Business Operations Manager

Cisco; Herndon (VA); On-site; USD 111,000 - 148,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health, dental & vision insurance

401(k) with company match

Paid parental leave

Disability & life insurance

Paid holidays & vacation

Job summary

Cisco is seeking a Business Operations Manager for the Corporate Planning function. You will synthesize information from QBO, Annual Planning, and ELT Scorecard to translate strategy into actionable direction for teams.

Lead planning cycles, coordinate with ELT and Strategy Directors, and drive efficiency and impact across multiple initiatives. The role requires strategic thinking and strong project leadership in a fast-paced environment.

Qualifications

• Bachelors + 7 years of related experience, or Masters + 4 years of related experience, or equivalent related work experience.
• 4+ years in business operations, corporate planning, executive support, or similar functions.
• 2+ years cross-functional coordination at executive/senior management level.
• 2+ years leading projects across teams from planning through completion.
• Experience delivering work across multiple concurrent priorities with changing requirements.

Responsibilities

• Manage agenda creation, attendee curation, and cross-organizational communication with ELT core strategy teams to ensure planning deliverables and timelines stay on track.
• Partner with the Director of Strategy & Planning and EA to anticipate needs, remove operational barriers, and support ad-hoc strategic priorities.
• Ensure planning cycles run on time with quality, and the Corporate Planning function operates with efficiency and impact.

Skills

Cross-functional coordination

Executive support

Project management

Strategic thinking

Education

Bachelor's degree

Master's degree

Tools

BI tools

Data synthesis platforms

Job description

The application window is expected to close on: 10/29/2026

Meet the Team

The Corporate Planning team is a part of the Office of the CEO organization, responsible for driving organizational alignment through QBO, Annual Planning, ELT Scorecard, and action tracking. We operate at the intersection of executive leadership and cross-functional operations, ensuring precision and strategic clarity. Your work will directly impact how the ELT stays aligned and focused on executing Cisco’s core strategy.

Your Impact

As the Business Operations Manager, you'll be the operational backbone of the Corporate Planning function, ensuring critical planning processes run smoothly, efficiently, and with precision. Partnering with the direct and extended teams, this role will help synthesize complex information from QBO, Annual Planning, ELT Scorecard, and action tracking processes to translate strategy into clear direction for working teams, surfacing insights that keep the organization aligned to priorities.

• Manage agenda creation, attendee curation, and cross-organizational communication with ELT core strategy and planning teams to ensure planning deliverables and timelines stay on track.
• Partner closely with the Director of Strategy & Planning and EA to anticipate needs, remove operational barriers, and support ad-hoc strategic priorities so leadership can focus on outcomes.
• Success means planning cycles run on time with quality, teams understand priorities and deliverables, and the Corporate Planning function operates with efficiency and impact.

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelors + 7 years of related experience, or Masters + 4 years of related experience, or equivalent related work experience.
• 4 + years of professional experience in business operations, corporate planning, executive support, or similar functions.
• 2 + years of experience in a role requiring cross-functional coordination at the executive or senior management level.
• At least 2 years of experience leading projects or operational processes across one or more teams or business functions from planning through completion.
• Demonstrated experience delivering work across multiple concurrent priorities when requirements, timelines, or available information change.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience supporting executive leadership, C-suite, or ELT environments
• Familiarity with strategic planning, business planning, or corporate governance processes
• Experience with project management or process optimization methodologies
• Strong executive presence and ability to influence across organizational boundaries without direct authority
• Experience with business intelligence tools or data synthesis platforms

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.

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

The starting salary range posted for this position is $111,100.00 to $147,500.00 and reflects the projected salary range for new hires in this position in U.S. and/or Canada locations, not including incentive compensation*, equity, or benefits.

Individual pay is determined by the candidate's hiring location, market conditions, job-related skillset, experience, qualifications, education, certifications, and/or training. The full salary range for certain locations is listed below. For locations not listed below, the recruiter can share more details about compensation for the role in your location during the hiring process.

U.S. employees are offered benefits, subject to Cisco’s plan eligibility rules, which include medical, dental and vision insurance, a 401(k) plan with a Cisco matching contribution, paid parental leave, short and long-term disability coverage, and basic life insurance. Please see the Cisco careers site to discover more benefits and perks. Employees may be eligible to receive grants of Cisco restricted stock units, which vest following continued employment with Cisco for defined periods of time.

• 10 paid holidays per full calendar year, plus 1 floating holiday for non-exempt employees
• 1 paid day off for employee’s birthday, paid year-end holiday shutdown, and 4 paid days off for personal wellness determined by Cisco
• Non-exempt employees** receive 16 days of paid vacation time per full calendar year, accrued at rate of 4.92 hours per pay period for full-time employees
• Exempt employees participate in Cisco’s flexible vacation time off program, which has no defined limit on how much vacation time eligible employees may use (subject to availability and some business limitations)
• 80 hours of sick time off provided on hire date and each January 1st thereafter, and up to 80 hours of unused sick time carried forward from one calendar year to the next
• Additional paid time away may be requested to deal with critical or emergency issues for family members
• Optional 10 paid days per full calendar year to volunteer

For non-sales roles, employees are also eligible to earn annual bonuses subject to Cisco’s policies.

Employees On Sales Plans Earn Performance-based Incentive Pay On Top Of Their Base Salary, Which Is Split Between Quota And Non-quota Components, Subject To The Applicable Cisco Plan. 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 0% up to 125% of target. Cisco sales plans do not have a minimum threshold of performance for sales incentive compensation to be paid.

The applicable full salary ranges for this position, by specific state, are listed below:

New York City Metro Area

$134,500.00 - $202,600.00

Non-Metro New York State & Washington State

$119,200.00 - $200,800.00

• For quota-based sales roles on Cisco’s sales plan, the ranges provided in this posting include base pay and sales target incentive compensation combined.
• Employees in Illinois, whether exempt or non-exempt, will participate in a unique time off program to meet local requirements.