Strategic Sourcing Manager jobs at Cisco in United States, Cary

As Senior Leader, Strategic Customer Engagement, you will lead Cisco’s most influential executive customer engagement programs. You’ll be responsible for enhancing and scaling both the Global Customer Advisory Board (GCAB) and the Executive Sponsorship Program—initiatives critical to Cisco’s CEO and Executive Leadership Team (ELT). The Executive Sponsorship Program, in particular, is positioned for significant growth as a key enabler of customer loyalty and relationship development, and you will manage it in tandem with the GCAB to increase impact. While establishing credibility with the CEO and ELT is essential, your primary collaboration will be with Sales, Product, Marketing, and Communications leaders. This is an ideal role for someone with a strong sales background who understands the Cisco sales organization, appreciates the challenges facing account teams, and can quickly grasp high-level technology and product roadmap concepts. You’ll manage a direct report for programmatic support, drive new strategies for customer engagement, and ensure Cisco remains the partner of choice for our most strategic customers.

• Manage and continuously improve both the Global Customer Advisory Board (GCAB) and the Executive Sponsorship Program, ensuring world-class engagement for Cisco’s top customers and executive sponsors.
• Scale and grow the Executive Sponsorship Program as a strategic driver of customer loyalty and relationship development, growing its reach and effectiveness across the business.
• Establish and maintain credibility with Cisco’s CEO and ELT through effective program leadership and by delivering clear business value.
• Collaborate intensively with Sales, Product, Marketing, and Communications leaders to align engagement strategies, share insights, and drive joint business outcomes.
• Lead the planning and flawless execution of the annual in-person GCAB event, developing an agenda that showcases Cisco’s strategy and innovations.
• Guide and mentor a programmatic support resource to ensure seamless delivery and continuous improvement across all initiatives.
• Develop and execute a unified strategy for strategic customer engagement, integrating and optimizing existing initiatives and identifying new opportunities for impact.

• 10+ years of experience in program management, executive relationship management, customer engagement, or sales roles.
• 5+ years of leadership experience coordinating global teams or high-impact programs.
• Proven track record managing executive sponsorship programs, customer advisory boards, or similar high-touch initiatives.
• Experience planning and driving high-profile executive events.
• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience in Business, Marketing, Communications, or a related field.

• Sales experience and a strong understanding of Cisco Sales processes and account team challenges.
• Ability to quickly grasp high-level technology and product roadmap concepts; knowledge of Cisco’s product portfolio preferred.
• Demonstrated ability to establish credibility and effectively engage with C-level executives and senior leadership teams.
• Experience influencing and collaborating with cross-functional teams, including Sales, Product, Marketing, and Communications leaders.
• Outstanding communication, facilitation, and executive presence.
• MBA or advanced degree preferred.

• Innovate AI-Focused Sales Motions: Develop and execute creative routes to market to position Cisco’s optics transceivers (e.g., QSFP, SFP, coherent optics) as critical solutions for AI-driven applications, including machine learning clusters, GPU interconnects, and data center interconnects.
• Target new AI Market Segments: Identify and penetrate new customer segments for Optics globally, such as AI infrastructure providers, cloud hyperscalers, and research institutions, leveraging Cisco’s leadership in hardware ports to meet high-bandwidth demands.
• Drive Revenue Growth: Achieve ambitious sales targets by crafting compelling value propositions, optimizing pricing, and building strategic partnerships to accelerate optics adoption in AI ecosystems.
• Customer Engagement and industry leadership: Represent Cisco at AI and networking industry events. Build trusted relationships with key accounts, to pioneer GTM motions for Optics with selected customers.
• Collaborate Cross-Functionally: Partner with Cisco’s product engineering, and marketing teams across functional boundaries to align sales strategies with innovations in high-speed optics and AI infrastructure trends.

• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Engineering, or a related field.
• 7+ years of B2B business development or sales experience in networking, telecommunications, or hardware technology, with a focus on data center or AI infrastructure markets and a proven success record in developing innovative sales strategies that drive significant revenue growth in emerging technology sectors.
• Strong understanding of optics transceivers (e.g., 400G/800G, coherent optics) and their role in supporting AI workloads and high-speed networking.
• Proficiency with sales IT platforms (e.g., Salesforce) and sales analytics tools.
• Ability to travel globally as needed to engage with clients and attend industry events.

• Knowledge of AI infrastructure trends, including GPU clusters, low-latency interconnects, and high-bandwidth optical networking and experience in business development with hyperscale data centers, AI solution providers, or high-performance computing environments.
• Track record in building new sales motions and routes to market, potentially including digital marketplaces
• Ability to work independently and collaboratively, and to thrive in a global, fast-paced, ambiguous, target-driven environment at a market-leading technology company.
• Knowledge of Microsoft PowerPoint, Excel and AI tools.

Content Development:

• Create and manage Cisco Routing portfolio technical enablement materials, including product documentation, playbooks, demos, technical FAQs, onboarding guides, and training modules.
• Design and develop technical training materials, such as e-learning modules, instructional videos, technical documentation, job aids, user guides, and assessments.
• Translate complex technical concepts into clear, concise, and easily digestible learning content for both technical and non-technical learners.

Cross-Functional Collaboration:

• Act as a liaison between product, engineering, marketing, and customer-facing teams to ensure alignment on technical enablement priorities.
• Work closely with Sales Enablement and Marketing to ensure consistent messaging and technical accuracy in sales and customer-facing materials.

Training Programs:

• Design and deliver technical training sessions, workshops, and certifications for internal and external stakeholders.
• Evaluate the effectiveness of training and enablement initiatives using feedback, metrics, and performance data, and iterate on programs for continuous improvement.

Technical Expertise:

• Stay up-to-date on product developments, industry trends, and competitive landscape to ensure enablement programs remain relevant and ground breaking.
• Provide technical guidance and support to teams during product launches or when addressing complex customer needs.

• 7+ years of experience in either product management or technical enablement or sales enablement, or a related technical role.
• Strong networking (routing or switching preferred) technical background, with the ability to understand complex product features and translate them into value propositions.
• Exceptional written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to simplify and articulate technical concepts for diverse audiences.
• Experience creating enablement materials (e.g., guides, presentations, e-learning content) and delivering training programs.
• Proven ability to manage multiple projects and deadlines in a fast-paced, cross-functional environment.

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Business, or a related field (or equivalent work experience).
• Familiarity with enterprise routing, SaaS, or cloud technologies.
• Experience with tools such as enablement platforms or content development tools.
• Certification in product management, technical training, or related fields.
• Solid understanding of Agile methodologies and product development cycles.

• 7+ years validated experience with technology related sourcing/procurement in the areas of experience of Software, SaaS, Cloud, or other related categories.
• Cloud Expertise: Deep expertise in AWS, MSFT Azure & Google Cloud. Experience in designing, deploying, and optimizing cloud environments at scale as well as sourcing via Cloud (AWS, GCP, Azure) Marketplaces.
• Strong understanding of cloud security, cost optimization, and governance standard methodologies. As well as understanding of Technology market trends within the Software and Cloud arena.
• Understanding of the End-to-End Procurement process and sourcing fundamentals. and experience with procurement-related tools (e.g., Ariba).
• Familiarity with software license agreements/contracts, discounting agreements and cost savings methods, and contract compliance.
• Ability to demonstrate core foundational skills in the following areas: Cost accounting, data management, presentation, and effective communications.

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience in Software Engineering, Business, Supply Chain, or Law (JD) degree. MBA / Master’s degree preferred.
• Project management/multi-discipline experience preferred.
• Relevant cloud certifications (e.g., AWS Certified Solutions Architect, Azure Solutions Architect Expert, Google Professional Cloud Architect) are highly desirable).