Service Delivery Manager - Africa

Job description

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. Service Delivery Manager – Africa Role Overview: We are seeking a Service Delivery Manager with a strong Network Engineering background to support customer engagements, presales activities, and service delivery development within MEA Region (Middle East & Africa). The primary focus of the role is service delivery ownership and coordination, ensuring that customer engagements are well‑structured, deliverable, and aligned with business objectives. A solid technical foundation in network engineering is mandatory, as the role requires the ability to understand, challenge, and shape technical solutions, particularly during early customer discussions and presales activities. This is a hands‑on delivery‑oriented role, not a pure Project Manager nor a pure Network Engineer, but a balanced profile combining: Delivery ownership Technical credibility Commercial awarenes How you will make an impact: Own end-to-end service delivery alignment between customer expectations and internal delivery capabilities Coordinate scope definition, planning, execution tracking, and cross-functional resource engagement Drive delivery execution within agreed scope while managing risk, cost awareness, and efficiency Communicate delivery status, risks, and dependencies to customers and internal stakeholders Contribute delivery and technical input during presales discussions to validate feasibility and delivery approach Bridge engineering teams, delivery stakeholders, and customer-facing functions to ensure solution deliverability Apply network engineering background to challenge and shape proposed technical solutions The must haves: Experience: 5 + years of total professional experience Prior experience in service delivery, project management, or service coordination roles Previous hands-on experience as a network engineer Application of network lifecycle activities including design, deployment, migration, and validation Background in optical transport and networking environments such as DWDM and Layer 0/Layer 1 technologies Experience interacting with customers, cross-functional delivery teams, and engineering resources Ability to operate with delivery ownership in early-stage engagements where structure may be evolving Capacity to balance technical discussions, delivery planning, and commercial considerations Ability to work autonomously in a remote environment with accountability for outcomes Experience collaborating across time zones and multicultural teams Nice to haves: Exposure to RFx response contributions from a service delivery perspective Experience providing delivery input to presales proposals Background supporting smaller-scale engagements with limited technical execution involvement #LI-ST1 . At Ciena, we are committed to building and fostering an environment in which our employees feel respected, valued, and heard. Ciena values the diversity of its workforce and respects its employees as individuals. We do not tolerate any form of discrimination. Ciena is an Equal Opportunity Employer, including disability and protected veteran status. If contacted in relation to a job opportunity, please advise Ciena of any accommodation measures you may require.