Sales Business Development Manager (Social Infrastructure)

Role Overview

We're looking for a highly experienced Business Development Manager (BDM) to drive Cisco's expansion in the Social Infrastructure sector, with a focus on critical industries such as Power, Railways, and Roads. As a Subject Matter Expert (SME), you'll draw on deep industry expertise and a strong professional network—spanning customers, partners, and the broader industry ecosystem—to shape and win strategic proposal opportunities. You'll serve as a key bridge between the Japanese market and Cisco's global organization, making sure our global strategies are effectively localized and executed to meet the unique demands of critical infrastructure.

Key Responsibilities

• Industry-Specific Demand Generation: Lead enterprise-wide demand generation strategies tailored to the complex needs of the Social Infrastructure sector, strengthening Cisco's presence across both new and existing solution offerings.
• Strategic Relationship Management: Leverage your extensive network among customers, partners, and industry stakeholders to build and sustain executive-level relationships that secure long-term business commitments.
• Global Collaboration: Work closely with Cisco's global teams to share best practices, align on cross-domain solutions, and drive global campaigns within the Japanese market. Fluency in both Japanese and English is essential — Japanese to engage effectively with local customers and partners, and English to communicate and align strategically with global stakeholders.
• Deal Shaping & Complex Proposals: Architect innovative deal structures for high-stakes opportunities (typically >$1M), tailoring solutions to meet both customer objectives and Cisco's business goals within the long, complex sales cycles typical of critical infrastructure.
• Market Insight & Thought Leadership: Deliver strategic, customer-driven insights that help shape product roadmaps. Develop architecture-based thought leadership to influence customer purchasing decisions and accelerate digital transformation in the infrastructure space.
• Cross-Functional Governance: Lead cross-functional teams to align on high-stakes opportunities and drive adoption of new consumption models suited to the infrastructure sector.

Qualifications

• Industry Expertise: Proven track record in business development or solution sales within the Social Infrastructure sector (e.g., Power/Utilities, Railway, Road/Transportation).
• Network: A strong, established professional network among customers, partners, and industry bodies, with a demonstrated ability to reach and influence key decision-makers.
• Communication Skills: Business-level fluency in both Japanese and English (written and verbal), with the ability to communicate effectively with local stakeholders as well as global Cisco teams.
• Leadership: Proven ability to lead complex projects and drive governance across internal and external stakeholders.
• Education: No specific degree required. We prioritize proven industry experience, professional achievements, and a demonstrated ability to drive business growth in critical infrastructure.

Success Measures

• Revenue Growth: Drive increased sales revenue for new and existing products within target infrastructure verticals.
• Pipeline Development: Grow the volume and value of qualified opportunity pipelines.
• Global Alignment: Successfully integrate and execute global strategies within the local market.

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.