SMB & Mid-Market Portfolio Business Development Manager (Japan & Korea)

Cisco•Published 10 hours ago•First seen 4 hours ago

What You'll Do

The Cisco Scale (SMB and Mid-Market) segment is the primary growth engine for the APJC (Asia Pacific, Japan and Greater China) region, recognized for driving programmatic innovation, scalable execution, and high-impact revenue growth. Cisco APJC Scale is aggressively accelerating market penetration through a channel-led, data-intensive, and promotion-driven model that empowers partners to deliver Cisco's AI-ready cross-architecture portfolio.

As a member of the APJC Scale Growth Office, you will serve as the strategic portfolio owner and market maker for Japan and Korea. You will champion programmatic AI-driven sales motions and execute localized GTM strategies, driving key technology transitions across Cisco Secure Networking, Cybersecurity, and AI-ready infrastructure.

You will be responsible for selecting, managing, and driving the development of high-impact product bundles and localized offers, positioning Cisco effectively against market alternatives, driving demand generation, and providing competitive market insights.

You will also build deep relationships with Cisco’s partner organization, focus partners, distributors, and marketing teams in Japan and Korea. Beyond these markets, you will collaborate and negotiate with Cisco Global BUs, APJC Marketing, APJC Finance, and Architecture Sales teams to accelerate sustainable growth.

Roles and Responsibilities

As SMB and Mid-Market Portfolio Business Development Manager for Japan and Korea, you will be responsible for driving portfolio growth across all GTM motions and channels with an AI-driven approach, while managing portfolio pricing across major routes to market. Key responsibilities include:

Portfolio & Offer Strategy for Japan & Korea Scale: Define, develop, and manage localized, "Fit for Japan and Korea SMB and Mid-Market" product offers, cross-architecture solutions, and programmatic sales plays to maximize partner profitability and customer adoption.
Strategic Pricing & Promotion Governance: Lead promotional pricing packaging and frameworks in Japan and Korea, along with margin analysis. Conduct continuous solution benchmarking against key market alternatives to maintain competitive advantage and optimize deal win rates.
Product Lifecycle & Migration Acceleration: Drive core architecture transitions in Japan and Korea, such as accelerating the migration to the entire Secure Networking portfolio and expanding Cisco Cybersecurity and AI-ready infrastructure in the SMB and Mid-Market space.
Data-Driven GTM & Operational Intelligence: Utilize sales analytics platforms and modern AI/automation workflows to track pipeline velocity, performance, distributor sell-through, and ROI, providing actionable insights to leadership.
Ecosystem & Distribution Enablement: Build high-trust relationships with major distributors and key partners. Drive enablement, joint business planning, and programmatic campaigns to scale partner self-sufficiency.
Strategic Investment, Cross-Functional & Global Stakeholder Alignment: Serve as the voice of the Japan and Korea markets, collaborating and negotiating with Global Product BUs, Architecture Teams, APJC Finance, and Marketing to influence product roadmaps and GTM investments.

Who You'll Work With

Cisco connects employees, partners, and customers, ensuring the speed, agility, and security of our solutions have a multiplying effect worldwide. Within the APJC region, our SMB, Mid-Market, and Marketing teams work together to advance key growth areas—such as AI-driven cross-architecture solutions—and implement cutting-edge technologies alongside our partners.

We combine modern digital and AI-driven sales techniques with high-impact channel execution to meet every customer challenge and accelerate business growth.

You will be an integral part of the APJC Scale Growth Office, closely partnering with:

Japan and Korea SMB Mid-Market Teams: Aligning on the strategy and field execution across both markets.
Japan and Korea Partner and Distribution Organization: Collaborating with distribution team to scale programmatic offers and enablement.
APJC Architecture Sales Teams: Aligning on focus product priorities, cross-architecture acceleration, and solution readiness across both markets.
Field and Digital Marketing Teams: Driving demand generation campaigns, awareness-building events, and partner/customer webinars.
Global and Regional Operations Teams: Building, streamlining, and optimizing deal operation workflows and approval processes.
APJC Scale Leadership & Finance Teams: Partnering with regional leaders and finance business partners to govern business performance, ROI, and commercial investments.
Global Business Units (BUs) & Product Marketing: Influencing global product managers and technical marketing engineers to adapt global innovations to Japan & Korea market needs.

Who You Are

Experience: 10–15+ years of experience in the IT industry, preferably in business development, sales, or solution engineering, with a proven record of success in achieving rapid growth in technology areas.
Domain & Architecture Expertise: A strong background and understanding of product, service, and partner sales at Cisco or comparable experience from another global technology company in the SMB and Mid-Market segment. A strategic and creative thinker, able to propose innovative strategies for significant growth and guide technologies from Pre- to Post-chasm.
Channel & GTM Acumen: Deep understanding of the 2-Tier distribution landscape, MSP business models, partner incentive programs, and commercial deal dynamics.
Strategic & Analytical Mindset: Demonstrated ability to collaborate cross-functionally across various organizations to drive business results.
Leadership & Matrix Collaboration: Capability to influence and lead effectively in a highly matrix global environment. A successful track record as a "change agent" who embraces modern data-driven and AI-augmented business practices.
Language & Communication: Excellent written and verbal communication, listening, and presentation skills in English and Japanese (Korean language proficiency is a strong plus).

We ensure a safe, fair, and respectful hiring process for all.

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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.