SUMMARY

The Program Manger is responsible for the overall management of current production and/or launch seating programs. Focused on managing multiple “projects” that make up a program. Manages periodic engineering changes, customer and supplier related issues, service parts, warranty improvement, and overall program profitability. Responsible for the effective execution of the overall PLUS process and achieving 0-0-100-100-90 launch performance (depends on launch or current production). May oversee multiple product launches within a given program.

RESPONSIBILITIES

• Leadership: Lead the Simultaneous Development Team (SDT) in a professional way to the customer and Adient management.  Motivate the team to meet commitments to the established timing.  Build team technically and personally through mentoring and coaching.  Resolve conflicts between team members, departments and the customer.  Negotiate with internal and external groups, vendors and the customer.  Ability to identify the root cause of a problem, develop corrective action and lead team to resolution.  Potentially lead other Program Managers, Project Managers, or Project Coordinators. Experience launching new product, new process, new plant or launches within multiple regions.  Effective communication, collaboration, and leadership are the hallmark of a PM. 

• Simultaneous Development Team (SDT) Management: Act as the central communication point for the SDT to ensure that each SDT member is always aware of their deliverables and timing commitments .  Trains and coaches the SDT in Adient Product Launch processes to ensure compliance.  Manages the SDT to meet timing, cost, manufacturing, quality and cost targets.  Establishes the SDT meeting cadence and monitors attendance to ensure the correct team members are present at each meeting.  Creates agenda, schedules meetings, keeps the meeting on task and issues minutes.  Provides team information needed to perform tasks.  Actively includes key suppliers as a member of the team.  PMs are highly skilled and experienced at leading effective SDT meetings including the use of collaboration and communication tools.

• Scope Management: Communicate the impact of scope changes to the customer and SDT in a timely manner in terms of cost, timing, product, quality of execution and the impact on the program.  Publish the SOW and SSOWs and ensure all scope changes are captured in the documents.  Utilize the PD-3 approval process for internal and customer scope changes.  Differentiate scope changes from engineering changes.  Manage the risk of scope changes and keep management informed of change and the effect on the program.  Ensure that financial performance is protected and enhanced by customer driven scope changes.  PMs are highly skilled at effectively mitigating the risks of scope changes and proactively managing scope changes with the customer.

• 0-0-100-100-90 Planning:  Plan and achieve 0 recordable incidents, 0 rejected parts per million, 100% delivery on-time, 100% of Capital Appropriation Request (CAR) commitments at 90 days post launch.  Anticipate risk caused by late tasks and changes by developing mitigation strategies.  Establish a documented implementation plan and containment action for engineering changes at launch.  Work with suppliers to ensure all necessary resources are in place for launch.  Provide on-site plant support throughout pre-production builds.  Follow up on MESO & LMSO deliverables to ensure plant material functions are ready.  Foster effective working relationship between Plant launch team and the CBU based team. Maintains and manages scope changes.  Bundles late changes into pre-launch and post-launch buckets to keep risk manageable.  Drives the teams focus on achieving 0-0-100-100-90 launch performance from the onset of the program.

• Financial Roadmap & Financial Reporting:  Schedules Finance SDT meeting once a month from Development Start through the Post Launch Gate.  Meets the financial targets of the program and manages Financial Roadmap dates, actions and costs.  Solid financial base to understand how to utilize the SDT to impact financial measures and the relationship between financial measures. Ensures the product(s) is(are) designed to meet BOM cost targets by facilitating between engineering and finance.  PMs have a high degree of business acumen and lead the team in achieving program financial commitments.

• Timing: Ability to create program deliverable timing with customer milestones/deliverables used as the foundation.  Gate timing developed from a timeline that meets Adient and customer firewalls.  Ensures the timeline and related timing documents (i.e. prototype schedule, CAD schedule, Parts Matrix, etc.) are consistent.  Program timeline is utilized in weekly SDT meetings to clearly communicate deliverables and due dates.  Responsible for on-time Gate exit reviews, regardless of whether the exit can be achieved.  Creates issues list that is clear and concise with due dates and deliverables.  PMs are highly skilled at effectively managing all aspects of program timing both internally and with the customer.

• Product:  Responsible for leading team to meet Craftsmanship objectives and action planning to address any gaps.  Audit customer samples for customer satisfaction via Customer Shipping Approval Review.  Manage CAD schedule, prototype build schedule, and testing schedule and ensure any gaps are addressed to meet the program timeline.  Audit ED, DV, and PV testing results and manage timing and corrective actions to support the launch.  Facilitates change management meeting.  Meets applicable product requirements including specifications, functional expectations and FMVSS requirements.

• Customer Satisfaction: Fosters an effective personal working relationship with appropriate customer contacts.  Maintains Adient and personal credibility with the customer.  Recognized by the customer as the key contact for program implementation.  Meets dates and commitments via customer open issues list which directs the team for prompt responses.  Communicates with data for scope changes with cost, quality and timing impacts.  Gains internal consensus on scope changes prior to communicating to the customer.  Archives and retains key customer correspondence and documents.  Maintains regular contact with the customer to communicate problems early.  Does not avoid difficult issues or decisions. Understands customer’s organization and procedures in detail.

• Global Management Skills: Can function in a different culture while matching his/her interpersonal style to the culture they are working in.  Demonstrates awareness, interest and respect for different cultures. 

EXPERIENCE

• 5+ years of related work experience.

• Experience with complete seat, interiors, or metals preferred.