Global Category Manager - Steering

Category Manager
Country/Region: US

Location: Auburn Hills, MI, US, 48326

Job Description
About the Team:

Our team is dedicated to driving the global strategy for Aftermarket product category Brake control, Air supply, ADAS, Trailer solutions and Steering systems, under the ZF, TRW, WABCO and ProVia brands, focusing on enhancing performance and profitability. We collaborate closely with key stakeholders such as global OE product segment, Aftermarket Division domain functions like portfolio management, operation and commercial excellence, global category service readiness and regional business line & categories, ensuring alignment on key projects and initiatives. With a strong emphasis on growth and profitability, our team manages a portfolio with impressive YoY expansion, overseeing everything “End to End” from strategy definition, product creation, go-to-market, operation and life cycle management for legacy and next-gen technology products. Together, we work to deliver innovative solutions that meet customer needs and position our products for continued success across worldwide markets.

What you can look forward to as a Category Manager:

Monitors and drives strategic initiatives with internal and external stakeholders to secure future revenue streams and support growth.

Validates market potentials and develops business cases based on simulations and analysis to support strategic planning.

Supports and executes go-to-market strategies incl. IAM Service & Workshop concepts and Channel Shift activities, ensuring implementation tracking.

Acts as interface to cross-functional teams to evaluate and drive business opportunities.

Coordinates key global operational topics (e.g. product specifications, pricing alignment, reporting structures).

Drives lifecycle management and cross-divisional competitiveness initiatives with focus on COGS productivity.

Ensures implementation of global strategies to achieve sales, margin and profitability targets, including project delivery and customer requirements.

Enables global NPIs together with Product Management and drives implementation of identified improvement potentials.

Your Profile as a Category Manager:

Bachelor’s degree in a related discipline with a Sales/Marketing/Business Development background

8+ years of experience in Automotive Aftermarket OES/IAM business

Experience in product management, product marketing, or category management, preferably in the automotive industry

Good knowledge of commercial vehicle products, footprint, structures, and processes

Strong commercial and controlling understanding combined with strategic and analytical thinking and active execution of product strategy targets

Excellent analytical, problem-solving, and project management skills

Entrepreneurial mindset with creative and unconventional thinking capabilities

Strong negotiation, influencing, and global networking skills with ability to build trustful relationships with internal and external stakeholders

Strong drive for results while developing competences and team empowerment within the Aftermarket organization

What We Offer:

A supportive collaborative team environment

Annual Incentive Plan

Paid Vacation

401k Plan

Health Care Benefits

Paid Holidays

A Hybrid Work Schedule (2 days remote/3 days onsite)

Supportive Employee Groups and community outreach activities

Our company is committed to the principles of Equal Employment Opportunity and to providing reasonable accommodations to applicants with physical and/or mental disabilities. If you are interested in applying for employment with us and are in need of accommodation or special assistance to navigate our website or to complete your application, please contact us. Requests for reasonable accommodation will be considered on a case-by-case basis. ZF is an Equal Opportunity and affirmative action employer and is committed to ensuring equal employment opportunities for all job applicants and employees. Employment decisions are based upon job-related reasons regardless of an applicant’s race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, national origin, disability, marital status, genetic information, protected veteran status, or any other status protected by law. Equal Employment Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer M/F/Disability/Veteran

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