Portfolio Product Definition Manager

Forseven, a revolutionary company that will transform the EV industry through cutting-edge technology and innovative engineering practices, is seeking an exceptional Portfolio Product Definition Manager to join our highly skilled and dynamic Product Team.

This pivotal role will operate in a hybrid capacity from one of our offices near Guildford or Warwick and the successful candidate will have the rare opportunity to build the team, tools and processes that will support the definition of our unique product portfolio.

What you will do
We are looking for a Portfolio Product Definition Manager to join the rapidly growing Product team at Forseven. Reporting to the Head of Product Management, you will be responsible for the curation, governance and delivery of Product Definition systems, tools and processes. This includes the rare opportunity to pioneer clean sheet system solutions, together with the integration of existing systems from our corporate partners.

You will own and lead the strategy definition and execution for Product Configuration Lifecycle Management; prioritising a single-source-of-truth mindset for product data across all stakeholders as a fundamental backbone of the new Forseven Enterprise Architecture.

You will recruit, manage and lead a small team responsible for Product configuration, libraries and product definition operations. You will support and nurture a culture of collaborative innovation which can challenge convention, powered by diverse experiences, a critical thinking approach and strong inter-personal relationships.

Specific responsibilities will include:

Product Definition systems & tools
Lead the strategy, integration and population of the digital toolset to support Product Definition and Configuration Lifecycle Management for business-wide use, working closely with the IT, Manufacturing and Engineering teams.

Lead the integration of Product Strategy, Definition and Management systems from FORSEVEN partner organisations, including processes and governance, working closely with the IT, Manufacturing and Engineering teams.

Design, establish and maintain the Product Definition data schema, including feature coding library, x-portfolio naming conventions and product dictionaries, for consistent cross business and Product usage.

Integrate digital product twins within the system design to support the delivery of enhanced customer experience and understanding via fleet analytics and insights.

Enable interfaces for key stakeholders to consume and work with a single source of product definition truth throughout the Product lifecycle.

Support other stakeholders to ensure critical system up-time, redundancy and archiving functionality for business continuity and integrity.

Product Definition processes and operations
Develop standardised inputs/outputs and interfaces to support Product activities.

Support the different stakeholder requirements through the CLM lifecycle including the use of parallel systems for efficient concept development and in-cycle or Model Year activities.

Create and lead the governance for ongoing evolution of the product definition feature library, including naming conventions and coding.

Enable Product data outputs and modifications from external functional stakeholders including Engineering, Manufacturing, Procurement, Finance and Sales.

Develop and communicate insights into product configuration and business level impacts to support cross-functional teams in striving to optimise total business benefits.

Work closely with Sales and Market leads to ensure that market specific Product and legal requirements and changes are accurately integrated in the CLM systems.

Product Definition Governance
Initiate the governance and change control forums for all product definition matters.

We would like you to have:
A proactive and ambitious approach; highly motivated and desiring accountability.

An open and transparent communication style with the ability to build influential relationships at all levels of the business.

A sincere responsibility for personal development and a genuine passion to develop extensive relevant product knowledge.

Direct experience of working in a fast-paced startup environment or be able to demonstrate that you can thrive in a less-structured adaptable setting.

A deep automotive (or complex digital) product understanding, together with the information management systems required to define them, including concepts of: software defined features, digital twins and product/configuration lifecycles.

A highly analytical but creative mindset that can create order and control to manage complexity and/or ambiguity.

Professional Qualification (degree or higher) ideally in Engineering, IT, Business or Marketing.

5+ years post qualification experience with a Product, Strategy, Design, Engineering or Marketing, ideally within a global automotive OEM.

PC systems literacy – highly competent with Microsoft Office environment and a familiarity with JIRA/Confluence and MIRO tools.

Fluency with English language.

Ideally, you may also have:
A familiarity with the typical content of a vehicle product development programme.

Additional language skills, including Chinese.

Experience with delivering low-code tools.

Up-to-date knowledge of global automotive legislative and regulatory environment.