Customer Program Manager

Job description

Meet the Team Join Cisco Customer Experience (CX), where we partner with the world’s leading organisations to accelerate their digital transformations and unlock the full potential of their technology investments. Our team operates at the leading edge of modern service delivery, combining deep domain expertise, proven governance methodologies, and next-generation Artificial Intelligence to drive measurable business outcomes. In this collaborative, high-impact environment, you will work alongside a global network of strategists, engineers, and innovators who are shaping the future of enterprise delivery and redefining how technology powers global business. Your Impact As a Senior Customer Programme Manager, you will lead and manage the end-to-end lifecycle of large, complex, customer-facing projects and strategic programmes across Cisco’s advanced technology portfolio. This role requires a forward-thinking delivery leader who actively leverages modern Artificial Intelligence (AI) and intelligent automation to optimise delivery workflows, predict project risks, and drive operational excellence. Operating with full accountability for scope, schedule, budget, quality, and customer satisfaction, you will bridge strategic business goals with flawless execution. You will act as a key delivery partner to Customer Experience Managers (CXMs) and customer executive stakeholders, pioneering AI-augmented programme management practices across global delivery teams. What You’ll Do: End-to-End Programme Leadership: Lead the full lifecycle of business-critical, customer-facing programmes and projects across Cisco technologies—from initiation and planning through to execution and closure—ensuring contracted business outcomes and strict compliance with Cisco’s delivery governance standards. AI-Driven Delivery & Automation: Champion the adoption and hands-on utilisation of AI and automation tooling to streamline resource capacity planning, automate reporting, perform predictive risk and critical path detection, and accelerate programme closeout activities. Executive Stakeholder Engagement: Cultivate and expand trusted relationships with customer C-level executives; provide strategic and technical leadership, steer sensitive discussions regarding programme health and expansion, and ensure customers fully leverage advanced capabilities to achieve their strategic goals. Financial & Commercial Governance: Oversee end-to-end financial strategy across programmes, including budget preparation, margin realisation, cost optimisation, invoicing, and payment tracking; manage disciplined project reflection in Cisco’s systems and tools. Partner & Vendor Management: Collaborate with Cisco vendor management teams and SDMs to source competitive bids, recommend partner selections, develop Statements of Work (SOWs), define Terms & Conditions (T&Cs), and enforce partner accountability and contract compliance. Cross-Functional Orchestration: Manage global delivery teams across multiple geographies, breaking down organisational silos, fostering cross-delivery integration, and aligning diverse stakeholders around unified milestones. Pre-emptive Risk & Change Management: Monitor programme critical paths, collaborating closely with SDMs and CXMs to formulate data- and AI-informed, pre-emptive solutions, manage trade-offs, and execute disciplined change control. Innovation & Delivery Transformation: Actively contribute to enterprise-wide innovation initiatives (such as AI transformation pilots and platform modernisation), driving delivery methodology evolution across PMI and Agile frameworks. Thought Leadership & Mentorship: Foster a culture of excellence, continuous learning, and innovation; conduct retrospectives and knowledge sharing, mentor emerging programme leaders, and represent Cisco’s delivery capabilities across industry forums. Minimum Qualifications Bachelor’s degree with 12+ years of related experience; OR Master’s degree with 8+ years; OR PhD with 5+ years; OR equivalent relevant work experience managing large-scale, complex enterprise technology programmes. Current Project Management Professional (PMP) certification or equivalent formal credential. Demonstrated hands-on experience applying Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools, machine learning applications, or intelligent automation within project and programme management workflows to enhance planning, risk modelling, financial analysis, or reporting. Demonstrated track record of leading multi-geography delivery teams and managing multi-million-pound/dollar budgets, statements of work (SOWs), partner ecosystems, and governance frameworks across Agile and PMI methodologies. Proven ability to navigate C-suite relationships, drive executive consensus, negotiate complex scope changes, and maintain high customer satisfaction in business-critical environments. Preferred Qualifications Additional professional certifications such as Program Management Professional (PgMP), PMI-ACP, PRINCE2 Practitioner, or Certified ScrumMaster (CSM). Technical certifications in networking or security domains (e.g., CCST Networking, CCST Security, CCNA). Practical experience leading AI transformation pilots, developing prompt/agent workflows for delivery operations, or integrating predictive analytics into PMO frameworks. Completion of formal PM-specific postgraduate coursework or executive education. Recognised industry thought leadership with demonstrated success in mentoring high-performing teams and driving large-scale organisational change. Why Cisco? At Cisco, we’re revolutionizing how data and infrastructure connect and protect organizations in the AI era – and beyond. We’ve been innovating fearlessly for 40 years to create solutions that power how humans and technology work together across the physical and digital worlds. These solutions provide customers with unparalleled security, visibility, and insights across the entire digital footprint. Fueled by the depth and breadth of our technology, we experiment and create meaningful solutions. Add to that our worldwide network of doers and experts, and you’ll see that the opportunities to grow and build are limitless. We work as a team, collaborating with empathy to make really big things happen on a global scale. Because our solutions are everywhere, our impact is everywhere. We are Cisco, and our power starts with you.