Product Operations Senior Manager

General Description:
The Enterprise Product Operations Senior Manager will be responsible for leading the creation and adoption of strategies to enable Cox Automotive Product team members to deliver best-in-class products. This role includes the management of shared product management discipline standards across the Cox Automotive and managing initiatives which enable product management excellence.
This role works cross-functionally with key partners in the product development lifecycle to define and operationalize best practices, develop learning and development programs to educate team members on topics which aim to mature the Product organization and drive adoption of enterprise standards. This role supports driving on-going improvement in product development and management practices to ensure our Product team member's efforts achieve maximum impact.
The person in this role is part of the core team that identifies, develops, and administers a range of enterprise-wide initiatives designed to improve Product Operations across portfolios, and works to effect broad change. This is both a strategic and hands-on position requiring a proactive spirit, broad thinking, and strong problem-solving capabilities. The person in this role works to implement, manage, improve, and scale various subject matter and competencies. There is specific focus on accelerating discovery, enabling client feedback throughout the lifecycle, driving efficiency, and improving alignment, communications, and processes around the products the Cox Automotive Product and Technology Group (CAPTG) team develops and manages.
The ideal candidate has a strong background in working with matrixed teams to build relationships, understand needs, consult on the best ways to address them, all while driving change and improvement. They also must have excellent communication skills and attention to detail, as well as the ability to think through broad needs across the enterprise.
Position responsibilities:

• Maturing Product Management: Drive processes that improve various levels of product management maturity and skills and well as elevate our ability to function as one Cox Automotive. Accountable for improvements in product discipline maturity within Enterprise Technology
• Enterprise Stewardship: Partner with Product Operations, Product Readiness teams, as well as other teams internal to the Product COE and CAPTG to coordinate efforts and promote awareness for Product Operations initiatives

Required Qualifications:
Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities
Strong ability and desire to:

• Catalyze behavioral change through knowledge and compelling, thoughtfully curated information
• Provide excellent service to internal clients / stakeholders, always seeking to add incremental value
• Think critically and broadly about the ways tools can be used, can be used together
• Teach others and illuminate best practices in a compelling way that drives buy-in and adoption
• Manage multiple tasks simultaneously to meet aggressive goals and objectives

Ability and desire to:

• Embody discretion, trustworthiness, honesty, empathy, and passion in all dealings with internal and external stakeholders

Other key attributes:

• Self-motivated, able to independently drive initiatives with minimal oversight
• Thinking and operating broadly across diverse teams/stakeholders, macro/enterprise-level thinking
• Excellent team player who brings a passionate, positive, high-energy approach to client service and delivering results

Experience and education required:

• 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 6years' experience; a Ph.D. and 3 years' experience in a related field; or 20 years' experience in a related field
• 5-7 years of experience a Product organization directly in Product Management or Product Operations
• Strong leadership, facilitation, negotiation skills
• Direct involvement in driving continuous improvement and large operational change management initiatives
• Strong ability to build key business relationships and contribute to the enterprise vision at Cox Automotive
• Strong ability to assess capabilities, gaps, and build plans for addressing training needs
• Managing initiatives with diverse stakeholders / needs to address
• Certified in Human Centered Design
• The candidate must think in terms of how to meet diverse needs while driving enterprise cohesion. They also must be technical and creative, while understanding what a role a Product organization plays in a technology company

Working knowledge of:

• Agile Delivery
• Double Diamond framework
• Change Management / ADKAR
• SmartSheet

Nice to have:

• Consulting experience
• Knowledge of product composability principles
• Knowledge of Lean (Six Sigma) concepts, certification not required