Job Description

Company

Cox Automotive - USA

Engineering / Product Development

Product Operations Manager

Manager - Non People Leader

Hybrid - Ability to work remotely part of the week

Yes, 15% of the time

Day

Compensation

Compensation includes a base salary in the range of $92,300.00 - $153,900.00. The base salary may vary within the anticipated base pay range based on factors such as the ultimate location of the position and the selected candidate’s knowledge, skills, and abilities. Position may be eligible for additional compensation that may include an incentive program.

Cox Automotive is seeking a Product Commercialization & Readiness Manager to join our dynamic Product Commercialization team.

The Product Commercialization & Readiness Manager is responsible for leading the development and execution of commercialization, launch and post-launch strategies for key initiatives within the Retail portfolio. This role will partner closely with various product and business teams, as well as across broader Cox organizational boundaries to drive successful product launches, ensuring commercialization goals and milestones are met with a key focus on value delivery.

This role will report to the Director, Product Commercialization & Readiness and will be instrumental in building out commercialization practices, processes, and success measures within the Retail Product organization.

To be successful in this role, the candidate must have a combination of knowledge and experience in software development lifecycles (SDLC), business operations, stakeholder consultation, user experience, and project management skills. He/she must also be a strong people influencer and driver for a shared future vision, collaborating with and/or guiding the work of teams that include product management, business operations, change management, training, sales, performance management, project/program management, marketing, client care, and implementation teams to ensure a successful launch occurs for both internal and external clients. The successful candidate will be comfortable leveraging AI in their day-to-day work and willing to “push the boundaries” of how AI can be further leveraged within the product commercialization and readiness discipline.

PRIMARY DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITES

• Product Launch Leadership Complete launch impact assessments for upcoming product launches. Lead the development, execution and communication of comprehensive go-to-market launch and post-launch plans for larger, highly impactful initiatives. Serve as SME and partner with Product team to guide and help communicate the launch of smaller/lower-impacting product updates. May also include developing, leading and communicating efforts and communications around sunsetting products and/or features. Leverage AI (artificial intelligence) to create, refine and iterate on product commercialization and launch planning/execution deliverables.

• Product Commercialization Work across organizational boundaries to ensure that all go-to-market goals and critical milestones are met, with a key focus on value delivery. Work collaboratively with program and project managers whenever applicable. Lead stakeholder meetings and communicate status, drive accountability and decision making. Manage program risk by identifying and communicating issues as well as recommending mitigation plans to all levels including leadership.

• Define & Measure Success Work with Business Operations leaders, Product Management, Product Marketing and Product Analytics teams to ensure key product value metrics are defined and can be measured during all stages of the launch using KPI’s, metrics, analytics, dashboards, etc. Suggest ideas for improvement. Facilitate Stage-Gate meetings and processes as product initiatives move through each stage of the PDLC.

• VOC Keeps the voice and perspective of the customer present in the product process for in-market operations.

• Training and Support Alignment Partners with Product Management to ensure that training, sales, support teams, auctions, client services and implementation teams have the necessary information to effectively plan for, train and support a new product/solution or enhancement(s) being delivered.

• Communication Synthesizes information quickly and composes concise and tailored messaging to audiences. Effectively uses persuasion and negotiation techniques with boundary partners. Build networks of support for ideas and/or initiatives.

• Process Improvement Streamlines go-to-market planning and ensures operational readiness for product launches. Champion continuous improvement using innovative ideas to increase effectiveness. Leverage AI (Artificial Intelligence) to improve productivity, communication, and clarity.

• People Management No direct reports initially, but role may grow to manage the work of 1-2 direct reports in the future.

• Travel required up to 15%

What We Look For:

Required Education, Experience, Knowledge and Skills

• Bachelor’s degree in a related discipline and 6 years’ experience in a product, project, or program management role. The right candidate could also have a different combination, such as a master’s degree and 4 years’ experience; a Ph.D. and 1 years of experience; or 10 years’ experience in a related field in lieu of education. PMP or similar certification a plus.

• Strong collaboration skills and the ability to lead through influence. Able to engage supporting departments to gain buy-in.

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills. Comfortable communicating with stakeholders at all levels of the organization. Comfortable presenting to groups, whether in-person or virtually (email, phone, Teams, Slack, etc.).

• Comfortable communicating complex business and product ideas into language that is understood by all supporting departments.

• Knowledgeable in change-management principles. Proven experience in managing change across multiple parts of a single organization and across organizational boundaries. Prosci/ADKAR or similar certification a plus.

• Ability to gather and analyze information and data from multiple sources, prepare professional presentations, charts, graphs and tables of information for launch preparation. Comfortable leveraging AI to execute these types of tasks.

• Demonstrated planning, analytical and organization skills with an ability to manage competing demands and priorities.

• Experience in Agile, Scrum and/or Kanban.

To be employed in this role, you’ll need to clear a pre-employment drug test. Cox Automotive does not currently administer a pre-employment drug test for marijuana for this position. However, we are a drug-free workplace, so the possession, use or being under the influence of drugs illegal under federal or state law during work hours, on company property and/or in company vehicles is prohibited.

The Company offers eligible employees the flexibility to take as much vacation with pay as they deem consistent with their duties, the company’s needs, and its obligations; seven paid holidays throughout the calendar year; and up to 160 hours of paid wellness annually for their own wellness or that of family members. Employees are also eligible for additional paid time off in the form of bereavement leave, time off to vote, jury duty leave, volunteer time off, military leave, and parental leave.

Through groundbreaking technology and a commitment to stellar experiences for drivers and dealers alike, Cox Automotive employees are transforming the way the world buys, owns, sells – or simply uses – cars. Cox Automotive employees get to work on iconic consumer brands like Autotrader and Kelley Blue Book and industry-leading dealer-facing companies like vAuto and Manheim, all while enjoying the people-centered atmosphere that is central to our life at Cox. Benefits of working at Cox may include health care insurance (medical, dental, vision), retirement planning (401(k)), and paid days off (sick leave, parental leave, flexible vacation/wellness days, and/or PTO). For more details on what benefits you may be offered, visit our benefits page. Cox is an Equal Employment Opportunity employer – All qualified applicants/employees will receive consideration for employment without regard to that individual’s age, race, color, religion or creed, national origin or ancestry, sex (including pregnancy), sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, physical or mental disability, veteran status, genetic information, ethnicity, citizenship, or any other characteristic protected by law. Cox provides reasonable accommodations when requested by a qualified applicant or employee with disability, unless such accommodations would cause an undue hardship.EOE, including disability/vetsApplicants must currently be authorized to work in the United States for any employer without current or future sponsorship. No OPT, CPT, STEM/OPT or visa sponsorship now or in future.