Sr. Lead Product Owner

Cars.com Holdings Canada Inc.; Quebec; Hybrid; CAD 156,000 - 196,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, Dental & Vision Healthcare

New Hire Stipend for Home Office

Generous PTO

Paid Holidays

Floating Holiday

Volunteer Day

Recharge Day

Job summary

Cars Commerce, a remote-first company in Canada, seeks a Senior Lead Product Owner to own the strategy, launch, and growth of dealer services across Canada. You will drive adoption, define service scopes, and partner with sales, delivery, and product teams to deliver measurable value for automotive dealerships.

You will shape pricing, packaging, and delivery models, lead cross-functional teams, and ensure stable operations and high dealer satisfaction while scaling new services.

Qualifications

• 7+ years in dealership operations or a dealer-facing role (e.g., BDC Manager, F&I / Business Manager, Service Manager, General Manager, or dealer performance consultant).
• Hands-on expertise in at least one of BDC, F&I, or service and customer retention, with working knowledge of the others.
• Proven track record of launching or growing a service sold to dealers, or turning around a dealership department with measurable results.

Responsibilities

• Own the vision, roadmap, and business results for a portfolio of dealer services.
• Grow adoption of existing dealer services across Canada and define best-practice processes for lead response, appointment setting, and handoffs.
• Define AI-powered tools deployment across dealer services and collaborate with AI/data science teams to scale what works.
• Build the business case and go-to-market plan for new dealer services in Canada and pilot with early dealers.

Skills

Dealership operations

BDC management

F&I / Business management

Service management

Dealership CRM tools

DMS tools

Cross-functional leadership

AI/automation in dealerships

Communication skills

Bilingual English/French

Tools

CRM tools

DMS tools

Job description

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, our reputation-based digital wholesale auction marketplace, Dealerclub, 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.

Ready to make your mark? Join a team that's driving real change in the automotive industry.

Summary

The Sr. Lead Product Owner leads the strategy, launch, and growth of a portfolio of dealer services designed to help automotive dealerships generate more appointments, close more deals, and retain more customers. This role focuses on growing adoption of our existing dealer services across Canada and launching new services our dealers already buy from third parties today. It calls for deep dealership operations expertise rather than a technical background: this person owns the products, and the teams around them sell, deliver, and build them. The Sr. Lead Product Owner ensures each service delivers measurable business value and is backed by stable operations and strong support processes, driving dealer performance, revenue growth, and long‑term dealer retention.

About the role

[Remote and must be based in the Montreal or Quebec City area. May require onsite interviews] Join us in shaping a future of Automotive Commerce in Canada. D2C Media builds solutions for automotive dealerships, manufacturers, and consumers. Our driving force is to deliver a single platform that simplifies everything about buying and selling cars. The D2C Media Team drives our Dealer Websites, CRM, Inventory management and our AI driven platforms. We are on a transformational journey, building innovative and integrated services that redefine how we deliver value to our customers. As a Senior Lead Product Owner on our D2C Media Team, you will lead the strategy, launch, and growth of a portfolio of dealer services designed to help automotive dealerships generate more appointments, close more deals, and retain more customers. This is an exceptional opportunity to shape the future of our platform and drive meaningful change at scale, making a lasting impact within the automotive industry.

About You

• 7+ years in dealership operations or a dealer‑facing role (e.g., BDC Manager, F&I / Business Manager, Service Manager, General Manager, or dealer performance consultant).
• Hands‑on expertise in at least one of BDC, F&I, or service and customer retention, with working knowledge of the others.
• Proven track record of launching or growing a service sold to dealers, or turning around a dealership department with measurable results.
• Strong understanding of dealership economics and the ability to build a simple, credible business case.
• Confident user of dealer CRM and DMS tools.
• No technical or coding background required.
• Ability to lead through influence, driving results with sales, delivery, and product teams you don’t directly manage.
• Experience applying AI and automation tools in a dealership or dealer‑facing environment; comfortable defining how they should work, without needing to build them.
• Strong communication and interpersonal skills; organized and able to work with minimal supervision.
• Bilingualism, French and English.
• Canadian automotive retail experience.

