Strategy & Planning Manager - Sales Incentives

020 Cisco Systems, Inc.; North Carolina; Remote; USD 114,000 - 157,000; Full time

Job summary

Cisco Systems, Inc. is seeking a strategic, data‑driven professional for S&P leadership. The role focuses on AI‑augmented planning, scenario modeling, and enterprise‑wide initiatives to shape long‑term strategy. You will advise executives and align resources with priorities, while partnering across teams in a remote U.S. setting.

Responsibilities include identifying opportunities, optimizing processes, and building forecasts with AI tools to inform measurable outcomes and actionable roadmaps.

Qualifications

• 5+ years experience using data and business insights to support planning, forecasting, scenario analysis, or strategic decision‑making.
• Prior experience and ability to manage workstreams independently, prioritize deliverables, and execute against defined business objectives and timelines.
• Comfortable collaborating across multiple teams and functional stakeholders to gather inputs, resolve dependencies, and deliver business outcomes.

Responsibilities

• Drives incremental advancements by supporting focused S&P priorities through AI‑augmented modeling
• Typically, provides: Support to a part(s) of global S&P areas (e.g., scenario modeling for changes to key products, competitive analysis for potential new market entry), or; Broad enabling S&P support for a region
• Surfaces friction or divergence in developing strategic priorities or plans by leveraging AI‑powered conflict‑identification analysis
• Sequences activities and aligns timing with resourcing using AI‑driven optimization models
• Identifies strategic opportunities and/or misalignments
• Integrates multiple analyses to shape strategic storylines supported by AI‑powered synthesis models
• Monitors trends across metrics and flags gaps to intended objectives using AI‑driven anomaly detection
• Advises on course corrections by connecting issues to risks and identifying resource needs based on AI‑modeled impact assessments
• Drives enhancements to S&P processes that reduce friction and increase business relevance by integrating AI‑driven process optimization
• Connects external shifts to customer priorities to uncover future opportunities
• Leverages competitive and portfolio knowledge to guide work of self and others
• Coordinates across teams to integrate broader perspectives
• Ensures deliverables reflect cross‑functional interdependencies by leveraging AI‑driven dependency mapping
• Articulates own team’s position and reinforces clarity around deliverables
• Uses setbacks and new information to strengthen own capabilities

Skills

Data analytics

Forecasting

Scenario analysis

Strategic decision-making

Cross-functional collaboration

Tools

BI tools

Job description

The application window is expected to close on: 10/20/2026 This remote role is open to candidates in the United States, no relocation is available.

Your Impact

Translates visions into strategic goals, market positions, and transformation priorities. Forms insights and observations from internal and external data sources, including advanced analytics and AI‑driven signals, to inform forward‑looking strategies and planning decisions. Leads market and competitive analysis to inform future direction, augmenting traditional research with AI‑enabled tools. Shapes enterprise‑wide initiatives (e.g., digital transformation, recurring revenue models) while driving a holistic "OneCisco" AI strategy to identify and implement high‑impact AI opportunities across the organization. Advises executives on business/functional strategy, investment strategy, and resource optimization, supported by data‑driven and AI‑enhanced insights. Acts as internal consultants to align cross‑functional strategic agendas, applying rigorous prioritization discipline to identify low‑value initiatives for outsourcing or termination. Develops business plans that connect long‑term vision to short‑term goals, establishing clear success criteria for every recommendation to ensure measurable outcomes. Sets targets, builds forecasts, and conducts scenario modeling, leveraging AI and advanced planning tools to evaluate trade‑offs, outcomes, and long‑term feasibility. Facilitates annual and multi‑year planning processes, embedding rigorous feedback loops to evaluate whether initiatives are moving the needle and adjusting course accordingly. Aligns resources and capabilities with strategic priorities. Supports data‑driven decisions through planning analytics, modeling AI proficiency by embedding advanced tools and prompt engineering into daily workflows to increase analytical depth.

What You'll Do:

• Drives incremental advancements by supporting focused S&P priorities through AI‑augmented modeling
• Typically, provides: Support to a part(s) of global S&P areas (e.g., scenario modeling for changes to key products, competitive analysis for potential new market entry), or; Broad enabling S&P support for a region
• Surfaces friction or divergence in developing strategic priorities or plans by leveraging AI‑powered conflict‑identification analysis
• Sequences activities and aligns timing with resourcing using AI‑driven optimization models
• Identifies strategic opportunities and/or misalignments
• Integrates multiple analyses to shape strategic storylines supported by AI‑powered synthesis models
• Monitors trends across metrics and flags gaps to intended objectives using AI‑driven anomaly detection
• Advises on course corrections by connecting issues to risks and identifying resource needs based on AI‑modeled impact assessments
• Drives enhancements to S&P processes that reduce friction and increase business relevance by integrating AI‑driven process optimization
• Connects external shifts to customer priorities to uncover future opportunities
• Leverages competitive and portfolio knowledge to guide work of self and others
• Coordinates across teams to integrate broader perspectives
• Ensures deliverables reflect cross‑functional interdependencies by leveraging AI‑driven dependency mapping
• Articulates own team’s position and reinforces clarity around deliverables
• Uses setbacks and new information to strengthen own capabilities

Minimum Qualifications

• 5+ years experience using data and business insights to support planning, forecasting, scenario analysis, or strategic decision‑making.
• Prior experience and ability to manage workstreams independently, prioritize deliverables, and execute against defined business objectives and timelines.
• Comfortable collaborating across multiple teams and functional stakeholders to gather inputs, resolve dependencies, and deliver business outcomes.

Preferred Qualifications

• Strong analytical capabilities, including experience with scenario modeling, trend analysis, KPI development, and performance measurement.
• Experience identifying performance gaps, business risks, process inefficiencies, and opportunities for improvement and recommending appropriate actions.
• Experience developing materials and recommendations for senior leaders and cross‑functional stakeholders.
• Proficiency with business intelligence, analytics, and planning tools, with experience using generative AI and prompt engineering to improve analytical or operational workflows.

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 $114,100.00 to $157,000.00 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 employees 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: $143,800.00 - $217,000.00 Non‑Metro New York state & Washington state: $132,600.00 - $192,700.00 * 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.