Category Leader, Powertrain & E-mobility

ZF Group•Vernon Hills, IL

3d•$113,100 - $141,400

About The Position

The Regional Category Leader – Powertrain and E-Mobility leads North America category strategy across IAM, OES, and Service channels, with responsibility for portfolio performance, competitive positioning, and profitable growth. The role translates customer needs, market trends, and competitive insights into portfolio strategies and growth opportunities, and leads the regional Category Management team. The position can be based in Vernon Hills, Illinois; Northville, Michigan; or Auburn Hills, Michigan.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in business, engineering, or a related field.
At least 7 years of Category Management experience, including portfolio strategy, pricing, and commercial levers such as sales, margin, and cost.
Powertrain experience.
Team leadership experience, including hiring, coaching, and performance management.
Strong strategic, analytical, and commercial skills, with the ability to use data to drive sales, margin, and pricing decisions.
Strong customer orientation, negotiation, influencing, and stakeholder management skills.
Strong MS Office skills, including advanced Excel and presentation skills.
Ability to manage multiple priorities and tight deadlines.
Strong intercultural competence and ability to collaborate effectively across global teams.

Nice To Haves

MBA.
E-Mobility experience.
Automotive aftermarket experience.
Experience with SAP, Salesforce, and BI tools.

Responsibilities

Own and execute the North America Powertrain and E-Mobility category strategy across IAM, OES, and Service channels to drive sales and profitable growth.
Translate market trends, customer needs, vehicle parc, and competitive benchmarking into product and portfolio requirements, positioning, and growth opportunities.
Drive portfolio development and optimization, including range extensions, new product opportunities, SKU rationalization, and vehicle parc coverage, supported by business cases.
Partner with Sales to develop growth plans for key customers and represent Category Management as the portfolio expert in customer discussions.
Lead regional pricing strategy and price positioning, including new product pricing, price requests, annual adjustments, and competitive benchmarking.
Own portfolio performance across sales, margin, volume, mix, availability, and pricing, taking action to achieve business targets.
Ensure regional market and customer requirements are reflected in new product development and launches, supporting speed to market, commercial and service readiness, and profitable growth.
Partner with Purchasing, Supply Chain, Operations, and suppliers to improve cost competitiveness, availability, and portfolio profitability.
Lead category sales and strategic planning, track key performance indicators, and drive corrective actions to achieve sales and profit growth targets.
Lead and develop the regional Category and Product Management team, building capabilities and a strong talent pipeline.