Senior Manager, Digital Program Management

Ford • Dearborn, MI

9d • Hybrid

About The Position

As the Global Program Manager, you are the chief orchestrator and single point of accountability for the global execution and performance of Ford’s new service lead program. This is a senior leadership role designed for a master of cross-functional governance, not a technical delivery lead or an administrative project tracker. You will build, run, and enforce the global operating model that holds Product, Engineering, Regional Market Teams, FordDirect, and external partners accountable to delivering the product, technology and go-to-market roadmap and meeting business KPIs across both Retail and Ford Pro globally. Operating at the intersection of business strategy and technical execution, you will use a disciplined PDCA (Plan, Do, Check, Act) framework to drive alignment, mitigate risks, manage dependencies, and ensure that every cross-functional team delivers on their commitments to drive dealer adoption, lead conversion, and FCSD profitability.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Engineering, Information Systems, or a related field.
• 7 +Experience designing and running global governance structures/operating models (PDCA, Lean, Six Sigma, or similar continuous improvement frameworks)
• 7+ years of experience managing complex, multi-stakeholder global rollouts or platform launches.
• 7+ years of experience working with or managing relationships with external partners (e.g., DMS-type agency/vendor relationships)
• Conflict resolution and negotiation skills to manage cross-functional friction points and resource constraints.
• Expert knowledge of dealer operations, dealer change management, and onboarding/training processes.
• Strong understanding of automotive lead generation and conversion funnels (lead-to-RO conversion specifically)
• Strong analytical skills to build, monitor, and report on standardized KPIs/metrics across global markets.
• Proven experience setting and tracking adoption targets, usage metrics, and performance baselines.
• Experience building business cases, including ROI/value creation analysis, for technology or program investments.
• Enterprise planning experience — able to synthesize input from multiple stakeholders into a cohesive multi-year business plan.
• Strong program/project management skills, ideally with PMP or Agile/Scrum certification.
• Proven ability to align and drive accountability across IT, Product, Marketing, Go to Market, and Regional Business Units without direct authority (strong influence management skills).

Nice To Haves

• Master of Business Administration (MBA) or equivalent advanced degree.
• Experience launching digital products or platforms in international markets
• Exceptional executive level communication skills.
• Knowledge of connected vehicle data/prognostics systems.
• PMP certification

Responsibilities

• Establish Global Governance: Define, implement, and lead the global management system, operating rhythm, and problem-solving cadence (PDCA) for the service lead program.
• Drive Alignment: Align disparate global stakeholders—including IT, Product, Regional Business Units, Marketing, and FordDirect—around a single, unified global roadmap and set of objectives.
• Run the "Check" Phase: Act as the objective evaluator of progress. Establish and monitor standardized global service lead metrics, holding cross-functional owners accountable when performance or delivery timelines drift from targets.
• Hold IT & Product Accountable: Partner with and hold technical product teams and IT delivery leads accountable to critical milestones.
• Ensure Regional Readiness: Hold regional business and market teams accountable for executing local dealer change management, onboarding, and training plans to ensure successful platform rollout.
• Manage Cross-Functional Dependencies: Proactively identify and resolve friction points, resource constraints, or technical bottlenecks between teams (e.g., ensuring VHA/Prognostics deliver quality leads into VCP as scheduled).
• Enforce Adoption Targets: Hold regional market leaders accountable for driving dealer weekly usage (e.g., achieving and growing % weekly usage in the US) and implementing localized tactics to meet these goals.
• Drive Conversion Focus: Ensure regional operations and dealer relations teams are actively executing initiatives to establish and improve lead-to-RO conversion baselines.
• Lead 2027 Planning: Lead the global enterprise planning and prioritization process for VCP, orchestrating inputs from all stakeholders to build a cohesive 2027 business plan and inform demand planning.
• Govern Business Cases & Funding: Coordinate the development of robust business cases for future service lead expansion, ensuring alignment on value creation, and bring forward recommendations on global team structure, funding, etc.

Benefits

• Immediate medical, dental, vision and prescription drug coverage
• Flexible family care days, paid parental leave, new parent ramp-up programs, subsidized back-up child care and more
• Family building benefits including adoption and surrogacy expense reimbursement, fertility treatments, and more
• Vehicle discount program for employees and family members and management leases
• Tuition assistance
• Established and active employee resource groups
• Paid time off for individual and team community service
• A generous schedule of paid holidays, including the week between Christmas and New Year’s Day
• Paid time off and the option to purchase additional vacation time.

What This Job Offers

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