Director, Finance - Strategy

Job posting may be removed earlier if the position is filled or if a sufficient number of applications are received.

The Strategy Finance team serves as the financial backbone for the organization’s most critical executive functions. We act as a bridge between complex financial data and high-level business strategy, in this case partnering directly with the Chief Strategy Officer. Our team is dedicated to operational excellence, providing the insight, modeling, and financial rigor vital to drive enterprise-wide initiatives and ensure the fiscal health of the Legal and Strategy departments.

As the Finance Director, you will blend executive-level partnership with hands-on financial execution. You will own the financial planning, reporting, and analysis for these functions, ensuring accuracy while providing the strategic narrative that guides leadership decision-making.

• Financial Leadership: Oversee monthly, quarterly, and annual close processes, ensuring compliance and accuracy in partnership with accounting teams.

• Strategic Advisory: Serve as a trusted advisor to the C-suite, translating financial results into actionable business narratives and providing mentorship on legal spend and strategic investments.

• Operational Excellence: Drive process improvements, lead system transformations, and champion the adoption of AI-driven financial tools.

• Executive Communication: Prepare and deliver high-impact briefing documents and presentations, distilling complex data into clear insights for senior stakeholders.

• Team Development: Mentor and lead a high-performing finance team, encouraging a culture of accountability, collaboration, and continuous professional growth.

• Bachelor’s degree in Finance, Accounting, or a related field or equivalent combination of skills and experience.

• 10+ years of progressive finance experience, including significant time in leadership roles.

• 3+ years of experience supporting executive leadership (e.g., CFO, CLO, CSO, SVP, EVP or equivalent) within a large, complex organization.

• 10+ years of expertise in corporate finance, FP&A, or strategic finance.

• 10+ years of experience in financial modeling, budgeting, and forecasting processes.

• Master’s degree in Business Administration (MBA) or a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) designation.

• Prior experience supporting Legal or Strategy business functions.

• Outstanding emotional intelligence (EQ) with a proven track record to influence and navigate sophisticated organizational dynamics.

• Consistent track record of driving process transformations and implementing new financial technologies.

• Ability to balance tactical "in the weeds" execution with high-level strategic thinking.

• High level of integrity, professionalism, and discretion when handling sensitive data.

Note: This role requires a highly collaborative leader who can seamlessly shift between detailed execution and executive-level strategy.

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. 

Individual pay is determined by the candidate's hiring location, market conditions, job-related skillset, experience, qualifications, education, certifications, and/or training. The full salary range for certain locations is listed below. For locations not listed below, the recruiter can share more details about compensation for the role in your location during the hiring process.

U.S. employees are offered benefits, subject to Cisco’s plan eligibility rules, which include medical, dental and vision insurance, a 401(k) plan with a Cisco matching contribution, paid parental leave, short and long-term disability coverage, and basic life insurance. Please see the Cisco careers site to discover more benefits and perks.  Employees may be eligible to receive grants of Cisco restricted stock units, which vest following continued employment with Cisco for defined periods of time.

U.S. employees are eligible for paid time away as described below, subject to Cisco’s policies:

• 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

• Non-exempt employees** receive 16 days of paid vacation time per full calendar year, accrued at rate of 4.92 hours per pay period for full-time employees

• Exempt employees participate in Cisco’s 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)

• 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

For non-sales roles, employees are also eligible to earn annual bonuses subject to Cisco’s policies.

Employees on sales plans earn performance-based incentive pay on top of their base salary, which is split between quota and non-quota components, subject to the applicable Cisco plan. For quota-based incentive pay, Cisco typically pays as follows:

• .75% of incentive target for each 1% of revenue attainment up to 50% of quota;

• 1.5% of incentive target for each 1% of attainment between 50% and 75%;

• 1% of incentive target for each 1% of attainment between 75% and 100%; and

• Once performance exceeds 100% attainment, incentive rates are at or above 1% for each 1% of attainment with no cap on incentive compensation.

For non-quota-based sales performance elements such as strategic sales objectives, Cisco may pay 0% up to 125% of target. Cisco sales plans do not have a minimum threshold of performance for sales incentive compensation to be paid.

The applicable full salary ranges for this position, by specific state, are listed below:

New York City Metro Area:

Non-Metro New York state & Washington state:

* For quota-based sales roles on Cisco’s sales plan, the ranges provided in this posting include base pay and sales target incentive compensation combined.

** Employees in Illinois, whether exempt or non-exempt, will participate in a unique time off program to meet local requirements.