Director, Corporate Planning

Cisco•Chicago, IL

About The Position

The Office of the CEO (OCEO) partners with the Executive Leadership Team (ELT) to drive the planning and operating rhythms that enable Cisco to execute against its most critical priorities. Serving as the connective tissue across the ELT and its stakeholders, OCEO leads the Corporate Planning function inclusive of Annual Planning and QBO processes—bringing together strategy, execution, and organizational rigor to drive alignment, informed decision-making, and measurable business outcomes. As the Director of Corporate Planning within the OCEO, you will work closely with Cisco’s Executive Leadership Team (ELT) and their organizations, building strong partnerships with the Strategy, Operations, and Chief of Staff teams supporting our senior leaders. You will collaborate with business and functional leaders across Cisco to align on priorities, planning efforts, and execution against our most critical initiatives. This role will engage with a broad network of stakeholders across the company, requiring building and sustaining relationships and collaboration across diverse teams and functions. Your success will be reflected in your ability to create clarity across the organization, strengthen accountability against strategic priorities, and enable leaders to make informed decisions through effective planning, governance, and performance management.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree and 15 years of related experience, or equivalent related education and work experience.
10 + years of tenure in strategy, planning, & operations roles, including some experience with Cisco Sales, Product, CX, or Partner Organizations with a track record of translating long-term business strategy into execution.
Development of strategies and building scalable frameworks and operating cadences that align teams around priorities, measurable outcomes and execution plans
Demonstration of strong executive presence through building trusted relationships with ELT members, their teams, and cross-functional partners, enabling alignment on priorities, decisions, and execution.
Experience advising executive leadership on complex business challenges by synthesizing inputs from multiple sources, translating insights into clear recommendations, and supporting timely, informed decision-making.

Nice To Haves

Ability to present complex challenges and solutions in a structured and compelling way to diverse audiences.
Prior experience developing and leading high-performing teams, with strong leadership, coaching, and mentoring skills.
Experience driving interdepartmental collaboration and facilitating alignment across diverse collaborator groups to achieve shared business outcomes.
Ability to balance critical thinking with operational execution, leading both ongoing business management cadences and high-priority initiatives in a dynamic environment.
Ability to evolve, responding swiftly to leadership needs, organizational priorities and shifting business requirements.

Responsibilities

Lead the strategy and execution for Cisco’s Annual Planning process, ensuring alignment between company priorities, functional plans, and executive leadership objectives.
Own the Quarterly Business Objective (QBO) operating cadence, driving effective planning, execution, and follow-through by connecting priorities, action items, and commitments across stakeholders.
Evolve Cisco’s executive scorecard strategy, ensuring success measures are meaningful, aligned to business priorities, and integrated across Annual Planning and QBO processes.
Manage alignment between Corporate Planning and the Business Entity (BE) Interlock process, ensuring effective prioritization, coordination, and execution of key initiatives.
Continuously improve planning frameworks, governance mechanisms, and operating processes to increase transparency, accountability, and organizational effectiveness.
Drive alignment across executive leadership teams and cross-functional stakeholders, ensuring priorities, planning processes, and planning materials are developed collaboratively and reflect a cohesive enterprise view.
Develop a high-performing Corporate Planning team, fostering a culture of operational excellence, collaboration, and continuous improvement.

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, and 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 employees)
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) (exempt employees)
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
annual bonuses subject to Cisco’s policies (for non-sales roles)
performance-based incentive pay on top of their base salary (for sales roles)
restricted stock units, which vest following continued employment with Cisco for defined periods of time