Purpose of the role:

The key purpose of this role is to manage relationships and act as the conduit between Volkswagen Financial Services Australia (‘VWFSA’) and Brands including non-brand. This position is responsible for fostering a strong partnership between both businesses to achieve joint objectives. This will be achieved through strategic management and cooperation between brand directors and their respective teams. The ability to work across all aspects of both businesses and at all levels of management is imperative to this role. This role has high visibility within both VWFSA and brand senior management and is regarded as a critical specialist role within the organisation.

Key responsibilities of the role:

• Formulate and maintain effective working relationships to enable the development of products, campaigns and joint initiatives between VWFSA and the respective brand.
• Develop innovative joint VWFSA and brand initiatives, utilising the available resources within VWFSA which align to the Group brands requirements and strategy.  Some examples of these initiatives are: new product development, profit objectives covering retail and fleet opportunities, retail finance campaigns, after-sales packages, insurance products, product packaging and marketing opportunities.
• Develop integrated retention and loyalty strategies for VWFSA and our brands, with the objective of increasing retention and improved customer satisfaction.
• Monthly management reviews to discuss campaign performance, projects and product reviews will be required.
• Provide direction, leadership and co-ordination to VWFSA staff when working with our brands across all business areas.
• Collaborate with the regional sales management team in the development of effective programs relevant to the market, including sales generation and incentive programs
• Engage in all brands related dealer acquisitions in conjunction with the Sales team to support an integrated approach. Includes communicating new franchising activity, new Dealer appointments and network planning via dealer development with our brands
• Fulfil training and development requirements to ensure adequate skill and knowledge levels are maintained – This includes; being up-to-date and understanding changes to legislation, the marketplace and incorporating into product marketing. E.g. ASIC and NCCP.
• Cooperation and alignment with Product Managers to ensure that VWFSA products (including marketing and promotion) are compliant with standards set by regulators. Understand and build awareness of the features and benefits of VWFSA products and how they complement our brand strategies across their respective departments and in the market.
• Facilitate regular contact between the VWFSA and brand controllers, supporting joint financial performance tracking and the development of improved transparency.
• Develop, encourage and maintain robust and mutually beneficial relationships with all key stakeholders within our brands and VWFSA.
• Actively participate in planning and provide support for all new model launches.
• Be recognised as key Account Manager by Brand and when requested, attend and present at Brand meetings, e.g.  Dealer Conferences/Forums, Sales Planning Meetings, Managing Director, Regional Sales/Marketing Meetings, Product Launch/Releases and Training etc.
• Ensure effective communication between VWFS and Brand is managed at all levels across all departments.
• Participate in Ad-hoc projects to support VWFSA business strategy as requested by the Head of Product and Brand Management.

Key requirements of the role:

• Minimum 5 years experience within automotive sales or automotive finance is preferred 
• Thorough understanding of automotive and automotive financial services industry
• Thorough understanding of product marketing, campaign creation and analysis
• Highly developed communicator, negotiator, influencer and excellent interpersonal skills
• High level of organisation and ability to manage short and long term projects, from strategic planning to implementation
• Proficient in multi-tasking and task prioritisation
• Business case development for various projects, programs and product releases
• Expert in brand marketing, particularly related to retail environment
• Skills in Excel, Word and PowerPoint are required
• High levels of stakeholder management (internal and external) are required