Professional Services Program/Project Manager

As the global leader in high-speed connectivity, Ciena is committed to a people-first approach. Our teams enjoy a culture focused on prioritizing a flexible work environment that empowers individual growth, well-being, and belonging. We’re a technology company that leads with our humanity—driving our business priorities alongside meaningful social, community, and societal impact.

We are looking for a proven leader with expertise in project management to join our Professional Services team.  They will be the face of Blue Planet to our customers so should be an excellent and compelling communicator. This position requires experience with a wide breadth of oversight responsibilities spanning the entire project lifecycle for our Telco domain software projects, including management of scope, financials, people, work, risks, issues, communications, quality, configuration, infrastructure, procurement, and most importantly our customers.  

This role will report into the Director of Project and Programme Management (EMEA) and work closely with our Customer Service Executives.

What will you do as a Blue Planet Programme/Project Manager?

• Serve as the project leader for the customer and Blue Planet Sales, PMO, Consulting, Engineering, Finance, Operations, IT, Commercial Management, Resource Management, and Customer Support organizations.

• Collaborate within the internal Blue Planet organizations and with customers to initiate projects

• Understand how to interpret commercial documents and ensure that adherence to these is managed through the delivery lifecycle

• Establish strong project governance and ability to develop work plans

• Manage and control the execution of customer-facing projects throughout entire project lifecycle, in accordance with the contract(s) and customer expectations.

• Lead cross-functional and global project teams, consisting of software architects, developers, testers, administrators, sub-contractors and other support personnel

• Track and report status/forecasts to stakeholders for project schedule, scope, issues, and budget

• Ensure project time and expenses are submitted/approved and POs accrued, in accordance with policy and revenue recognition guidelines 

• Obtain and manage scope acceptances and approvals, customer invoicing etc.

• Foster a culture of continuous improvement and innovation and identify opportunities for process improvements.

• Strong leadership skills with the ability to motivate and inspire teams to achieve project goals

• Strong stakeholder management skills 

Qualifications & Experience

• Ideally a bachelor’s degree in business management, communications, engineering, or related field(s)

• Demonstrated project management, analytical and problem-solving skills with strong sense of personal accountability

• Proven track record of successfully delivering projects on time, within budget, and with a high level of customer satisfaction

• Sufficient level of technical background to provide leadership to software development teams. Ability to evaluate complex project risks and issues accurately and objectively  

• Experience in Telecommunications related industry(s), ideally with Operational experience and/or implementing OSS projects within those markets.

• Excellent oral and written communication and presentation skills, and experience interacting with both business and IT executive level personnel

• Strong competency of interpersonal skills, team leadership, business acumen, relationship building and conflict management

• Willingness to work in a collaborative environment and promote teamwork mentality

• Experience with Agile methodology, Scrum framework and SDLC process

• Proficiency with Jira, MS Project, SharePoint, and Excel (experience with Mavenlink and Salesforce applications are a plus)

• Ability to travel occasionally 

• PMP or Prince2 certification is preferred

• Minimum 5 years of Project Management Experience

• Experience within a software company and working with tier 1 Telco’s.

Pay ranges at Ciena are designed to accommodate variations in knowledge, skills, experience, market conditions, and locations, reflecting our diverse products, industries, and lines of business. Please note that the pay range information provided in this posting pertains specifically to the primary location, which is the top location listed in case multiple location