Director, Value Realization

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.

Reporting to the Chief Transformation Officer, the Director, Transformation Value Realization will build and lead the value tracking discipline for the enterprise transformation portfolio. Partnering with initiative owners, Finance, and the ETO Program Director, you will design the value realization framework, embed it into governance, and create the single source of truth for benefits, ROI, and KPI performance across programs. The role demands executive presence, financial acumen, and the ability to influence—traits the ETO prizes in its leaders and partners.  

Key output from the role includes: 

Enterprise Value Realization Framework established 
A standard, auditable methodology for defining, baselining, forecasting, tracking, and sustaining benefits (financial and nonfinancial), fully integrated into ETO tollgates and steering routines.  

Single Source of Truth for benefits 
A portfoliolevel dashboard and data model that provides scenario views (speed vs. risk vs. impact) for decision forums.  

Transparent executive reporting & decision velocity 
Leadershipready materials that cut through noise, highlight tradeoffs, and drive timely decisions on reprioritization or course correction.  

Sustainment mechanisms 
Postimplementation reviews, driving accountability for “hold the gains” plans, and ownership agreements that prevent value leakage and institutionalize continuous improvement.  

Responsibilities 

Value Definition & Baseline 

• Cocreate value hypotheses with business sponsors; translate intent into quantified KPIs, OKRs, and financial models (revenue, gross margin, OpEx, working capital). 

• Establish baselines, counterfactuals, and guardrails for success criteria; document calculation logic and data lineage to ensure auditability.  

Tracking & Reporting 

• Build the ETO benefits register and portfolio dashboard; automate pipelines from systems of record (ERP/BI) to provide alignment with Finance. 

• Produce concise executive materials for steering committees and decision forums; highlight dependencies, risks to value, and mitigation options.  

Governance & Cadence 

• Embed value checkpoints in ETO tollgates; define entry/exit criteria and evidence required at each stage. 

• Partner with the ETO Sr Program Director to enforce accountability for value milestones; integrate value realization into prioritization and intake processes.