Strategy & Planning Manager, Business Development & Partnerships

020 Cisco Systems, Inc.; San Jose (CA); Remote; USD 173,000 - 232,000; Full time

Job summary

Cisco Systems, Inc. is seeking a Strategy & Planning Manager to drive operational excellence for partnerships within the Business Development & Partnerships team.

You will design and own processes, improve cross-functional visibility, and accelerate partnership activities, partnering with BD managers to deliver measurable business impact. You will help define focus areas, establish goals, and track initiatives across teams while navigating ambiguity in a fast-paced tech environment.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree with 8+ years of related experience or Master’s with 6+ years of related experience or equivalent relevant work experience.
• Relevant experience includes business operations, business development, product management, internal strategy, and/or go-to-market strategy.
• Experience with Airtable, PowerPoint and/or Salesforce for project/workflow management.
• Experience designing and managing business processes and operating cadences, including initiative tracking and stakeholder reviews.
• Experience preparing executive-facing written communications and presentation materials, including QBRs and strategic updates.

Responsibilities

• Build and manage operational processes to track internal and external partnership workstreams and provide strategic insights to stakeholders.
• Collaborate with BD and cross-functional Cisco teams to design a best-in-class partner experience.
• Develop and manage cross-functional engagement processes to align Business Development with Cisco teams and ensure visibility.
• Support BD leadership in defining partnership focus areas, setting business goals, and tracking initiatives to drive impact and execution.

Skills

Cross-functional collaboration

Process design

Executive communications

Go-to-market strategy

Education

MBA or advanced degree in Business/Strategy

Tools

Airtable

PowerPoint

Salesforce

Job description

The application window is expected to close on: 11/12/2026 Note: This is a remote U.S. based role, requiring work within the West Coast Time Zone. Preference will be given to the candidates from the West coast locations.

Meet the Team

The Strategy & Planning Manager role is a key individual contributor position within the Business Development & Partnerships team, a strategic function in Cisco's central Product organization. The team drives growth by developing and supporting technology partnerships that enhance Cisco's product portfolio, including collaborations with leading companies in the AI space. We're looking for a highly organized, detail-oriented strategic problem solver who excels at cross-functional collaboration, navigates ambiguity and complex operational processes, and proactively drives execution to support the team's success.

Your Impact

As Strategy & Planning Manager, you will work closely with our Business Development teams to design and own operational processes, enhance cross-functional visibility, and support the design and launch of strategic partnerships. You will work on a fast-paced and dynamic team responsible for providing operational support and accelerating partnership activities in collaboration with the Business Development Managers.

• Build and manage operational processes to track internal and external partnership-related workstreams and deliver strategic insights to key stakeholders.
• Work with BD and cross functional Cisco teams to design and implement a best-in-class experience for our partners.
• Develop and manage cross-functional engagement processes to align Business Development with Cisco teams, ensuring visibility, strategic alignment, and participation in key business cadences.
• Support BD leadership in defining partnership focus areas, setting business goals, and tracking key initiatives to drive business impact and execution.

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelors + 8 years of related experience, or Masters + 6 years of related experience or equivalent relevant work experience.
• Relevant experience includes but is not limited to; business operations, business development, product management, internal strategy, and/or go-to-market strategy.
• Experience building and managing projects and workflows from ideation to delivery using tools such as Airtable, PowerPoint and/or Salesforce
• Experience designing and managing business processes and operating cadences, such as initiative tracking, stakeholder reviews, or cross-functional planning
• Experience preparing executive-facing written communications and presentation materials, including quarterly business reviews (QBRs), business readouts, and updates on strategic initiatives or operational performance.

Preferred Qualifications

• MBA or advanced degree in Business, Strategy, or a related field
• Experience working in an internal strategy and/or operations role at a tech company or at a strategy firm with expertise in strategic planning and operational execution
• Understanding of GTM motions in SaaS software industry
• Understanding of product development lifecycles
• Experience working with AI technology, SaaS software or hyperscalers
• Ability to craft clear, compelling narratives in written, verbal, and visual formats (e.g., PowerPoint)
• Skilled at driving processes and demonstrable progress in dynamic, fast-moving environments with a high degree of ambiguity
• Proactive self-starter who takes initiative, anticipates needs, and acts with urgency to drive outcomes
• Capable of building scalable operational frameworks that enhance alignment and execution across teams
• Adept at driving alignment, engagement, and collaboration across teams and leadership levels
• Effective team player skilled at fostering strong partnerships across functions to enhance teamwork and drive shared success

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.

Benefits and Compensation

Message to applicants applying to work in the U.S. and/or Canada: The starting salary range posted for this position is $173,400.00 to $231,800.00 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.

U.S. employees are eligible for paid time away as described below, subject to Cisco's policies: 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: $173,400.00 - $265,200.00 Non-Metro New York state & Washington state: $161,300.00 - $235,500.00 * 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.

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.