonstrable expertise in financial management (forecasting, P&L, budget execution) and delivery governance in an enterprise context.

Preferred Qualifications

• Additional advanced certifications in Program Management or Agile methodologies.
• CPMAI (Cognitive Project Management for AI) certification.
• Industry-recognized technical certifications (e.g., CCST, CCNP, or cloud-specific credentials).
• Experience in contract negotiation, SOW drafting, and managing complex vendor/partner relationships.
• Demonstrated history of using AI-driven analytics to improve project health, risk detection, and automated reporting.
• Track record of providing mentorship, coaching, and influencing organizational norms in a large-scale services business.

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.

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.