Sr. Manager, OEM Programs

Be essential at Cars Commerce

At Cars Commerce, we’re fanatical about simplifying everything about car buying and selling. We do right by our customers and consumers to better connect the industry with simplified and tierless technology to enhance, measure and drive local automotive retail. Whether through our No.1 most recognized marketplace, Cars.com, our industry-leading digital experience, Dealer Inspire, our trade and appraisal technology, AccuTrade, or our new Cars Commerce Media Network, Cars Commerce is essential for success in the automotive industry.  

No one ever travels alone here: at its core, Cars Commerce is collaboration. In fact, it’s built into the very fabric of our shared values. We like to say we Rise Together – putting people at the center of what we do, from consumer to customer to community. Life at Cars Commerce makes it easy when we share the ethos to be Open to All, encouraging open-minded communication because we know diverse thinking yields better outcomes. But critical to our success is Caring to Challenge and Taking Ownership, fueling a competitive spirit in a respectful environment where we think about tomorrow but act today. At our foundation, we have integrity, Doing the Right Thing, even when it’s hard. It’s our shared commitment to these values that makes Cars Commerce a place where growth becomes not only possible, but downright unavoidable.

But don’t take our word for it. As a U.S. News & World Report Best Company to Work For in 2024, we're obsessive about the employee experience. We are among the top 20% being declared “Best” of our industry based on six critical factors that are important to employee wellbeing, like quality of pay, benefits, work life balance and more.

About the Position:

Dealer Inspire / Cars Commerce is a certified provider of multiple products and services within many automotive Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) programs. These certifications allow for franchise dealer enrollments and significantly contribute to the market penetration of products and revenue generated for the company. The Senior Manager, OEM Program Management will lead a team of OEM Program Managers to successfully manage business objectives, client relationships and work pipelines necessary to maintain and grow these OEM program affiliations.

This Senior Manager will be a dynamic, confident and transformative leader for a team of OEM Program Managers, well-versed in software technology and digital marketing and who excels in developing people and client relationships. This team will work in direct relationships with OEM clients to lead and manage the work request pipeline, facilitate business meetings, identify and consult to new opportunities, and troubleshoot/resolve issues. Members of this team will be the business points of contact, partnering and interacting closely with Technical Program Managers to service each program’s technical needs. This team will also coordinate and build strong relationships with internal Technology, Product, Operations, Marketing, and Sales departments for ensuring the successful implementation and high-quality delivery of all program strategy, growth, and technical opportunities and deliverables.

OEM program pipelines include both routine maintenance efforts as well as the introduction of more complex integrations and large-scale projects requiring OEM Program Management in full partnership with Technical Program Management to help set expectations, evaluate priorities, understand desired outcomes and manage a project plan and roadmap to ensure smooth execution. The role of Senior Manager will oversee these activities across multiple programs, providing direction to team members, resolving priority conflicts, and maintaining a rollup view and client roadmap of the overall work pipeline related to managing these programs. Additionally, the Senior Manager will operate in close partnership with leaders across Technology, Product, Operations, Marketing, and Sales departments to continuously evolve and improve processes, align on priorities and timelines, discuss needed resource allocation, and provide analysis of program technical needs against business objectives.

The primary goals of the Senior Manager, OEM Program Management role are to balance the needs and wants of OEM programs against internal business goals and resource priorities while developing and leading the members of the team for the client strategy and relationships. The ideal candidate is a proven leader with thorough experience building and maintaining high-efficiency workflows, personnel/relationship development processes, accountability for client deliverables, and communication channels for direct