Strategy & Planning Manager

Cisco Systems, Inc.; Greater London; Hybrid; GBP 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

Cisco Systems, Inc. is seeking a seasoned Senior Sales Operations professional to help shape forecasting processes and enablement initiatives across sales and finance.

You will partner with cross-functional leaders to drive accuracy, transparency, and efficiency in forecasting and end-to-end processes, while leading programs that accelerate revenue growth in a fast-paced tech environment. The role requires strong project management, strategic thinking, and experience with CRM/forecasting tools.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration or equivalent experience.
• 5+ years of experience in sales operations, or program/project management within a large technology company.
• Demonstrated experience in developing Sales processes, forecasting strategies, or sales enablement, including experience integrating functional requirements into larger operational frameworks.

Responsibilities

• Act as the primary liaison between the sales organizations and other forecasting stakeholders, ensuring unique needs are integrated into the unified forecasting process.
• Collaborate with Sales, Finance, & Operational teams to define forecasting requirements, goals, and deliverables that support a streamlined, end-to-end process.
• Lead the development and rollout of enablement programs for forecasting needs, working with enablement teams to ensure training and support.
• Define and implement AI forward processes and solutions that improve forecasting accuracy and insights, aligning with Cisco’s forecasting strategy.
• Regularly gather feedback from Current and future Acquisitions team members to refine processes, tools, and enablement materials.

Skills

Cross-functional collaboration

Executive communication

Project management

Strategic thinking

Data-driven forecasting

Education

Bachelor’s in Business Administration

Tools

Salesforce

Clari

Gong

Job description

Meet the Team

The Global Sales Tech Stack team is part of Sales Operations Organization at Cisco. It is responsible for AI forward tool strategy and adoption across all sales personas, including tools for deal management, forecasting and customer engagement.

Your Impact

Your role will be essential in developing forecasting processes, strategies, and enablement initiatives aligned with sales and finance priorities. By working closely with cross-functional leaders, you’ll drive a collaborative approach that strengthens forecasting accuracy, transparency, and efficiency.

Responsibilities

• Act as the primary liaison between the sales organizations and other forecasting stakeholders, ensuring that unique needs are fully integrated into the unified forecasting process.
• Collaborate with Sales, Finance, & Operational teams to define forecasting requirements, goals, and deliverables that support a streamlined, end-to-end process.
• Lead the development and rollout of enablement programs for forecasting needs, working closely with enablement teams to ensure training and support.
• Define and implement AI forward processes and solutions that improve forecasting accuracy and insights, aligning these initiatives with the company’s broader forecasting strategy.
• Regularly gather feedback from Current and future Acquisitions team members to ensure their needs are met, refine processes, tools, and enablement materials as needed.
• Drive project management efforts for all initiatives in the organization, ensuring landmarks are met and deliverables align with the strategic vision for forecasting transformation.
• Provide regular updates and insights to executive leadership on the progress, forecasting integration and identifying challenges, solutions, and areas for improvement.
• Build performance indicators to measure the success using data to support continuous improvement.
  

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor’s in Business Administration, or equivalent experience

• 5+ years of experience in sales operations, or program/project management within a large technology company.
• Demonstrated experience in developing Sales processes, forecasting strategies, or sales enablement, including experience integrating functional requirements into larger operational frameworks
  

• 10 years of sales operations, or program/project management within a large technology company.
• Proven experience leading cross-functional projects and driving collaboration across departments.
• Excellent communication and relationship-building skills, with experience communicating at an executive level.
• Strong project management capabilities with experience handling complex initiatives, meeting timelines, and driving successful outcomes
• Familiarity with forecasting tools, CRM platforms (e.g., Salesforce, Clari, Gong), and data-driven forecasting methodologies.
• Strategic thinker who can anticipate challenges, find opportunities, and build solutions.

Preferred Qualifications

• MBA or PMP certification is a plus
• Experience with Revenue Forecasting is a plus

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.