General Manager of Product

KIA Motors; Sydney; On-site; AUD 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Job summary

Kia Australia seeks an experienced General Manager - Product to define and execute the portfolio strategy for the Australian vehicle lineup, ensuring alignment with market requirements and regulatory standards. You will drive pricing, lifecycle management, and strategic launches across all models.

The role requires strong leadership, market insight, and collaboration with global teams to deliver growth, profitability, and competitive differentiation in Australia.

Qualifications

• Extensive automotive product management experience.
• Proven leadership of large product programs.
• Strong pricing, profitability, and business case skills.
• Excellent stakeholder management with dealers and executives.
• Experience with SAP, JATO, and MS Office.
• Tertiary qualification in Marketing, Engineering, or Business.

Responsibilities

• Develop and execute long-term product and portfolio strategy.
• Lead planning, positioning, specification, and pricing of vehicle programs.
• Oversee product lifecycle across model range.
• Drive profitability and market competitiveness.
• Lead launches and updates of vehicle programs.

Skills

Automotive product management

Market analysis

Pricing strategy

Leadership

Stakeholder management

Cross-functional collaboration

Strategic planning

Project management

Analytical thinking

Australian market knowledge

Education

Marketing, Engineering, or Business degree

Tools

SAP

JATO

Microsoft Office

Job description

We are seeking an experienced General Manager - Product to lead the strategic direction, development, and lifecycle management of Kia's vehicle portfolio in Australia.

You will be responsible for defining and executing Kia's product strategy, ensuring our vehicle line-up aligns with Australian market requirements, customer expectations, regulatory standards, and commercial objectives.

Strategic Product Leadership

• Develop and execute Kia Australia's long-term product and portfolio strategy.
• Lead the planning, positioning, specification, and pricing of all vehicle programs.
• Identify future growth opportunities through market analysis, customer insights, and emerging industry trends.
• Ensure alignment of product strategy with company sales, profitability, and brand objectives.

Product Planning & Portfolio Management

• Oversee the product lifecycle across the entire Kia model range.
• Evaluate global product programs and determine suitability for the Australian market.
• Direct model mix, grade structure, feature content, and competitive positioning strategies.
• Lead the development of product business cases, pricing recommendations, and commercial proposals.

Commercial Performance

• Own vehicle pricing strategy and profitability performance across all model lines.
• Partner with Finance to manage pricing structures, margins, and revenue optimisation initiatives.
• Drive initiatives that maximise volume, profitability, and market competitiveness.

Product Development & Launch Excellence

• Lead collaboration with global Product Planning, R&D, Engineering, and Homologation teams.
• Ensure vehicles are developed and adapted to meet Australian customer expectations and regulatory requirements, including ANCAP and technical compliance standards.
• Oversee all new vehicle launches, product upgrades, and special edition programs.

Market Intelligence & Customer Insights

• Champion market research, competitor benchmarking, customer analysis, and dealer feedback programs.
• Monitor local and global automotive trends to inform future product decisions.
• Translate consumer insights into actionable product strategies.

Leadership & Stakeholder Management

• Lead, mentor, and develop a high-performing Product team.
• Foster strong partnerships with Kia Corporation, regional market teams, dealer networks, and industry stakeholders.
• Act as the executive product representative at dealer conferences, launch events, media activities, and strategic forums.
• Influence cross-functional teams to deliver exceptional product outcomes and organisational results.

You are a strategic product leader with deep automotive industry expertise and a proven ability to influence business performance through effective portfolio and product management.

Skills & Experience

• Significant experience in automotive product management, product planning, or portfolio leadership.
• Demonstrated success leading large-scale product strategies within a complex automotive environment.
• Strong commercial acumen with experience managing pricing, profitability, and business case development.
• Proven leadership experience building and developing high-performing teams.
• Extensive project and stakeholder management capability across local and global environments.
• Advanced analytical, strategic thinking, and decision-making skills.
• Strong knowledge of Australian automotive market dynamics and customer trends.
• Experience with SAP, JATO, and advanced Microsoft Office applications preferred.
• Tertiary qualifications in Marketing, Engineering, Business, or a related discipline.

Why Join Kia Australia?

• Shape the future product direction of one of Australia's most successful automotive brands.
• Lead a critical function with direct influence on business growth and market performance.
• Collaborate with global product, engineering, and innovation teams.
• Contribute to exciting vehicle launch programs and emerging mobility initiatives.
• Join a high-performing and collaborative leadership team.