Senior OEM Commercial Leader — Growth & Strategy

Challenge Mfg. Company LLC; Walker, Northern (MI, KY); Hybrid; USD 150,000 - 210,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

ESOP shares

401k match

Tuition reimbursement

Referral Bonus Program

Paid time off

Job summary

Challenge Manufacturing is seeking a Senior Business Manager to lead the commercial performance and growth of OEM accounts, overseeing profitability and alignment between customer expectations and internal execution.

The role requires automotive industry experience, strong financial acumen, and the ability to influence cross-functional teams; travel may be required to support customer objectives.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree required; MBA or advanced degree preferred.
• 10+ years in automotive OEM Sales or Commercial Leadership.
• Proven experience leading Account Management and/or Business Development teams.
• Strong negotiation, communication, and relationship-building skills with OEM customers.

Responsibilities

• Serve as the primary commercial interface to OEM customers across Purchasing, Engineering, Quality, and Program Management.
• Lead customer negotiations on pricing, tooling, recoveries, inflationary adjustments, and long-term agreements.
• Represent the company in customer reviews, sourcing discussions, and escalation forums with a strong executive presence.
• Own full commercial performance of assigned accounts, including revenue, margin, EBITDA contribution, and forecast accuracy.
• Develop and execute account strategies aligned with OEM platforms, sourcing cycles, and future vehicle pipelines.
• Partner with Finance to monitor cost performance, margin expansion, and variance to quote.
• Support budget development, forecasting, and long-range planning activities.
• Identify, position, and secure new business opportunities, including takeaways, resourcing, and competitive displacement.
• Analyze OEM sourcing strategies, platform roadmaps, and market dynamics to inform growth strategy.
• Provide insights into key industry trends, including EV transition, material cost shifts, and regional demand changes.
• Support broader strategic initiatives such as customer segmentation, portfolio optimization, and diversification.
• Lead RFQ execution from receipt through submission, ensuring alignment on cost, capacity, and technical feasibility.
• Ensure a seamless transition from award to launch by aligning commercial commitments with Program Management and Operations.
• Support APQP milestones and ensure all commercial deliverables, pricing, tooling recovery, and scope alignment—are achieved.
• Monitor launch performance and proactively address commercial risks, including cost overruns and customer penalties.
• Drive coordination across Engineering, Operations, Supply Chain, Quality, and Program Management to ensure customer expectations are met.
• Align commercial commitments with operational capabilities to enable sustainable execution.
• Maintain strong engagement with plant operations to understand constraints, risks, and improvement opportunities.
• Influence decision-making across the organization without direct authority, driving accountability and results.
• Establish and manage account scorecards and KPIs, including OTD, PPM, margin, and launch performance.
• Lead resolution of commercial open items, including pricing disputes, past dues, tooling, claims, and engineering changes.
• Drive continuous improvement initiatives focused on cost reduction, efficiency, and customer satisfaction.

Skills

Account Management

Commercial Leadership

Negotiation

Relationship Building

Financial Acumen

Strategic Thinking

Microsoft Office

CRM Platforms

Travel Readiness

Education

Bachelor’s degree

MBA or advanced degree preferred

Tools

CRM platforms

Sales analytics tools

Job description

Challenge Manufacturing is seeking a Senior Business Manager to lead the commercial performance and growth of OEM accounts, overseeing profitability and alignment between customer expectations and internal execution.

The role requires automotive industry experience, strong financial acumen, and the ability to influence cross-functional teams; travel may be required to support customer objectives.