Strategy & Planning Manager

About the Role

Join Cisco's Strategy, Planning & Operations team as a Sales Strategy & Planning Manager, driving support for the ThousandEyes APJC business and the Global Sales Engineering team. This crucial role manages complex markets across ANZ, Japan, India, ASEAN, Greater China, and South Korea. You will act as the link between regional sales leadership and cross-functional teams, shaping clear strategies from ambiguous challenges and delivering executable plans with measurable results. The ideal candidate blends strong problem-solving and communication skills typical of elite consultants with the commercial insight and execution focus of a top-tier sales professional.

Support the Global ThousandEyes Sales Engineering team by aligning technical pre-sales efforts with regional go-to-market priorities, optimizing engineering resource deployment, enhancing technical win-rate metrics, and fostering collaboration between Sales and Sales Engineering leadership to accelerate deals and product adoption.

Key Responsibilities

• Craft APJC’s multi-year sales strategy and go-to-market priorities, identifying new market opportunities aligned with Cisco’s overall strategy.
• Assist APJC Sales Leadership in developing strategic narratives and executive-level communications for global leadership, including fiscal year planning and quarterly business reviews.
• Manage APJC’s business rhythm by establishing and overseeing operating cadences such as pipeline reviews and leadership forums with rigor and discipline.
• Lead fiscal year planning activities including territory design, coverage modeling, ROI analysis for headcount, quota framework development, and regulatory compliance.
• Develop and implement growth initiatives, sales incentive programs, and competitive strategies; monitor their effectiveness and iterate based on data-driven insights.
• Oversee sales operations, including forecasting cycles, coverage models, pipeline analytics, and tooling effectiveness; create reporting systems providing real-time performance insights to leadership.
• Champion the integration of AI-powered analytics tools such as CRM analytics and prospecting platforms to enhance sales effectiveness and pipeline health.
• Provide analytical insights including ideal customer profile analysis, market segmentation, competitive positioning, and compensation planning in collaboration with Sales Operations and Finance.
• Serve as a strategic advisor to APJC Sales Leadership by identifying risks, challenging assumptions, offering recommendations, and facilitating cross-organizational alignment.
• Navigate the complex, multi-cultural APJC region with influence and cultural sensitivity to maintain momentum on key programs and foster open dialogue.

Qualifications

• At least 8 years’ experience in strategy, business operations, management consulting, or finance, ideally at a premier consulting firm or internal strategy function.
• Exceptional structured problem-solving skills capable of transforming ambiguous problems into clear, executive-ready recommendations with minimal guidance.
• Strong financial modeling expertise, including business case development, quota modeling, market sizing, scenario analysis, and familiarity with SaaS metrics (ARR, NRR, GRR, churn, pipeline coverage ratios).
• Excellent communication and storytelling abilities that distill complex, data-rich information into clear, board-level presentations.
• Proven success in managing complex cross-functional projects within matrixed, multinational organizations, demonstrating high initiative and independent work capability despite ambiguity.
• Advanced skills in Excel or Google Sheets, PowerPoint, and BI tools such as Tableau; knowledge of CRM and revenue intelligence platforms like Salesforce, Clari, and Gong.
• Preferred experience includes working in APAC markets covering at least two regions among ANZ, Japan, India, ASEAN, Greater China, or South Korea, with cultural fluency.
• Experience acting as Chief of Staff or Business Manager to senior leaders or regional general managers is a plus.
• Background in enterprise technology, SaaS, or network/cloud infrastructure sectors is desirable.

Why Join Cisco?

Cisco is pioneering innovations that transform global data and infrastructure connectivity and security in the AI era and beyond, with a commitment to creating technologies that blend human and technological collaboration. At Cisco, you'll find thriving opportunities fueled by a global network of experts working empathetically to achieve impactful solutions across digital and physical environments.