AVP Operations Excellence

Company

Cox Automotive - USA

Business Operations

AVP, Business Process Design & Improvement

Assistant Vice Presidents (AVP)

Hybrid - Ability to work remotely part of the week

Yes, 25% of the time

Day

Compensation

Compensation includes a base salary of $189,100.00 - $315,100.00. 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.

The AVP, Operational Excellence (job family Business Process Design & Improvement) is responsible for developing and implementing strategy for the Client Operations organization, focusing on prioritizing initiatives to ensure it achieves its future state strategic, operational, and financial objectives. They will be responsible for facilitating the Client Operations organization’s strategic planning and prioritization, maintaining a strategic perspective of the overall Client Ops portfolio and execution roadmap (including strategic initiatives, ongoing projects, and innovation and idea incubation), establishing regular performance tracking and measurement mechanisms and tools, conducting ad-hoc purpose-driven strategic and business analysis, and leveraging executional team resources to enable strategy delivery. They have a deep understanding of the operations functions, and this role maintains focus on improving critical systems, processes, and organizational transformations that will have significant and positive business impacts on Client Operations. 

The position is responsible to partner, provide thought leadership and execution oversite of strategic change initiatives across Client Operations that will help enhance operational delivery, efficiency and the client and employee experience.   The AVP will utilize a consulting approach to analyze financial, contractual, and operational data to identify opportunities, develop solutions based on quantitative analysis and qualitative assessments, create business cases and presentations for senior management. The AVP will also be responsible for driving the execution of initiatives in partnership with business, technology, and operational partners.  In addition, they will be responsible for leading various multi-year, multi-disciplinary programs to transform and integrate processes and systems within Client Operations, coordinating across the Sales, Marketing, Product, Technology, and other organizations as needed to achieve project/program objectives.  This position requires creative problem-solving and comfort with uncertainty to help drive effective strategic planning in an industry experiencing disruption and rapid change.

This position requires core strategy and analysis skills, as well as project definition and execution skills.  The AVP must be able to lead and influence others by acting as a strategic partner to business leaders.  The position demands frequent interactions with all levels of the organization, both in the business unit itself and across the enterprise.

Strategy

• Leads and facilitates the development of Client Operations strategy with the Client Operations leadership team aligned with the organization’s goals, objectives, industry trends, competitive dynamics, and financial constraints, and develops roadmaps for execution and delivery
• Leads the overall development of operational process improvement, automation, and analytics roadmaps
• Forges and maintains strategic executive-level relationships with critical partner organizations.
• Leads cross-functional teams and across the matrix on high-visibility complex projects or workstreams from ideation through execution, which require considerable resources and high levels of functional integration.
• Partners across CAI to develop and execute long-term systems roadmap and strategy for transformation programs

Analysis

• Maintains an understanding of the trends impacting the industry and customer experience and their effect on Client Operations and the client experience, develop insights and perspectives to share with senior leadership.
• Provides thorough and value-added analysis, followed by insightful and relevant recommendations.  This includes the creation of financial models, industry/market research, and analysis of trends to support business decisions.
• Conducts ad-hoc purpose-driven strategic and business analysis relevant to Client Operations current state to enable strategy development and delivery.
• Works with large data sets, develop financial models, create business cases, and prepare ROI analysis as necessary for senior management.
• Facilitates budget planning process across business and financial ecosystem; while prioritizing resources for greatest impact.
• Set clear annual strategic goals that will directly drive business process efficiency and improvements for Client Operations; follow through to oversee and ensure progress and delivery of real and measurable results across Client Operations performance and delivery.

Program/Project Management and Execution

• Maintains a strategic perspective of the overall Client Ops portfolio and execution roadmap, including strategic initiatives, on-going projects and innovation and idea incubation.
• Establishes regular performance tracking and measurement mechanisms and tools that simplify and provide transparency to critical Client Operations initiatives. 
• Leverages executional team resources to enable strategy delivery.
• Continuously evolves and supports request intake, facilitation, prioritization, and execution process to ensure the execution and delivery of the strategic imperatives of Client Operations.
• Delivers results with the potential to fundamentally change Cox’s relationship with strategically important organizations.
• Establishes and approves budgets and resource allocations, ensuring alignment with and commitment from internal departments and organizations (including key initiatives like SFX service implementation, Contact Center COE Solution Group reporting, SFA alignment work, and the Commons projects, to name a few)

Leadership & Influence

• Create and deliver insightful implementation frameworks, playbooks, and other enablement materials to ensure successful design, development, execution, and reinforcement of operational transformation and strategy initiatives with senior leadership (at SVP, VP, and AVP levels) and Client Operations teams.
• Provides leadership and support to direct reports to enable them to deliver successfully to the Client Ops organization.
• Coaches the organization to evolve their skillset around ‘telling the story’, using data to help craft easily digestible business cases, status updates, and project overviews
• Focuses on helping the business solve problems and answer key questions through close interaction with senior leadership.
• Creates clear and concise verbal and written communications to support strategic business plans and initiatives.
• Provides thought leadership internally and externally.
• Facilitates financial story for partner organizations as it pertains to financial results and LRP.

Required Experience & Specialized Knowledge and skills

• 14+ years of relevant experience with at least 7 years’ experience in a leadership role
• Bachelor’s degree required; MBA strongly preferred
• Knowledge of automotive industry trends, value chain, and competitive landscape
• A critical thinker, with the ability to make fact-based recommendations and synthesize multiple inputs to glean business implications for the broader picture
• Possesses core strategy and analysis skills, as well as project definition and execution skills.  Able to lead and influence others by acting as a strategic partner.
• Demonstration of the key competencies for the role:
• Managing Multiple Projects | Ability to manage multiple concurrent objectives, projects, or activities, making effective judgments as to prioritizing and time allocations.
• Business Acumen | Has a comprehensive understanding of the organization that the role supports or the ability to learn, including key interdependencies across the organization. Demonstrates knowledge of practices and policies governing disclosure of information about the organization, its business activities, and its employees.
• Consulting | Able to understand organization’s objectives and project scope. Explains project/initiative requirements, deliverables, costs and criticalities to team members, colleagues, management, and other stakeholders. Monitors performance versus expectations and uses formal and informal means to keep the organization informed on progress and issues. Participates in developing further opportunities or assignments. Has a natural curiosity about the business and uses this skill to help influence changes to the business.
• Requires physical ability and mental acuity to execute the duties of the position successfully within required timeframes to meet business requirements

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, parental leave, and COVID-19 vaccination 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.