Product Development and Innovation Manager

GM Financial International Operations conducts business in Latin America and China. International Operations offers a wide range of wholesale and retail automotive financing products to dealers and their customers. The strength of the international business lies in its ability to tailor its products to meet unique dealer needs, consumer preferences and national requirements in local markets. Latin American country operations include Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, and Peru.

The **Product Development and Innovation Manager**will report to the Marketing, Product and Communications Director to support the profitability growth of business by ensuring that the company's products and services are competitive, customer-centric, and forward-thinking.

This role is responsible for the data analytics team.
- Lead the design and development of new financial products, such as auto loans, leasing options, or refinancing solutions. - Identify customer needs, trends in the vehicle financing market, and gaps in the current offerings.
- Partner with GMM and develop customer-centric products by collecting feedback through surveys, focus groups or direct interactions to cater to different customer segments, such as first-time buyers, business fleets, commercial vehicle usage or luxury car purchasers, etc.
- Research and implement innovative financing models, potentially incorporating technologies like AI for credit scoring, digital payment solutions, etc.
- Stay ahead of trends in electric vehicles (EVs) financing, and other new technologies, ensuring the company offers relevant financial products to align with sustainability goals.
- Conduct in-depth analysis of competitors? products and identify industry trends.
- Use data to continuously refine products, keeping them competitive in terms of interest rates, repayments terms, or value-added products (e.g. insurance, prepaid maintenance, OnStar, etc.).
- Work closely with sales, marketing, IT, compliance, legal and risk management teams to ensure that new products are properly promoted, supported, and compliant with legal regulations.
- Oversee the entire lifecycle of vehicle financing products, form conceptualization to launch and continuous improvement based on market and customer feedback.
- Continuously monitor product performance and adjust as needed to meet changing market conditions.
- Representative of the Mexico team in the IO Product Lab sessions.
- Owner of the following value-added products: OnStar, Prepaid Maintenance and Parts & Accessories.
- Supervising day-to-day operational tasks.
- Responsible for leading the Data Analytics team.
- BPMS Coordinator for the Marketing area.
- Coordination of BCP plan for the Sales area.
- Bachelor's degree in Finance, Economics, Business Administration, Marketing, Engineering or related areas (Master degree is a plus e.g. MBA, Product Management, Innovation, Finance or Marketing).
- 5+ years of experienced in Product Management, Product Development, or Innovation roles, especially in financial services, banking or vehicle financing.
- Proven experience in developing and launching financial products, especially loans, leases, or other credit products.
- Knowledge of the vehicle financing industry is a plus, including an understanding of car loans, leasing, and trends like electric vehicles (EV) financing.
- Familiarity with emerging technologies is a plus (AI, machine learning, blockchain) in the financial space.
- Demonstrated ability to lead cross-functional teams and manage complex product development projects from ideation through launch.
- Proficiency in project management methodologies like Agile, Lean or Six Sigma.
- Deep understanding of customer needs and preferences in vehicle financing.
- Understanding of financial regulations, consumer protection laws, and credit scoring methodologies relevant to vehicle financing.
- Fluent in English & Spanish (will be evaluated during interviews).
- Experience managing teams.
- Strategic thinking.
- Creative problem-solving.
- Leadership and communication.
- Technology literacy.
- Adaptability and curiosity.
- Strong analytical and numerical skills.
- Strong organizational and time management skills.
- Advanced knowledge and use of MS Excel and Access.
- Ability to work effectively under pressure, multi-task and meet deadlines.
- Open to change in response to new information, different or unexpected circumstances.
- Fluent interaction with stakeholders in different locations/languages/levels.
- Ability to influence others in a highly matrix environment.