Cox Automotive (Dealer.com) is currently hiring a Senior Manager, Business Readiness to join our Readiness team . This role is remote, but needs to live near one of our Cox Automotive office locations (Kansas City, South Jordan, Chicago, Atlanta, Burlington).

The Senior Manager, Business Readiness is responsible for leading a team responsible for a portfolio of medium to large scale projects with high complexity to ensure business readiness for successful product launch across VinSolutions, Xtime, F&I, and Dealertrack DMS.

The Senior Manager will possess the knowledge and ability to apply effective analytical technicques and tools to analyze organizational issues, determine root causes, and create alternative solutions that are in the best interest of the business, working effectively with all stakeholders to ensure a successful outcome.

Readiness responsibilities include establishing and managing a consistent set of base product readiness deliverables, as well as reporting and performance against a defined set of KPIs. This role will need to identify and manage tools and resources needed across several products and delivery streams. Partnering closely with product leaders and cross-functional teams to implement key product operational practices will be critical to delivering on annual goals.

Readiness responsibilities include ensuring go-to-market strategies, planning stages, operational readiness and full market launch are covered for the release of new products and enhancements. This role will manage a team to enable launch efforts of new products and product enhancements across multiple product lines and brands in Dealer Solutions (DS), including cross-Retail Solutions integrations. Managing launch teams and cross-functional efforts will be required for effective launch, including impact analysis steps, identification and mitigation of challenges during the launch planning cycle. Success is measured against pre- and post-launch goals and meeting key milestones.

This role will partner closely with the DS product and engineering delivery teams, as well as functional teams that are critical to-go-to market execution (i.e., marketing, business operations, sales, change management, etc.). To be successful in this role, the incumbent must have a combination of software product knowledge, operational knowledge, client experience (including OEM and dealers), user experience and project management skills.  They must also be a strong people influencer and driver for a shared future vision, collaborating and guiding the work of teams involved in launch efforts.

What You’ll Do:

• Leads team responsible for portfolio of medium to large scale projects with high complexity.
• Works closely with functional leaders to identify requirements and assess required level of support to structure projects appropriately.
• Manages multiple concurrent objectives, projects or activites, making effective judgments in prioritizing and time allocations, while responsible for day-to-day operational priorities.
• Ensures effective controls are in place to monitor full project lifecycle and ensures critical outcomes are met for each project/program.
• Develops complex project plans and specifications.
• Develops strategies to resolve key issues.
• Engages with end users to ensure appropriate testing and readiness.
• Monitor and address potential conflicts that impact delivery commitments, working with team members and other stakeholders to re-prioritize as necessary.
• Utilizes project management for resource estimation, dependency identification, conflict identification, task assignments, documentation and reporting.
• Guides the team in setting specific and measureable short and long-term goals, and assists with overcoming possible barriers to success.
• Product Reporting and Performance: Partner with product leaders and cross-functional teams (i.e. Performance Management, Client Support, Marketing, Sales, Finance) to define, measure and report on KPIs, as well as develop action plans for risks and issues that arise.
• Product Launch Leadership: Lead development of and communicate comprehensive go-to-market launch and post-launch plans for VinSolutions, Xtime, F&I, and Dealertrack DMS.
• Readiness Project Management: Work across organizational boundaries to ensure that all go-to-market goals and critical milestones are met.
• Operational Readiness: Drive operational readiness to ensure that the product is able to be properly marketed, sold, contracted, installed, trained, billed, supported, analyzed for utilization and canceled.  Coordinate and communicate with key stakeholders.
• Defining Success: Accountable for success of product launches and will partner with Operational leaders, Product Management, Product Marketing and Product Development to ensure success of product launches can be measured.  Establish / strengthen proper internal controls to ensure compliance of established procedures.
• VOC:  Keeps the voice and perspective of the customer present in the product process for in-market operations.
• Training and Support Alignment: Accountable for ensuring that training, sales, client services and installation have the facts to effectively plan for, train and support new product/solution being delivered to market.
• Process Improvement: Drives processes that improve product management maturity and skills. as well as elevate our go-to-market planning and ensuring commercialization goals are met.

Who You Are:

Minimum

• Bachelor’s degree in a related discipline and 8 years’ experience in a related field. The right candidate could also have a different combination, such as a master’s degree and 6 years’ experience; a Ph.D. and 3 years’ experience in a related field; or 12 years’ experience in a related field
• 3+ years’ experience in management or leadership role
• Excellent skills to work effectively with teams throughout organization
• Managerial experience in business and/or operational positions such as product management, business readiness or business management, with increasing responsibilities in more senior roles
• Experience in businesses based on technology, software, digital marketing/media, and/or internet for the automotive or related industry
• Proven leadership experience in operational and change management
• Experience in customer expectation and relationship management

Preferred:

• Experience in project management. PMP or similar certification a plus
• Knowledge of automotive industry trends, customer behaviors, and enabling technological capabilities