Leader, Strategy & Planning AMER

Cisco•Toronto, ON

7d•Remote

About The Position

The Strategy & Planning Theater Lead is a pivotal Business Development role within Cisco’s Canada Sales organization. This position reports to the Americas Strategy and Planning Lead for Software Buying Programs and Services, and serves as the key business partner to the Director of Sales for Software Buying Programs and Services in Canada. You will be the operational backbone that keeps the sales engine running with precision and purpose, owning the strategy and planning function for buying programs and service sales—translating business objectives into actionable plans, rigorous financial models, and flawlessly executed processes. This role demands someone who thrives in detail, respects deadlines as if they were law, and is deeply comfortable in the world of numbers, forecasts, and CRM tools. If you are energized by being the person who makes everything run smoothly behind the scenes—and by seeing your work directly influence the success of a national sales team—this is the role for you.

Requirements

Proven experience in a sales strategy, business planning, sales operations, or business development role—ideally within a technology company or complex B2B environment.
Strong track record supporting or partnering with senior sales leadership in a fast-paced, deadline-driven organization.
Advanced Excel skills are essential—you are fluent in financial modelling, scenario analysis, pivot tables, and building executive-ready outputs from complex data sets.
Strong understanding of forecasting methodologies, quota/goaling processes, and deal-level pipeline tracking.
Comfortable working with large data sets and translating quantitative analysis into clear, actionable business insights.
Experience with Salesforce (SFDC) or comparable CRM platforms—you know how to extract, interpret, and act on the data within these tools.
You are a self-described stickler for process—you believe that great execution requires great systems, and you build and maintain them with care.
Exceptionally detail oriented: you catch what others miss, and you hold yourself and others accountable to accuracy.
You have an acute awareness of planning calendars, submission deadlines, and fiscal rhythms—and you proactively manage against them without needing to be reminded.
Comfortable operating with ambiguity and evolving priorities while keeping your deliverables on time and on quality.
Strong written and verbal communication skills—able to synthesize complex information and present it clearly to both technical and non-technical audiences.
Collaborative by nature, with the ability to build trusted relationships across functions and levels of seniority.
Demonstrated ability to work effectively in a highly matrixed organization.

Nice To Haves

Familiarity with buying programs, services sales, or similar recurring-revenue commercial models is a strong asset.

Responsibilities

Lead the end-to-end strategy and planning cycle for Buying Programs and Services Sales across Canada, ensuring alignment between field execution and organizational objectives.
Develop and maintain comprehensive planning frameworks that support the Director and broader sales leadership team in making informed, data-driven decisions.
Translate high-level business goals into detailed operational plans with clear milestones, owners, and timelines.
Identify gaps, risks, and opportunities in the sales strategy and proactively recommend course corrections.
Own the forecasting process for the Canada theater—building, maintaining, and updating financial models that reflect real-time pipeline dynamics and business performance.
Develop and manage goaling frameworks that set clear, equitable, and motivating targets for the sales team in partnership with sales leadership.
Design and maintain deal tracking mechanisms that provide leadership with accurate, up-to-date visibility into deal progress, pipeline health, and revenue attainment.
Produce regular financial reports and dashboards using Excel and other tools, surfacing meaningful insights rather than just raw numbers.
Define, document, and enforce the operational processes, cadences, and governance that ensure the sales team executes with consistency and accountability.
Serve as the process champion for the Canada theater—identifying inefficiencies, driving standardization, and ensuring all deadlines tied to planning cycles are met.
Maintain and optimize Salesforce and other CRM tools to ensure clean, accurate data that underpins reliable reporting and decision-making.
Act as the primary liaison between the Canada sales organization and central operations, finance, and strategy teams, ensuring information flows accurately and on time.
Support the preparation of business reviews, quarterly planning sessions, and executive presentations on behalf of the Director.

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
performance-based incentive pay on top of their base salary