EMEA Customer Advocacy Manager
Cisco
- Location
- Milan Italy
- Work model
- On-Site
- Level
- Senior
- Posted
- 8h ago
About this role
Maintaining Cisco's 40+ year track record of market leadership depends on customer voices. As skepticism around technology claims grows and buying cycles become complex, customer advocacy has shifted from a supporting function to a strategic differentiator–one that directly impacts deal velocity and customer retention. Our Global Customer Advocacy team bridges innovation and market credibility. We identify and amplify customer stories that validate our solutions and shape market perception. Our work directly influences buyer decisions and strengthens customer loyalty. As a Global Customer Advocacy Manager, you will own the end-to-end lifecycle of customer advocacy, identifying authentic customer narratives that demonstrate Cisco's business impact and drive deal acceleration. You will build trusted relationships across customer organizations—from C-suite to practitioners—to deeply understand their business challenges, innovations and achievements, and spotlight how Cisco has enabled their success. You will translate these insights into compelling multi-format customer stories designed to resonate with our audiences. Partnering with Sales, Marketing, Customer Experience, and Product, you will ensure customers have the visibility and platforms to share their stories with target buyers and stakeholders. In this role, you will be the strategic champion for our customers, ensuring that their voices are not just heard, but systematically amplified as a measurable engine for demonstrating Cisco’s real-world impact, accelerating deal closure, and substantiating our market position.
Responsibilities
Develop and execute multi-month storytelling experiences for globally recognized customers, including strategy, content development, and launch across target channels. Manage customer storytelling projects (customer evidence creation, speaking engagement, and/or private networking opportunities) aligned to Sales, Product, and/or Marketing priorities. Conduct deep-dive research on each customer's Cisco relationship (technology stack, business outcomes, CX services) to identify a variety of compelling, differentiable story angles. Serve as advocacy liaison to Sales, Product, and Marketing leaders, translating their go-to-market needs into customer storytelling opportunities and advising on which customers can credibly support their initiatives whether self-managed or collaborating with team members. Lead customer storytelling activation for regional Cisco Live events, including customer recruitment, interview coordination, content development, and on-site support. Track and maintain all customer contacts, product implementations, and storytelling engagements within advocate relationship management platform. Measure effectiveness of customer evidence content against traditional digital marketing engagement KPIs. Forecast budget needs for all customer storytelling initiatives, and manage spend against approved budget, ensuring compliance with Cisco financial policies and reporting requirements.
Who You Are
7+ years of experience in customer-facing role(s), ideally focused on customer marketing, content marketing, advocacy programs, or B2B storytelling. Proven track record in fast-paced, technical environments, preferably within enterprise networking, infrastructure, AI, Cloud, or DevOps sectors. Experience building and executing high-level advocacy strategies that directly support sales and marketing objectives. Exceptional writing, editing, and interviewing skills. Ability to synthesize complex technical data and product use cases into engaging narratives for diverse audiences. Strong organizational skills with the ability to manage multiple high-visibility initiatives, stakeholders, and internal partners simultaneously. Passionate about the voice of the customer, social proof, and customer evidence, and their impact on business success. Thrives in dynamic, evolving environments; comfortable working both independently and as