Senior Change Request Governance & Sales Operations Lead

Job title: Senior Change Request Governance & Sales Operations Lead

About the Role We are seeking a leader to drive Change Request governance and Sales Operations excellence in Japan, ensuring strong execution discipline, customer alignment, and scalable operations for business growth. This role requires end-to-end ownership, leading structured processes, influencing senior stakeholders, and enabling global teams across Japan, the US, Europe, and Mexico to consistently deliver against commitments. You will also act as a strategic bridge between Japanese OEM customers and global delivery teams, strengthening operational rigor and alignment.

What You'll Do

• Own and drive end-to-end Change Request Management, ensuring strong governance and successful execution across programs
• Lead CR lifecycle management (intake, evaluation, prioritization, approval, delivery, and closure) with high control and transparency
• Ensure timely and high-quality execution of CRs by coordinating cross-functional teams across Engineering, Program Management, Sales, and Finance
• Adopt a customer-first mindset, aligning all decisions with customer expectations and business value
• Drive Sales Operations activities, including RFQ/RFI coordination, commercial alignment, and business performance tracking
• Govern the customer requirements lifecycle, ensuring clarity, traceability, and baseline control across programs
• Monitor and report CR KPIs (cost, timeline, SLA adherence, and risk) with clear and consistent stakeholder visibility
• Establish and manage KPIs and dashboards for CR performance, requirements maturity and operational efficiency
• Apply strong Connectivity / Car Audio (CA) domain expertise to accurately interpret customer requirements and translate them into actionable deliverables
• Proactively identify risks and lead structured escalation, mitigation, and resolution, leveraging data and sound judgment
• Act as a key interface between customer expectations and global development teams (Japan, US, Europe, Mexico), ensuring alignment and clarity
• Build and maintain strong relationships with Japanese OEM customers and internal stakeholders
• Drive cross-functional and global alignment to ensure on-time milestone delivery and commitment adherence
• Standardizing processes, governance, and reporting to enable scalable operations and support new business growth
• Lead continuous improvement initiatives, including process optimization, digitalization, and automation across CR management, requirements engineering, and Sales Operations

What We're Looking For

• 10–15 years of experience in program management, change request management, sales operations, or business operations
• Minimum 5 years of experience working with Japanese automotive OEMs or Tier 1 suppliers
• Strong Connectivity / Car Audio domain understanding, enabling effective handling of escalations, risk assessment, and customer-to-engineering translation
• Japanese (native level) and English (business level) communication skills
• Proven ability to lead cross-functional and global teams across regions and time zones
• Strong ownership mindset with the ability to drive outcomes end-to-end
• Experience in customer-facing roles, CR governance, and lifecycle management
• Ability to interpret technical specifications, manage ambiguity, and make sound decisions under pressure
• Demonstrated ability in risk identification, escalation management, and resolution
• Strong stakeholder management and influencing skills, including senior leadership engagement
• Experience in KPI tracking, dashboard reporting, and data-driven decision-making
• Strong governance mindset with adherence to process, compliance, and accountability frameworks

Nice to Have

• PMP (Project Management Professional) certification
• Knowledge of Automotive SPICE®, requirements engineering, and lifecycle processes
• Familiarity with RFI/RFQ processes and commercial quote preparation
• Solid understanding of requirements management processes and tools
• Understanding of configuration management and baselining practices
• Experience supporting new business launches or customer expansion programs
• Exposure to global customer or supplier negotiations
• Strong capability in KPI tracking, dashboards, and data analytics tools
• Experience driving process automation and digitalization initiatives
• Background in AI- or data-driven operational improvements
• Proactive and self-driven mindset with strong prioritization and time management skills
• People Manager: Lead, develop, and empower a high-performing team by driving engagement, accountability, capability development, and business results

Compensation & Benefits

• Salary: Not disclosed
• Benefits: Not specified