Business Operations Manager, Strategic Program Management

Cisco•San Jose, CA

1d•Remote

About The Position

The Strategic Program Management team partners with leaders across Cisco to deliver the organization’s most meaningful and ambiguous priorities. We build operating mechanisms that make execution more predictable, scalable, and repeatable: coordinated plans, process forums, decision logs, shared metrics, risk and dependency management, and concise leadership reporting. Reporting to the Director of Strategy & Planning, you will join a team that values practical problem-solving, strong partnership, focused execution, and growth driver outcomes. As a Business Operations Manager, you will help the Product Strategy, Planning & Operations organization run effectively day to day. You will own core planning, reporting, and operating processes that give leaders and teams a clear view of priorities, progress, resources, risks, and decisions. You will partner across product, engineering, go-to-market, finance, and operations teams to translate business needs into organized workflows and practical insights. This role is ideal for a detail-oriented operator who can bring structure to complex work, improve how teams collaborate, and use data to drive follow-through.

Requirements

Bachelors + 8 years of related experience, or Masters + 6 years of related experience, or PhD + 3 years of related experience, or equivalent relevant work experience.
3+ years of experience in business operations, business planning, program management, product operations, go-to-market operations, or a comparable operational role.
Experience supporting cross-functional planning, operating cadences, reporting, or process improvement in a fast-paced environment.
Experience using data to analyze and develop insights, track performance, and support business decisions.

Nice To Haves

Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to organize complex information into clear updates and action-oriented materials.
Demonstrated ability to manage multiple priorities, build productive partnerships, and drive follow-through without direct authority.
Experience in enterprise technology, SaaS, product management, product operations, go-to-market execution, or customer lifecycle programs.
Experience creating and maintaining Airtable bases, interfaces, automations, and reporting workflows that improve team visibility, coordination, or decision-making.
Demonstrated success driving adoption of Airtable or similar work-management tools, including translating business needs into practical, scalable solutions.
Familiarity with AI-enabled productivity and automation tools, including AI assistants or coding agents such as Codex, and a thoughtful approach to using them responsibly to streamline analysis, documentation, reporting, or operational workflows.
Experience with dashboards, CRM/reporting tools, financial analysis, and program-management methodologies.

Responsibilities

Manage business operating rhythms, including planning cycles, team cadences, action tracking, and follow-up on key decisions and commitments.
Build and maintain reporting, dashboards, and performance metrics that help leaders understand business health, progress against priorities, and emerging issues.
Coordinate cross-functional workstreams by maintaining plans, dependencies, meeting outcomes, risks, and stakeholder communications.
Analyze operational data and team feedback to identify trends, gaps, and opportunities to improve processes, resource use, and execution.
Support annual and quarterly planning by collecting inputs, consolidating plans, tracking milestones, and preparing concise materials for leadership reviews.
Design, document, and continuously improve scalable processes, templates, and operating mechanisms that reduce manual work and improve consistency.
Enable teams to adopt business tools and automation that improve visibility, accountability, and speed of execution.

Benefits

medical, dental and vision insurance
a 401(k) plan with a Cisco matching contribution
paid parental leave
short and long-term disability coverage
basic life insurance
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
4 paid days off for personal wellness determined by Cisco
16 days of paid vacation time per full calendar year, accrued at rate of 4.92 hours per pay period for full-time employees (non-exempt)
flexible vacation time off program (exempt)
80 hours of sick time off provided on hire date and each January 1st thereafter
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
annual bonuses
performance-based incentive pay