Director, Services Innovation & Special Projects
About The Position
Ciena is seeking a Director, Services Innovation & Special Projects to create and lead the operating system for Services innovation, including intake, prioritization, experimentation, governance, funding, and handoff to portfolio ownership. The role directs a team of innovation PLMs and cross-functional contributors, maintaining accountability for decisions, milestones, risk, and business outcomes. The Director also leads strategic, ambiguous, cross-portfolio special projects sponsored by Services leadership when opportunities are not yet owned by an established portfolio. The position develops Services innovation strategy and priorities, establishes the innovation pipeline and decision forums, oversees opportunity evaluation and experimentation, and governs the innovation portfolio, investment recommendations, and executive reporting. The role develops and challenges business cases and P&Ls, tracks financial performance across the innovation funnel, and uses commercialization evidence to recommend whether initiatives should continue, scale, transfer, redirect, or stop. It also helps guide Innovation and R&D investment, ensures tested concepts transition to accountable portfolio owners, develops team capability, runs horizon scanning and scenario planning, and promotes visibility and reuse of Services tools and automations.
Requirements
- Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Business Administration, or equivalent relevant experience.
- Significant leadership experience in telecommunications services, innovation, portfolio management, product management, strategy, or business development.
- Demonstrated ability to lead teams and complex cross-functional programs under uncertainty.
- Strong business-case, investment, portfolio, commercial, and financial skills.
- Demonstrated ability to develop complex opportunity P&Ls, interpret portfolio-level financial performance, track relevant P&L and investment KPIs, and communicate implications and recommendations to senior leadership.
- Experience with experimentation, prototyping, customer validation, and commercialization.
- Credible executive presence and ability to influence across organizational boundaries.
Nice To Haves
- Advanced degree.
- Experience with Services R&D, AI, automation, software-enabled services, or digital operations.
- Experience with partnerships, acquisitions, ecosystem development, or new-business incubation.
- Formal innovation, design-thinking, agile, product-management, or program-management training.
Responsibilities
- Create and lead the Services innovation operating system, covering intake, prioritization, experimentation, governance, funding, and handoff to portfolio ownership.
- Direct a team of innovation PLMs and cross-functional contributors, maintaining accountability for decisions, milestones, risks, and business outcomes.
- Lead strategic, ambiguous, cross-portfolio special projects sponsored by Services leadership.
- Develop the Services innovation strategy, priorities, and portfolio in alignment with Services strategy, technology direction, and growth objectives.
- Establish an innovation pipeline and decision forums with SPLM, Services R&D, Services CTO, Business Development, Finance, delivery, and regional stakeholders.
- Oversee evaluation of addressable market, customer need, strategic fit, feasibility, investment, risk, differentiation, and route to market.
- Direct rapid prototyping, customer co-creation, pilots, and evidence development; decide whether initiatives should stop, iterate, transfer, or scale based on defined criteria.
- Own governance of the innovation portfolio, R&D investment recommendations, special-project plans, and executive reporting.
- Develop and challenge P&Ls and business cases for complex innovation opportunities, pilots, and special projects, including revenue potential, cost structure, margin, investment requirements, risks, and sensitivities.
- Track financial performance across the innovation funnel using relevant P&L and investment KPIs, and report performance, variance, risks, and opportunities.
- Assess expected and realized revenue, margin, adoption, and return after commercialization, and recommend whether initiatives should continue, scale, transfer, redirect, or stop.
- Help direct Innovation and R&D spending by comparing investment requirements, strategic value, commercial potential, expected return, and portfolio priorities; formal budget ownership remains with the accountable budget owner.
- Ensure tested concepts transition to an accountable portfolio owner through NSI, commercial readiness, delivery readiness, and enablement.
- Develop team capability, objectives, and performance expectations; allocate work and remove cross-functional barriers.
- Run horizon scanning and scenario-planning activities that inform Services strategy and portfolio choices.
- Maintain visibility of tools and automations being developed across Services to encourage reuse and reduce duplication.
Benefits
- Medical insurance plans.
- Dental insurance plans.
- Vision insurance plans.
- 401(k) in the USA and DCPP in Canada, with company matching.
- Employee Stock Purchase Program (ESPP).
- Employee Assistance Program (EAP).
- Company-paid holidays.
- Paid sick leave.
- Vacation time.
- Paid Family Leave and other leaves of absence in accordance with applicable laws.
- Non-sales employees may be eligible for a discretionary incentive bonus; sales employees may be eligible for a sales commission.
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What This Job Offers
Job Type
Full-time
Career Level
Director
