Assistant Manager Product Planning (M/F/D)

Join the movement and find new inspiration.

We have an exciting opportunity as:

Assistant Manager Product Planning (M/F/D)

at the Kia Europe Headquarters in Frankfurt/Main, Germany

Kia Europe is, together with its sister brand Hyundai, the fifth-largest automotive company in the world. Since its foundation in 1944, Kia Europe has been a significant player in the booming automotive industry, not only in South Korea but worldwide. People drive Kia cars in about 180 countries.

Kia Europe is the Regional Headquarters of Kia and centrally leads the Sales & Marketing activities for 14 European sales subsidiaries and coordinates the activities of our production facility in Zilina, Slovakia. Kia employs about 5,500 persons in Europe, including about 3,500 blue collar workers in our state of the art car plant in Slovakia. We sell just over 500,000 vehicles and produce about 300,000 vehicles for worldwide distribution every year.

You will enjoy working with us if you like these things:

• A pulsating international environment. Our workforce is composed of people from 37 nations.
• Playing an active and important part in the development of Kia in Europe.
• Developing new frameworks and solutions.
• Demanding challenges to which you can creatively contribute.
• A competitive compensation package; private leasing offer; systematic off and on-the-job training, free staff restaurant, support as concerns Health Management and more.

The Challenges: High - The Job: Great.

1. Your initiative, energy and persistence will ultimately determine your success.

2. You will work in a network of experts in Product Planning and other business professionals.

3. You have the spirit that makes us successful.

You are +++ ambitious +++ dynamic +++ flexible +++ optimistic +++ patient +++

Job Mission:

Manage assigned vehicle product lines or carlines to optimize product competitiveness with the aim of maximizing variable profit, sales volume, market share growth and brand equity through product positioning, price positioning and active life cycle management.

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Your Responsibilities:

Product planning - Area of Responsibility: Assigned Kia brand vehicle lines from concept phase until 18 months before SOP:

• Lead the upstream development of project milestones for pro-active input to Kia global headquarters.
• Develop new product proposals focusing on potential white space opportunities to increase Kia Europe market share, brand equity, sales volume and profitability.
• Serve as the voice of the customer in Europe, to continuously improve Kia products to best satisfy customer needs.
• Define appropriate target customers and product positioning targets in line with brand direction.
• Work with pricing team and product marketing team on setting the price strategy for vehicles under management.
• Coordinate and participate in research activities, e.g. concept & product positioning clinics.
• Participate in design evaluations to support the selection among different design proposals, and ensure design direction is aligned with vehicle concept ,brand identity as well as European taste and needs.
• Participate in competitive product evaluations to provide feedback to R&D about the correct development direction aligned with the brand strategy and the vehicle concept.
• Develop proposals for new generations of existing models as well as all new models in Kia’s product portfolio and align with all related departments involved in the development process (e.g. Design, R&D, global product planning, etc. ).
• Follow development process of vehicles under management to ensure product competitiveness in the European Region regarding development of body type variations, powertrain line-up, features and color & trim packages.
• Ensure cross carline consistency by developing adequate implementation strategies and adoption plans.
• Evaluate existing and future powertrain solutions.

Your Profile:

• University degree in Business or Economics – with a focus on Marketing – or technical degree in Science or Engineering (MBA or relevant Master’s degree is a plus)
• 2+ years of relevant pan-European work experience within Product Management area in the automotive industry.
• Familiarity with automotive market analysis tools like JATO, New Car Buyers Survey (NCBS), IHS database, etc
• Sound quantitative and analytical skills to gather and interpret data to support key decisions
• Proficient with the Microsoft Office products especially with MS Excel for data analysis
• Fluent in English (written and spoken). Additional European languages are a plus
• Organized and detail-oriented
• Excellent quantitative and analytical skills along with excellent verbal and written communication skills in English
• Good interpersonal skills and experience working with people from a variety of European backgrounds
• Self-confidence, positive thinking, flexibility and ability to adapt in a multicultural and fast moving environment
• Cooperative nature to work closely with peers within the company to ensure smooth information flow and a good collaboration
• Ability to take initiative and work independently
• Passion for the Automotive industry and general passion for cars, motorsports etc.
• Familiarity with working with Asian cultures / companies is a plus
• Willingness to travel as required to Korea, major Auto Shows, meetings with European markets and support of PR events while launching products

If you’re interested to become part of our Kia team, please apply via our online portal. We are looking forward to getting to know you.