Senior Sales Manager

Faurecia • Auburn Hills, MI

10d • Onsite

About The Position

At FORVIA Seating, the Senior Sales Manager plays a strategic, end‑to-end leadership role, owning customer relationships from business acquisition through serial life. With a high level of autonomy and accountability, you act as the primary customer reference, driving trust, profitable growth, and long‑term partnerships.
Based at our Auburn Hills R&D Center, you are fully responsible for a customer portfolio, including commercial strategy, negotiations, program profitability, and team mentorship. You operate as the business owner for your perimeter, with direct responsibility for P&L performance and sustainable growth.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Engineering, Finance, or a related field (Master’s degree preferred).
• 10+ years of experience in automotive sales, with strong exposure to OEM customers.
• Demonstrated success in business acquisition, complex negotiations, and full P&L ownership.
• Solid understanding of program management, cost structures, and commercial governance.
• Proven ability to operate with a high level of autonomy, make sound decisions, and manage complex, high‑stakes situations.
• Strong communication, leadership, and stakeholder management skills.
• Experience with Class A products; seating experience is a strong plus.

Nice To Haves

• Previous experience managing GM accounts is highly preferred.

Responsibilities

• Own the customer relationship from acquisition to serial life, acting as the single point of accountability.
• Build and maintain trusted, executive‑level relationships with customer Purchasing, Engineering, Program, and Finance organizations.
• Define and execute the customer commercial strategy, aligned with FORVIA Seating objectives.
• Represent FORVIA as a credible, strategic partner, capable of influencing customer decisions and long‑term roadmaps.
• Monitor competitive landscape and proactively position FORVIA to win and protect business.
• Initiate and support business development activities, including customer technology days, trade shows, and targeted commercial campaigns, to promote FORVIA Seating innovations and drive growth with assigned customers.
• Lead all RFQs, nominations, and commercial negotiations for your customer portfolio.
• Define pricing strategies, negotiation paths, and risk mitigation plans.
• Ensure offers are robust, competitive, compliant, and aligned with internal governance.
• Secure profitable business awards while balancing customer expectations, internal constraints, and long‑term margin targets
• Own the full P&L for the assigned customer portfolio, including program financials and overall customer profitability.
• Ensure disciplined management of pricing, margins, tooling recovery, commercial claims, and lifecycle profitability.
• Define, track, and deliver against key performance indicators (KPIs) related to sales growth, margin, cash, and customer performance.
• Proactively identify financial risks and opportunities, and lead corrective or value‑creation actions to secure targets.
• Report performance transparently and drive accountability across cross‑functional teams.
• Mentor, coach, and develop Sales Managers / Sales Engineers within your scope.
• Set clear objectives, ensure accountability, and foster a high‑performance, team‑oriented culture.
• Act as a role model for ownership mindset, professionalism, and customer centricity.
• Work cross‑functionally with Engineering, Purchasing, Finance, Program Management, and Operations.

Benefits

• At Forvia, you will find an engaging and dynamic environment where you can contribute to the development of sustainable mobility leading technologies.
• We are the seventh-largest global automotive supplier, employing more than 157,000 people in more than 40 countries which makes a lot of opportunity for career development.
• We welcome energetic and agile people who can thrive in a fast-changing environment. People who share our strong values. Team players with a collaborative mindset and a passion to deliver high standards for our clients. Lifelong learners. High performers. Globally minded people who aspire to work in a transforming industry, where excellence, speed, and quality count.
• We cultivate a learning environment, dedicating tools and resources to ensure we remain at the forefront of mobility. Our people enjoy an average of more than 22 hours of online and in-person training within FORVIA University (five campuses around the world)
• We offer a multicultural environment that values diversity and international collaboration. We believe that diversity is a strength. To create an inclusive culture where all forms of diversity create real value for the company, we have adopted gender diversity targets and inclusion action plans.
• Achieving CO2 Net Zero as a pioneer of the automotive industry is a priority: In June 2022, Forvia became the first global automotive group to be certified with the new SBTI Net-Zero Standard (the most ambitious standard of SBTi), aligned with the ambition of the 2015 Paris Agreement of limiting global warming to 1.5°C. Three principles guide our action: use less, use better and use longer, with a focus on recyclability and circular economy.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level
• Number of Employees: 5,001-10,000 employees