Sales Manager, Ford

Faurecia • Auburn Hills, MI

3d • Onsite

About The Position

Forvia, a sustainable mobility technology leader, is seeking a Sales Manager for its Clean Mobility Division, focusing on the Ford Customer Business Unit in Auburn Hills, MI. This role is responsible for sales development for a specific account or a portion thereof, including programs, serial life, and acquisitions, within a Division/Region. The position requires developing deep customer intimacy, preparing and validating commercial offers, and leading or supporting claim negotiations. The Sales Manager will also perform duties typically handled by a Sales Director, such as budgeting, revenue recognition, claims management, forecasting, and tooling recovery. The role involves managing serial life aspects like ECR negotiations, understanding piece prices, tooling impacts, and coordinating commercial productivity proposals. For programs, the Sales Manager acts as a Program Sales Leader, overseeing profitability and participating in program reviews. In acquisitions, they contribute to quote strategies and prepare commercial offers. Commitment to Forvia's ethical standards and policies is essential.

Requirements

• Minimum Education Level: Business Bachelor's Degree (Business Master's Degree preferred) or Engineering Degree with a willingness to develop a career path in business.
• Minimum 5 years of professional experience with successful track record.
• Established personal relationship with OEMs within the relevant markets.
• Fluent in english and if necessary in the Customer language.
• Strong competencies in relationship management, and negotiation.
• Comfortable with financials.
• Good communication and presentation skills, and capacity of empathy.
• Business international mindset.
• Accountable and results oriented.
• Team player and ability to work in a matrix organization.

Responsibilities

• Develop in-depth intimacy with Customer contacts (Purchasing, Engineering, Programs and the other relevant functions).
• Develop the relationship with his/her direct counterparts at the customer and with the assigned contacts by the sales network.
• Participate regularly to customer meetings (progress reviews, quality reviews, commercial global meetings).
• Monitor what competition is doing.
• Prepare and check/validate the commercial offers to answer on due time to the Customer requests.
• Get a good understanding of the costing files (“hands on”) & customer breakdowns.
• Build up and get validated the targeted pricing and the negotiation path / strategy to convince the customer.
• Ensure proper documentation of all prices and written communication to customer.
• Check coherence of all offers and validates offers regarding technical changes and mandated components.
• Understand and apply the guidelines proposed by the hierarchy regarding contractual management.
• Lead or support claims negotiation at the appropriate level at the customer.
• Perform work typically done by Sales Director (sales and VA/VE budgeting, revenue recognition, claims management, management of accruals, forecasting, past due management, tooling recovery, etc.).
• Responsible for on-time customer ECRs (“Engineering Changes Requests”) negotiation to improve program operating income.
• Detailed understanding of piece price, tooling, D&D impact, and steel surcharges.
• Coordinate or take directly in charge the commercial productivity proposals with a detailed understanding of Squeeze management.
• Understanding and execution of VA-VE commercial mechanisms.
• Deep understanding and commercial management of local economics (inflation, exchange rate).
• Understanding and rigorous implementation of the Sales Administration guidelines & processes (purchase orders, invoices, terms of payment, overdues…)
• Oversees commercial management for Spare Parts.
• Oversees several programs from Sales perspective.
• Act as Program Sales Leader – part of the Program Core Team.
• Leads the negotiation of ECRs and claims.
• Follow the profitability of the Program.
• Participate to the CBU / Division Program reviews.
• Understand the business plan and RFQA.
• Maintain the thorough and up to date cash tracking for his/her respective program and reporting out updates to the team regularly.
• Part/Leader of the Acquisition Team.
• Contributes to development of commercial quote strategy.
• Understanding of the Business Plan & RFQA.
• Preparation and update / improvement of the commercial offers through the negotiation loops.
• May act as Acquisition Manager for program acquisitions.
• Commitment to the highest ethical standards and adherence to: Faurecia Group Code of Ethics, Faurecia Group Code of Management, Faurecia Group Environmental Policy, Faurecia Group Quality Policy.
• All other duties as assigned by the company.

Benefits

• Opportunity for career development.
• Engaging and dynamic environment.
• Contribution to the development of sustainable mobility leading technologies.
• Average of more than 22 hours of online and in-person training within FORVIA University.
• Multicultural environment that values diversity and international collaboration.
• Inclusive culture where all forms of diversity create real value for the company.
• Commitment to achieving CO2 Net Zero as a pioneer of the automotive industry.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior