Company

Cox Automotive - USABusiness OperationsLead Project / Program ManagerManager - Non People LeaderHybrid - Ability to work remotely part of the weekYes, 25% of the timeDay

Compensation

Compensation includes a base salary in the range of $101,500.00 - $169,100.00. The base salary may vary within the anticipated base pay range based on factors such as the ultimate location of the position and the selected candidate’s knowledge, skills, and abilities. Position may be eligible for additional compensation that may include an incentive program.

**Location Note:** Strong preference for candidates in the Atlanta, GA area.

Role Overview

The Strategic Program Manager is a skilled delivery practitioner who independently executes complex, cross-functional strategic programs with a high degree of autonomy and ownership. This role is the backbone of the PMO's day-to-day execution capability — managing programs from initiation through close with discipline, rigor, and strategic awareness.

As an individual contributor, the Strategic PM brings deep program management craft, sound judgment, and strong stakeholder communication to every program they own. They proactively identify risks, navigate organizational complexity, and translate program status into clear narratives that enable faster decisions. They are expected to apply AI-powered practices to their work, contribute to the evolution of PMO standards, and model the delivery behaviors the team aspires to.

This role operates across a matrixed environment in close partnership with product, engineering, and business stakeholders — and is expected to influence without authority at the Director and VP level.

Responsibilities

Prepare, Manage & Execute Programs

• Independently manages complex, cross-functional projects and spanning multiple business or technical domains, owning the full lifecycle from initiation through delivery and close.

• Works on projects / programs that have strategic importance to the business, ensuring alignment to Manheim’s overall strategy.

• Translates ambiguous strategies into actionable project plans.

• Translates program objectives into integrated plans, schedules, and delivery milestones; identifies dependencies, critical path, and resource needs.

• Produces and maintains high-quality program artifacts including charters, risk and issue logs, communication plans, dependency maps, and status reports calibrated to stakeholder audience.

• Manages scope, change control, and budget tracking; escalates proactively when constraints threaten delivery outcomes.

• Plays a consultative role with business partners and stakeholders to define the right approach, process, and tools for program success.

• Coordinates and leverages shared resources across concurrent workstreams or programs within their portfolio.

• Defines and implements PM standards and processes for the programs they manage; contributes to broader PMO playbooks, templates, and delivery frameworks.

• Leads structured retrospectives on programs they manage; surfaces learnings that inform continuous improvement and PMO capability-building.

• Manages third-party vendor engagements related to program delivery when applicable.

Communicate & Engage Stakeholders

• Communicates program status, risks, issues, and decisions clearly and proactively to all stakeholders; calibrates message and medium to the audience.

• Produces high-quality program narratives for program sponsors and cross-functional leaders — translating execution detail into business-relevant insights that enable faster decisions.

• Establishes and maintains productive working partnerships with business owners, product leads, and technology teams.

• Identifies and escalates risks and issues with a clear point of view on mitigation; does not wait to be asked.

• Facilitates effective working sessions and decision forums at the program level, including steering and status meetings.

• Actively communicates program milestones and wins to maintain stakeholder engagement, team momentum, and PMO visibility.

• Demonstrates political acumen and interpersonal awareness; exercises sound judgment in how and when to surface issues across organizational levels.

Applies and Advances AI-Powered Delivery Practices

• Actively uses AI productivity tools to improve program delivery velocity; applies AI assistance to meeting synthesis, status reporting, risk identification, and documentation quality.

• Pilots emerging AI tools on live programs with a critical evaluation lens; produces structured assessments of productivity impact, accuracy risk, and appropriate use boundaries before recommending adoption to the broader team.

• Contributes to team AI fluency by sharing effective practices with peers and supporting PMO norms for responsible and transparent AI use.

• Partners with the Senior Portfolio / Program Manager to shape PMO-wide norms for responsible, transparent, and governed AI use; flags gaps or inconsistencies in current practice.

• Maintains full alignment with Cox Automotive AI policy in all AI-assisted work; ensures program artifacts produced with AI assistance are reviewed, owned, and accountable to the PM — not treated as authoritative outputs.

Shows up as a Strategic Partner

• Comes to conversations with a point of view. Prepares recommendations before meetings, not just status updates, so stakeholders can make decisions rather than gather information.

• Asks "why" before diving into "how." Before building a plan, takes time to understand the business problem being solved, what success looks like, and whether the proposed approach is the right one.

• Reads the room beyond what is on the agenda. Pays attention to organizational dynamics, competing priorities, and stakeholder relationships that affect program delivery, and factors those into how they communicate and escalate.

• Reduces the decision load for senior stakeholders. When escalating an issue, arrives with a clear framing, a recommended path forward, and the context needed to decide quickly, not a list of open questions.

• Earns trust through judgment, not just execution. Builds a reputation for being someone who will flag a problem early, give an honest read on program health, and follow through without needing to be chased.

Ensures Organizational Change Readiness

• Partners with Change Enablement to assess organizational readiness, identify adoption risks, and integrate change management milestones into program delivery plans.

• Accountable for ensuring programs land with sustainable behavioral change, not just on-time delivery.

• Capable of independently handling basic Change Enablement for low complexity projects / programs, including basic impact assessments and drafting comms.

Drive Continuous Improvement & PMO Standards

• Contributes to the definition and consistent application of PMO standards, templates, and delivery practices across programs and teams.

• Identifies improvement opportunities in PM methodology, processes, and tooling; brings forward grounded, actionable recommendations to the Senior Manager.

• Supports the Senior Manager in maintaining a high-performing PMO by modeling delivery standards and contributing to team capability and culture.

• Monitors program management trends and best practices; applies relevant advances to their own programs and shares knowledge across the team.

Required Qualifications:

To be employed in this role, you’ll need to clear a pre-employment drug test. Cox Automotive does not currently administer a pre-employment drug test for marijuana for this position. However, we are a drug-free workplace, so the possession, use or being under the influence of drugs illegal under federal or state law during work hours, on company property and/or in company vehicles is prohibited.The Company offers eligible employees the flexibility to take as much vacation with pay as they deem consistent with their duties, the company’s needs, and its obligations; seven paid holidays throughout the calendar year; and up to 160 hours of paid wellness annually for their own wellness or that of family members. Employees are also eligible for additional paid time off in the form of bereavement leave, time off to vote, jury duty leave, volunteer time off, military leave, and parental leave.Through groundbreaking technology and a commitment to stellar experiences for drivers and dealers alike, Cox Automotive employees are transforming the way the world buys, owns, sells – or simply uses – cars. Cox Automotive employees get to work on iconic consumer brands like Autotrader and Kelley Blue Book and industry-leading dealer-facing companies like vAuto and Manheim, all while enjoying the people-centered atmosphere that is central to our life at Cox. Benefits of working at Cox may include health care insurance (medical, dental, vision), retirement planning (401(k)), and paid days off (sick leave, parental leave, flexible vacation/wellness days, and/or PTO). For more details on what benefits you may be offered, visit our benefits page. Cox is an Equal Employment Opportunity employer – All qualified applicants/employees will receive consideration for employment without regard to that individual’s age, race, color, religion or creed, national origin or ancestry, sex (including pregnancy), sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, physical or mental disability, veteran status, genetic information, ethnicity, citizenship, or any other characteristic protected by law. Cox provides reasonable accommodations when requested by a qualified applicant or employee with disability, unless such accommodations would cause an undue hardship.

EOE, including disability/vets

Applicants must currently be authorized to work in the United States for any employer without current or future sponsorship. No OPT, CPT, STEM/OPT or visa sponsorship now or in future.