Country Digitization Manager

Who We Are At Cisco, we’re building the bridge to a digital future by investing in national digitization. Our Country Digital Acceleration (CDA) program is a strategic partnership platform that drives innovation, builds digital skills, and accelerates the digital agenda of nations. The CDA Program Leader will be instrumental in defining, executing, and scaling our strategic initiatives in KSA, leading a team to achieve significant national impact. What You’ll Do We are seeking an experienced, visionary, and results-oriented Program Leader to spearhead our CDA initiatives in KSA. This role demands strategic leadership, robust program management oversight, executive-level stakeholder engagement, and a proven ability to drive complex digital transformation agendas. Key Responsibilities • Strategic Program Leadership & Portfolio Management: Lead the overall CDA Country program, defining, developing, and executing the CDA strategy for KSA, aligning with national digital agendas and Cisco's global objectives. Manage portfolio priorities and investments to maximize impact and alignment. • End-to-End Program Management Oversight: Provide strategic oversight and direction for a portfolio of CDA projects, ensuring alignment with program goals, timely delivery, and adherence to budget and scope. Coordinate closely with Global CDA initiatives and lead Country Program Review Calls. • Team Leadership & Development: Lead, mentor, and inspire a team of project managers and specialists, fostering a high-performance culture and ensuring effective resource allocation across initiatives. • Executive Stakeholder Engagement: Cultivate and manage strategic relationships with high-level government officials, C-suite executives, key partners, and internal Cisco leadership to secure buy-in, align objectives, and drive collaborative success. • Financial Oversight & Management: Oversee CDA financials, including spending, forecasts, revenues, and linearity. Manage the strategic planning, allocation, and management of program-wide budgets and resources to maximize impact and efficiency. • Risk, Compliance & Opportunity Management: Proactively identify strategic risks and opportunities across the program, developing comprehensive mitigation plans. Ensure program compliance with all relevant internal policies and external regulations. • Performance Measurement & Reporting: Establish and track key performance indicators (KPIs) and impact metrics for the entire CDA program. Manage all program reporting, including biweekly updates, quarterly financial updates, forecasts, and bi-annual reviews. Prepare and deliver executive-level reports on program status, strategic milestones, and overall performance to internal and external stakeholders. • Cross-functional Orchestration & Communication: Drive seamless collaboration and alignment across various Cisco functions (sales, engineering, marketing, operations, legal, finance) to ensure successful execution and integration of CDA initiatives. Align with Marketing and Communications for external program communication and with internal stakeholders for effective internal communication. • Innovation & Thought Leadership: Champion innovation within the CDA program, identifying emerging trends and technologies to enhance program offerings and position Cisco as a leading digital transformation partner. Who You Are You are a strategic visionary with a passion for driving national digital transformation and a proven ability to lead complex, multi-stakeholder programs. You possess exceptional leadership skills, an executive presence, and the ability to inspire and motivate teams. You thrive in dynamic, high-stakes environments, demonstrating both strategic foresight and meticulous attention to detail. Required Qualifications • 10+ years of experience in program management, strategic consulting, or a senior leadership role, ideally within a technology or public sector environment focused on digital transformation. • Proven track record of successfully leading and delivering large-scale, complex programs involving multiple stakeholders, from strategic initiation to successful closure and impact measurement. • Exceptional strategic planning, executive communication, negotiation, and stakeholder management skills, with experience engaging at the highest levels of government and enterprise. • Demonstrated ability to lead and develop high-performing teams. • Proficiency in advanced program and project management tools (e.g., Jira, Asana, MS Project, Smartsheet, advanced Excel) and strategic planning frameworks. • Fluent in Arabic and English (written and spoken). • PMP, PgMP (Program Management Professional), or equivalent executive program management certification is highly preferred. • Bachelor's degree in Business, Engineering, Computer Science, or a related field; Master's degree (MBA or equivalent) is a plus. 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. Show more Show less

10+ years of experience in program management, strategic consulting, or a senior leadership role, ideally within a technology or public sector environment focused on digital transformation. Proven track record of successfully leading and delivering large-scale, complex programs involving multiple stakeholders, from strategic initiation to successful closure and impact measurement. Exceptional strategic planning, executive communication, negotiation, and stakeholder management skills, with experience engaging at the highest levels of government and enterprise. Demonstrated ability to lead and develop high-performing teams. Proficiency in advanced program and project management tools (e.g., Jira, Asana, MS Project, Smartsheet, advanced Excel) and strategic planning frameworks. Fluent in Arabic and English (written and spoken). PMP, PgMP (Program Management Professional), or equivalent executive program management certification is highly preferred. Bachelor's degree in Business, Engineering, Computer Science, or a related field; Master's degree (MBA or equivalent) is a plus.

Strategic Program Leadership & Portfolio Management: Lead the overall CDA Country program, defining, developing, and executing the CDA strategy for KSA, aligning with national digital agendas and Cisco's global objectives. Manage portfolio priorities and investments to maximize impact and alignment. End-to-End Program Management Oversight: Provide strategic oversight and direction for a portfolio of CDA projects, ensuring alignment with program goals, timely delivery, and adherence to budget and scope. Coordinate closely with Global CDA initiatives and lead Country Program Review Calls. Team Leadership & Development: Lead, mentor, and inspire a team of project managers and specialists, fostering a high-performance culture and ensuring effective resource allocation across initiatives. Executive Stakeholder Engagement: Cultivate and manage strategic relationships with high-level government officials, C-suite executives, key partners, and internal Cisco leadership to secure buy-in, align objectives, and drive collaborative success. Financial Oversight & Management: Oversee CDA financials, including spending, forecasts, revenues, and linearity. Manage the strategic planning, allocation, and management of program-wide budgets and resources to maximize impact and efficiency. Risk, Compliance & Opportunity Management: Proactively identify strategic risks and opportunities across the program, developing comprehensive mitigation plans. Ensure program compliance with all relevant internal policies and external regulations. Performance Measurement & Reporting: Establish and track key performance indicators (KPIs) and impact metrics for the entire CDA program. Manage all program reporting, including biweekly updates, quarterly financial updates, forecasts, and bi-annual reviews. Prepare and deliver executive-level reports on program status, strategic milestones, and overall performance to internal and external stakeholders. Cross-functional Orchestration & Communication: Drive seamless collaboration and alignment across various Cisco functions (sales, engineering, marketing, operations, legal, finance) to ensure successful execution and integration of CDA initiatives. Align with Marketing and Communications for external program communication and with internal stakeholders for effective internal communication. Innovation & Thought Leadership: Champion innovation within the CDA program, identifying emerging trends and technologies to enhance program offerings and position Cisco as a leading digital transformation partner.