General Manager Product Planning

Kia Australia Pty Ltd; Sydney; On-site; AUD 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Job summary

Kia Australia Pty Ltd seeks an experienced General Manager - Product Planning to lead strategic direction, development, and lifecycle management of Kia's vehicle portfolio in Australia.

This executive role drives long-term product strategy, pricing, market insights, regulatory alignment (ANCAP), and collaboration with global teams to deliver competitive launches and sustained growth. You will mentor a high-performing team and partner with Finance, R&D, and dealers.

Qualifications

• Significant experience in automotive product management or portfolio leadership.
• Proven success directing large-scale product strategies in automotive settings.
• Strong commercial acumen with pricing, profitability, and business cases.
• Proven leadership building high-performing teams.
• Extensive cross-functional, local and global stakeholder management.
• Analytical thinking, strategic mindset, decisive action.
• Deep knowledge of Australian market dynamics and trends.
• Experience with SAP, JATO, and Microsoft Office tools.
• Tertiary qualifications in Marketing, Engineering or related field.

Responsibilities

• Develop long-term product and portfolio strategy.
• Lead planning, positioning, specification, and pricing of vehicle programs.
• Identify growth opportunities through market analysis and insights.
• Ensure alignment with sales, profitability and brand objectives.
• Oversee product lifecycle across the model range.
• Evaluate global programs for Australian suitability and compliance.

Skills

Product management

Portfolio leadership

Pricing strategy

Stakeholder management

Team leadership

Analytics

Australian market

SAP/JATO

MS Office

Education

Marketing

Engineering

Business

Tools

SAP

JATO

MS Office

Job description

We are seeking an experienced General Manager - Product Planning 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.

About You

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.