Head of Localisation, CKD Operations

Jobstreet Malaysia; Kuala Lumpur; On-site; MYR 200,000 - 250,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading automotive company in Malaysia seeks a Head of Localisation to develop and execute localisation strategies for CKD vehicle operations. The ideal candidate will have at least 10 years of automotive manufacturing experience, including 5 years in a leadership role, and possess strong negotiation and communication skills. This role involves engaging with local suppliers, ensuring compliance with regulations, and developing local content initiatives. A competitive salary is offered.

Qualifications

• Minimum 10 years of experience in automotive manufacturing or localisation, with at least 5 years in a leadership role.
• Strong understanding of CKD operations, supplier development, and local content regulations in Malaysia.
• Familiarity with Chinese automotive systems or experience working with Chinese OEMs is a strong advantage.

Responsibilities

• Develop and implement a comprehensive localisation roadmap.
• Identify localisation opportunities to increase local content.
• Ensure compliance with government localisation requirements.
• Liaise with government agencies on localisation matters.

Skills

Negotiation skills

Communication skills

Stakeholder management

Analytical capabilities

Project management

Fluency in English

Fluency in Bahasa Malaysia

Proficiency in Mandarin

Education

Bachelor’s Degree in Mechanical Engineering, Industrial Engineering, Supply Chain Management or related field

Master’s Degree or MBA

Job description

The Head of Localisation is responsible for developing and executing localisation strategies for company’s CKD (Completely Knocked Down) vehicle operations. The role focuses on achieving cost competitiveness, local content targets, supplier development, and ensuring compliance with Malaysia’s automotive localisation and industrial policies. This position plays a key role in aligning company’s localisation roadmap with the company’s overall manufacturing, procurement, and product strategy.

Key Responsibilities

• Develop and implement a comprehensive localisation roadmap for CKD operations in alignment with company’s business objectives.
• Identify localisation opportunities to increase local content and reduce import dependency.
• Work closely with Product Planning, Engineering to define localisation priorities by model and part category.
• Ensure compliance with MITI’s Industrial Linkage Program (ILP), EEV, New Customised Mechanism (NCM) and other relevant government localisation requirements.
• Identify, evaluate, and onboard capable local suppliers for CKD components and parts.
• Lead supplier capability assessment and technical audits to meet SAIC quality, cost, and delivery standards.
• Develop strategic partnerships with key Tier-1 and Tier-2 suppliers to strengthen local supply chain resilience.
• Facilitate technology transfer and localisation collaboration between company’s China operations and Malaysian suppliers.

3. Cost, Quality & Delivery Performance

• Drive localisation cost competitiveness through value engineering, vendor negotiation, and tooling investment optimization.
• Monitor supplier quality performance, ensuring compliance with company’s global quality management systems (QMS).

4. Cross-functional Collaboration

• Coordinate with Engineering, Production to ensure localisation readiness for each new CKD model launch.
• Support homologation and regulatory approval processes for locally sourced components.
• Collaborate with Finance and Logistics teams to optimize total landed cost of local vs imported components.

5. Government & Stakeholder Engagement

• Liaise with government agencies such as MITI, MARii, MIDA, and Customs on localisation, EEV, and import duty matters.
• Support policy advocacy and industry engagement to strengthen company’s localisation initiatives.

Qualifications & Requirements

Education:

• Bachelor’s Degree in Mechanical Engineering, Industrial Engineering, Supply Chain Management, or related field.
• Master’s Degree or MBA is an advantage.

Experience:

• Minimum 10 years of experience in automotive manufacturing or localisation, with at least 5 years in a leadership role.
• Strong understanding of CKD operations, supplier development, and local content regulations in Malaysia.
• Proven experience in localisation projects with major OEMs or Tier-1 suppliers.
• Familiarity with Chinese automotive systems or experience working with Chinese OEMs is a strong advantage.
• Deep knowledge of automotive component manufacturing and supply chain dynamics.
• Excellent negotiation, communication, and stakeholder management skills.
• Strong analytical and project management capabilities.
• Ability to work cross-culturally and manage multi-functional teams.
• Fluent in English and Bahasa Malaysia; Mandarin proficiency is preferred.

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

• Local content achievement (%) per model
• Local supplier development targets (No. of approved vendors, quality metrics)
• Cost reduction and value engineering savings
• On-time localisation readiness for new CKD models
• Compliance with government localisation requirements

Your application will include the following questions:

• Which of the following statements best describes your right to work in Malaysia?
• What's your expected monthly basic salary?
• Which of the following types of qualifications do you have?

Syhoon Human Resources International Limited

Rawang, Selangor, MY

13h ago