Why You'll Be Excited About This Role

• Portfolio Strategy & Ownership: Own the vision, roadmap, and business results for a portfolio of dealer services. Define each service offer: scope, service levels, packaging, and pricing input. Act as the voice of the dealer, translating dealership realities into clear priorities for the teams that build and deliver each service.
• Grow Existing Services: Increase adoption of our existing dealer services across our Canadian dealer base. Define best‑practice dealership processes, from lead response and follow‑up to appointment setting, show rate, and handoff to the sales floor.
• AI Conversion & Optimization: Define how AI‑powered tools such as intelligent chat, voice assistants, predictive lead scoring, and automated follow‑ups are applied across our dealer services. Identify where AI and automation can improve dealer results, and where the human touch matters most. Continuously optimize the dealer and shopper journey, from first contact to appointment, sale, and ongoing service. Partner with AI and data science teams to set requirements, validate results, and scale what works.
• Launch New Services: Build the business case and go‑to‑market plan for new dealer services in Canada. Define the service delivery model with the internal teams and partners who will deliver it. Pilot with early dealers, prove results, and scale.
• Sales & Delivery Enablement: Equip sales teams with positioning, pitch materials, ROI stories, and competitive comparisons. Define onboarding, delivery playbooks, and quality standards for the teams delivering each service.
• Cross‑Functional Leadership: Collaborate with engineering, AI/data science, UX, marketing, sales, and delivery teams to deliver high‑impact services and features. Align roadmaps with the Cars Commerce and dealer technology ecosystem. Lead through influence, driving results with teams you don’t directly manage.
• Stability, Support & Retention: Ensure each service runs on stable operations and a clear, responsive support process. Monitor service quality and dealer satisfaction, and address issues before they put retention at risk.
• Performance & Stakeholder Engagement: Define and track key KPIs, including adoption, recurring revenue, dealer retention, and dealer performance results (appointments, show rate, sales, and campaign ROI). Build trusted relationships with internal teams, dealerships, and partners. Communicate progress, performance, wins, and risks to leadership.

We're Excited About You

• In the spirit of pay transparency, we are excited to share the base salary range for this position.
• In addition to base salary, some roles are eligible for our bonus and/or equity programs, depending on level and role.
• Regular full‑time positions are eligible for our comprehensive benefits package.
• If you are hired at Cars Commerce, your final base salary compensation will be determined based on factors such as skills and/or experience.
• If the salary range is close to what you’re seeking, then we encourage you to apply and learn more about the total compensation package for this position.

Salary Range

Salary Range $156,400.00-195,500.00

Benefits

• Medical, Dental & Vision Healthcare Plans
• New Hire Stipend for Home Office Set-Up
• Generous PTO
• Paid Holidays
• Floating Holiday
• Volunteer Day
• Recharge Day
• Learn more about our Benefits, Perks, & Culture on our LinkedIn Life Pages!

Eligibility

For US‑based Positions: Applicants must be authorized to work in the United States. Please note that we are unable to sponsor employment visas at this time.

Equal Opportunity

We are an equal opportunity employer and value diversity at our company. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status.

Welcome!

Welcome! At Cars Commerce, we think big, push boundaries, and rise together as a team. It’s all the challenge and energy of a job in the tech industry, backed by 25 years of proven resilience and growth as a leading consumer brand.

Imagine getting to work on a team with a bold mission to simplify everything about buying and selling cars. A culture that’s a unique mix of innovation and collaboration. Exciting training and development opportunities that empower you to take ownership of your career. For our employees, every day is an opportunity. We’re a remote‑first workplace that embraces diversity at every level. Inspired by our values, we intentionally create opportunities for our employees to grow and make an impact in our industry and local communities. Let’s move your career forward together.

Company Overview

Cars Commerce is an audience‑driven technology company empowering automotive that simplifies everything about buying and selling cars. The Cars Commerce platform includes the flagship automotive marketplace and dealer reputation site Cars.com, innovative digital marketing technology and services from Dealer Inspire, industry‑leading trade‑in and appraisal technology from AccuTrade, an exclusive in‑market media network, and powerful and predictive AI technologies that enable more efficient and profitable retail operations. Cars Commerce is the essential partner to stay one step ahead in automotive.