Capital Program Manager
Cisco · Bengaluru
Technical Capital Program Manager – Data Centre & Lab Facilities
LOCATION: Cessna Bangalore, India
AREA OF INTEREST: Construction Program Management
TECHNOLOGY INTEREST: Data Centres, Laboratories & Critical Facilities
About the Role
Workplace Resources (WPR) is seeking a Technical Capital Program Manager to lead the delivery of capital projects with a specific focus on data centre and laboratory environments across the APJC (Asia Pacific, Japan & China) region. This role combines the core discipline of capital program management - planning, budgeting, and delivering projects from inception through handover - with the technical depth required to manage complex, mission-critical facilities where uptime, resiliency, and compliance are paramount.
The ideal candidate will bring a strong construction/capital program management background together with hands-on exposure to data centre or lab build, fit-out, or upgrade projects, and will be comfortable engaging directly with M&E engineers, critical facilities teams, and specialist technical vendors.
The candidate should be based close to our Bangalore campus and have the ability to be on campus, participate in meetings in person and interact with vendors as needed.
Meet the Team
Workplace Resources (WPR) delivers workplace experiences to employees and optimizes company working capital at scale, with a focus on productivity and business outcomes. Within WPR, the Workplace Design & Construction Team comprises four pillars: Design, Change Management, Centralized Capital Program Management, and Commercial Management Offices. The team is responsible for the delivery of projects including data centre, lab, and critical facilities work, in addition to a broader transformational effort shaping how employees, partners, and customers interact with company spaces for decades to come.
Your Impact
As Technical Capital Program Manager, you will be accountable for planning, executing, and finalizing capital projects, including data centre and laboratory builds and upgrades, according to strict deadlines and within budget. This includes partnering with global procurement to acquire resources, coordinating the efforts of internal team members and third-party contractors or consultants, and acting as the single point of responsibility and escalation for the project life cycle from inception through design, business case development, delivery, and handover.
What You'll Do Day-to-Day
- Manage APJC capital program service partners to successfully plan, design, deliver, handover of capital projects assigned to you.
- Own the successful planning, brief development, and budgeting of a portfolio of capital projects, determined by the manager, with particular emphasis on technical and critical-infrastructure spaces.
- Act as the single point of responsibility and escalation for the project life cycle from inception through design, business case development, delivery, and handover.
- Effectively manage both upward communication to clients and stakeholders to ensure transparency and alignment, while providing clear, actionable direction and feedback to team members through consistent downward communication.
- Develop Project Execution Plans and manage Change Control for technical builds, including data centre and lab-specific commissioning and validation stages.
- Ensure projects comply with Construction Health & Safety Guidelines as well as data centre and laboratory-specific safety, security, and compliance standards.
- Develop a quarterly APJC Delivery Plan identifying requirements for capital projects, including due diligence, due diligence funding, and partner resourcing.
- Own due diligence for capital projects managed by service partners, ensuring cross-functional input (risk management, IT, critical facilities engineering, capital project management).
- Own compliance to global offerings guidelines and standards, including relevant data centre design and operational standards.
- Solve complex problems and identify viable, innovative options, using analytical skills and judgment to recommend an appropriate solution, particularly where technical, operational, and construction constraints intersect.
- Translate strategy into clear operating plans that promote operational excellence in service delivery with measurable results.
- Leverage program management expertise, together with technical facilities knowledge, to identify areas of risk or concern in complex, mission-critical builds.
Key Responsibilities
- Capital Project Planning: Using agreed business requirements from WPR partners, develop comprehensive project plans, including for data centre and lab environments, that align with the strategic objectives of the organization.
- Technical & Critical Facilities Delivery: Partner with project teams, M&E engineers, critical facilities operations, and specialist vendors to deliver data centre and laboratory capital projects, covering power, cooling, redundancy, and life-safety systems.
- Portfolio Management: Oversee the performance of multiple projects, ensuring they remain on track in terms of scope, schedule, and budget.
- Budget Management: Partner with the Commercial Management Office to oversee budget development and financial project controls; partner with business managers on budget submissions to the Capital Finance Review Board.
- Stakeholder Engagement: Serve as a primary point of contact for stakeholder engagement across the APJC Theatre for assigned programme, providing updates on project performance and addressing concerns.
- Team Coordination: Lead, coach, and motivate project team members and project managers leading and executing projects in your portfolio, influencing them to take positive action and accountability for their assigned work.
- Risk Management: Identify and manage project dependencies and critical path, assess risks, including those specific to live or occupied technical environments and develop mitigation strategies.
- Reporting: Track project milestones and deliverables and prepare status reports for senior management.
- Performance Monitoring: Track and report on project metrics and performance indicators to senior management.
- Process Improvement: Continuously evaluate and improve project management processes and methodologies, including those specific to data centre and lab delivery, to enhance efficiency and effectiveness.
Knowledge, Skills & Experience
- Deep understanding of the processes, procedures, and systems used in Capital Program Management and Service Delivery Management, and recognition of downstream impact on other disciplines.
- Working technical knowledge of data centre and/or laboratory environments, including power and cooling infrastructure, redundancy/resiliency concepts, and commissioning processes.
- Proficient with technology, tools, and processes that support service delivery; plays a part in promoting and developing improvements to functional tools and processes.
- Deep knowledge of project/program management methodologies and an understanding of real estate and critical facilities industry practices, evolution, and application to service delivery processes.
- Ability to analyse multiple sources of complex information and evaluate several alternative solutions before recommending a path forward.
- Ability to explain complex technical information and effectively lay out the pros and cons of alternatives for non-technical stakeholders to consider.
- Strongly developed ability to communicate and drive improvement across cross-functional teams to improve operations metrics and customer satisfaction; strong service level management and operations management skills.
- Deep understanding of key Capital Program Management concepts with the ability to explain these effectively to management or cross-functional teams and provide training.
Minimum Qualifications
- Bachelor's or Master's degree in Project Management, Construction Management, Engineering, Business Administration, or a related field.
- Extensive experience in project and program management (8+ years minimum), with a strong focus on construction capital program management and program delivery for construction projects.
- Demonstrable experience delivering data centre, laboratory, or other mission-critical/technical facility projects, from design through commissioning and handover.
- Expertise in managing diverse teams of vendors, M&E engineers, and contractors across multiple projects.
- Demonstrates proficiency in concise reporting and clear communication when providing updates to senior leadership.
- Proficiency in project management software tools.
Preferred Qualifications
- Excellent communication and leadership skills.
- Knowledge of local regulations and industry standards relevant to data centre and laboratory construction across APJC markets, specifically Special Economic Zone (SEZ) in Bangalore, India.
- Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
- Experience managing projects in sectors such as data centres, laboratories, critical infrastructure, or IT/technology fit-out.
- Certification in project management (e.g., PMP, PRINCE2) is a plus.
- Ability to work in a fast-paced and dynamic environment.
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.
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