Project Manager - Programs

020 Cisco Systems, Inc.; Oeiras; On-site; EUR 55,000 - 75,000; Full time

Job summary

Cisco's Global Distribution Route to Market is the growth engine powering commercial and mid-market scale. We seek a Grade 9 Program Operations Specialist to anchor governance and administration of current distribution programs while transitioning distributors to the Cisco 360 Distribution Program (PVI & CPI for Distributors).

In this role you will own governance, reconcile payouts, build executive dashboards, and support bi-weekly regional cadence across AMER, EMEA, and APJC, serving as Tier-2

Qualifications

• 4–7+ years in partner/channel operations, governance, or financial operations.
• Strong understanding of two‑tier distribution, distributor compensation, and incentives.
• Ability to manage complex business rules, audit trails, and policy compliance.
• Advanced Excel skills and experience with large datasets.
• Familiarity with Cisco systems (CCW, PXP, Tableau/PowerBI, Salesforce) is a plus.

Responsibilities

• Oversee day-to-day governance and policy execution for global distribution programs.
• Reconcile distributor payouts with Global Partner Finance and manage exceptions.
• Support transition roadmap to Cisco 360 with PVI and CPI for Distributors.
• Maintain executive dashboards and enable bi-weekly cross-regional cadences across AMER, EMEA and APJC.

Skills

Partner operations

Governance

Excel advanced

Data analysis

Stakeholder management

Tools

CCW

PXP

Tableau/PowerBI

Salesforce

Job description

Meet the Team Cisco's Global Distribution Route to Market is the critical growth engine powering our commercial and mid-market scale. The Global Distribution Programs & Strategy Team owns the end-to-end design, operational governance, financial stewardship, and strategic evolution of the partner programs that monetize and motivate our global distributor ecosystem. We are currently navigating the most significant partner transformation in Cisco's history: the transition from legacy programmatic frameworks into the Cisco 360 (C360) Partner Program. We are seeking a high-calibre Grade 9 Program Operations Specialist to anchor the operational governance and administration of our current distribution programs while playing a hands-on execution role in operationalizing and transitioning our distributors to the new C360 Distribution Program (PVI & CPI for Distributors).

Your Impact

1. Legacy Distribution Program Governance & Administration Program Operations & Lifecycle Administration: Oversee the operational day-to-day running, audit compliance, and policy execution for existing global distribution programs and incentives (e.g., Distributor Grow, OBF and DDF). Payment & Rebate Reconciliation: Partner with Global Partner Finance and Commerce Operations to validate monthly/quarterly distributor payout files, reconcile claims, and manage operational exception requests. Audit & Policy Governance: Ensure strict adherence to program Terms & Conditions, maintain master governance documentation, and lead operational dispute resolution workflows with regional distributor leads.
2. Transition to Cisco 360 (C360) Distribution Programs C360 Operational Readiness: Support the program transition roadmap from legacy metrics to the new Partner Value Index (PVI) and Cisco Partner Incentive (CPI) for Distributors.
3. Analytics, Reporting & Operational Cadence Executive Dashboards & Reporting: Maintain recurring operational dashboards tracking global distributor performance, incentive earnings, tier distribution, and budget accruals. Cross-Regional Cadence Support: Facilitate operational agendas, meeting artifacts, and action-item tracking for bi-weekly regional distribution operational syncs across AMER, EMEA, and APJC. Distributor Enablement & Query Management: Serve as the operational Tier-2 escalation point for regional partner account teams, providing clear, policy-grounded guidance on program rules and transition timelines.

Who You'll Work With

In this role, you will work in a fast-paced, highly collaborative matrix across: Global Distribution Strategy Leads & Program Managers to translate strategy into executable operating guidelines. Regional Distribution Leaders & Partner Operations (AMER, EMEA, APJC) to resolve operational hurdles and support regional enablement. Global Partner Finance & Incentives Operations to maintain budget compliance and audit readiness. PXP & Digital Platform Engineering Teams to test, refine, and release digital distributor workflows.

Minimum Qualifications

• Experience: 4-7+ years of proven experience in partner/channel operations, business governance, program management, or financial operations within a high-tech enterprise.
• Channel & Distribution Acumen: Strong foundational understanding of technology two-tier (2T) distribution business models, distributor compensation, and partner incentives.
• Governance & Process Rigor: Demonstrated ability to manage complex business rules, exception governance, and audit trails with high accuracy and operational discipline.
• Analytical & Data Proficiency: Advanced proficiency in Microsoft Excel (Power Query, advanced formulas, pivot modelling) and experience analysing large-scale commercial datasets.
• Familiarity with Cisco systems (CCW, PXP, Tableau/PowerBI, Salesforce) is a strong plus.

Preferred Qualifications

1. Experience influencing and driving decisions with multiple stakeholders.
2. Strong communication, consulting, and presentation skills, with the ability to tell stories with data and produce with actionable insights.
3. Ability to work independently, manage multiple projects, and adapt to a fast-paced, changing environment.

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. Cisconians power the future. We make impact as a team, innovating fast and fearlessly to create meaningful solutions on a large scale. The depth and breadth of our technology doesn't just benefit our customers – it also means limitless opportunities for us to experiment and learn. We understand the power each of our unique backgrounds bring when we work together. Because of that, we have a global network of thinkers, doers, experts, and curious creators who help one another do their life’s best work.