REQUIREMENTS Affirmative Action South African Citizen Bachelor Degree/ Diploma in Commerce/ Engineering/ Finance/ Marketing 5 years product planning experience in the automotive industry (preferable) 2 years of experience in engineering, sales forecasting, markets research or brand management would be beneficial ESSENTIAL SKILLS Strategic and conceptual thinking capability Sound understanding of Marketing/ Sales Sound understanding of the market and competitive environment Well-developed analytical skills Good communication skills (oral and written) The ability to speak German is beneficial Ability and inclination to work with detail High level of computing skills and in-depth knowledge of group MBV systems Presentation skills (internal and external e.g.
PPT and Dealer Council) Ability to interact with customers under different situations Structured Project management abilities Negotiation skills RESPONSIBILITIES Development of strategic product plans which optimize the competitive advantage of the company's passenger vehicle brand and secure the planned volumes and market share Management of product specification through the vehicle order, production and wholesale process and systems to ensure that local and FBU vehicles are correctly positioned, ordered, manufactured and accurately priced Management of product and customer requirement research Continually benchmark the company's products vs competitor offerings and monitor industry developments for threats and opportunities to propose appropriate action Development of strategic product plans to meet customer requirements (i.e.
rationale, range, specification, positioning, pricing, volumes and model mix) Implementation of product plans as marketing representative in cross-divisional project team meetings, PPT and Pilot Hall Coordination of meetings with and negotiating product Development of product information bulletins for the dealer organization regarding all product innovations or changes Approval of point-of-sale material in terms of product specification in text, visuals and tables for accuracy (includes website specification and pricing) Management and implementation of unique product requirements for the car rental/ government market via cross-divisional interaction Supervision of the price indexing methodology to ensure correct price positioning and model build-up for all products relative to competitors Planning and implementation of feasibility studies for potential models to be imported into South Africa, including vehicle clinics Supervising the new vehicle introduction process to ensure all deadlines are met and launches are not delayed Ensure accurate vehicle specification sheets and order templates are delivered by the department on a timely basis Ensure that the Functional Unit ordering process is operating efficiently to ensure all units are available by launch Management of the vehicle specification tables in the SAP Sales Distribution system which controls the wholesale pricing of all vehicles