The Product Readiness Manager is responsible for leading the development and execution of go-to-market and post-launch plans for our Common Enterprise key initiatives. This role will partner closely with the product team within our Common Enterprise product teams, as well as across broader Cox Automotive organizational boundaries to ensure that all goals and milestones are met. This role will report to the Senior Director of Product Operations & Readiness and will be instrumental in building out readiness processes and success measures across the organization.
To be successful in this role, the candidate must have a combination of software product knowledge, operational knowledge, 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 and guiding the work of teams of product managers, professional services and project teams, and implementation teams to ensure a successful launch occurs for our clients.
Position Responsibilities:

• Product Launch Leadership: Lead development of and communicate comprehensive go-to-market launch and post-launch plans.
• 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 stakeholders around key BAU activities.
• Defining Success: Works with the 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: Aids Product Management to ensure 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 elevate our go-to-marketing planning and ensuring operational readiness for product launches.

Required Qualifications:

• Advanced Project Management skills including demonstrated experience managing a full load of projects of significant scope, complexity and strategic importance to the company concurrently.
• Demonstrated knowledge and understanding of product development lifecycle and product launch practices and processes.
• Demonstrated success running product launches that cross multiple departments, business units, processes and technologies.
• Demonstrated planning, analytical and organization skills with an ability to manage competing demands.
• Excellent communication skills, both verbal and written, to engage supporting departments and obtain buy-in.
• Strong collaborating and influencing skills with the ability to lead without authority.
• Comfort and ability communicating with higher-level management.
• Comfort communicating complex business and product ideas into language that is understood by all supporting departments.
• Ability to gather and analyze information and data from multiple sources, prepare professional presentations, charts, graphs and tables of information for launch preparation.
• Excellent presentation skills.

Experience and Education Required:

• Bachelor's Degree Required with a minimum of 5 years experience
• Proven ability to lead and manage teams
• Experience in project management. PMP or similar certification a plus
• Proven experience in operational and change management
• Experience in customer expectation and relationship management

Travel Requirements:

• Travel required up to 20%

About Cox Automotive
At Cox Automotive, people of every background are driven by their passion for mobility, innovation and community. We transform the way the world buys, sells, owns and uses cars, accelerating the industry with global powerhouse brands like Autotrader, Kelley Blue Book, Manheim and more. What's more, we do it all with an emphasis on employee growth and happiness. Drive your future forward and join Cox Automotive today!
About Cox
Cox empowers employees to build a better future and has been doing so for over 120 years. With exciting investments and innovations across transportation, communications, cleantech and healthcare, our family of businesses - which includes Cox Automotive and Cox Communications - is forging a better future for us all. Ready to make your mark? Join us today!
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.
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