Overview
The Accessory Program Manager will serve as the primary liaison between the Accessories team and Vehicle Teams, ensuring all accessory parts and programs are delivered on time, within budget, and in alignment with OEM standards. This role demands a strong blend of program governance, technical coordination, and stakeholder communication across the full product development lifecycle through Start of Production (SOP).
Responsibilities
Key Responsibilities
Program & Timeline Management
- Own end-to-end program tracking for accessory parts and systems, maintaining accurate and up-to-date timelines.
- Compile, manage, and report program schedules, identifying milestone risks proactively.
- Escalate late parts and programs to the appropriate stakeholders; support (but not necessarily lead) recovery plan execution.
Liaison & Communication
- Act as the primary interface between Accessories and Vehicle Teams, ensuring alignment on program requirements and deliverables.
- Author, track, and coordinate responses to technical Bulletins issued to or from Vehicle Teams.
- Write, manage, and follow up on Engineering Requisitions (ERs) throughout the program lifecycle.
Budget & Economic Management
- Compile and track budgets at vehicle, part, and system levels.
- Manage economic follow-up covering engineering costs, tooling and means, and part pricing.
- Perform global synthesis of costs and risks; report critical financial risks to OEM management with a defined action plan.
Technical Coordination
- Coordinate all technical activities from program kick-off through SOP, including technical specification, validation plan definition and follow-up.
- Manage supplier engagement: selection, follow-up, TKO (Tool Kick-Off), and part approval processes.
- Oversee fitting instruction documentation and distribution to relevant teams.
Risk, Governance & Reporting
- Drive project progress across accessory and service parts projects; proactively identify risks and issues.
- Define and implement mitigation strategies to protect program delivery commitments.
- Manage stakeholder expectations and ensure project dependencies are delivered on time and in scope.
- Provide structured status reporting to internal leadership and client program teams.
Qualifications
- Bachelor's degree in Mechanical, Automotive, or related Engineering discipline (mandatory).
- 12+ years of experience in automotive program management, preferably in accessories, service parts, or OEM delivery.
- PMP (Project Management Professional) certification is a strong added advantage.
- Prior exposure to OEM programs
Essential skills
Required Skills & Competencies
- Strong program and project management skills, including timeline management, budget control, and risk mitigation.
- Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills – ability to work across OEM, supplier, and internal teams.
- Solid automotive engineering background with understanding of accessory and service parts development processes.
- Familiarity with Engineering Requisition (ER) processes, technical bulletins, and supplier management in an OEM environment.
- Experience managing cross-functional technical teams and vendor/supplier coordination.
- Strong analytical skills for budget tracking, risk synthesis, and reporting.
- Proficiency in MS Office tools (Excel, PowerPoint, Project); PLM/PDM tools knowledge is an advantage.
Experience
Total Experience
12 TO 15 Years in Program Management
