e-LCV Product Manager

Welcome to Kia UK

About Us

Kia UK is a leading automotive brand offering one of the industry’s largest range of models across multiple vehicle segments, contributing to it being the fifth most popular UK car brand in 2023. With more than 190 Kia dealerships across the country, Kia is now widely known for its advanced electrified products offering the technology of tomorrow, today. Spearheading this charge are award-winning products including the fully electric EV6 – Kia’s first dedicated electric vehicle – and the new pioneering EV9 – the UK Car of the Year 2024 and World Car of the Year 2024.

Kia UK has consistently grown for over 30 years, supported by bold design, quality products and ever-evolving customer service. By 2027, the brand aims to offer no less than nine fully electric vehicles in the UK, a positive step towards becoming a leading global sustainable mobility solutions provider.

People are central to Kia UK and every day is an opportunity to learn something new and to grow personally and professionally. This was recognised with Kia UK named as one of the UK’s Best Workplaces 2024 by Great Place To Work, and also ranked in the 2023 Best Workplaces for Women. Excellent responses were given by Kia staff on areas such as working atmosphere, trust in management, corporate strategy, pride in working for the company, benefits, facilities and sense of security.

The Role

This is a high profile role as Kia seeks to build on its established success in the car market, with ambitions to become the leading brand for electric light commercial vehicles. With customer activity due to begin in 2025 you will research, plan and build a line-up of vans to take the fight to the established brands. You will take the lead to reach alignment across all internal stakeholders, and work closely with Kia Europe colleagues, demonstrating strong organistational skills to build solid cross-department processes and help set the foundations of this exciting new business area.

Purpose of job:

Responsible for setting the foundation and launching e-LCVs in the UK whilst supporting the achievement of Kia UK (KUK) business objectives.

Responsible for assisting the Head of Product in developing the Kia e-LCV product portfolio, strategic development, optimisation of the product launch process and co-ordinating activities across KUK.

Act as an ambassador for Kia within and beyond the company, developing effective working relationships and strong collaboration with other KUK teams, Kia Europe (KEU)/Kia HQ colleagues, the dealer network and business partners. 

Main Responsibilities:

Work cross functionally to lead communication within KUK, KEU/KHQ and with partner companies/dealers to build key stakeholder understanding of the e-LCV process and lay the foundation for KUK to launch e-LCVs in 2025. 

Understand and shape KUK strategy for the implementation of the e-LCV project and initiatives, developing the business case, tracking progress against KPIs and milestones and preparing management strategy presentations.

Work with the Head of Product to create an e-LCV line up focusing on customer requirements, market forecasts, conversions , derivative mix, pricing and profitability to launch a highly competitive market leading proposition.

Develop an effective e-LCV product launch process, taking into consideration lifecycle management, maximising sales, identifying fleet opportunities and profitability.

Work with the Head of Product to develop short, medium and long term e-LCV product strategy and clearly communicate across the KUK business.

Collaborate with other KUK teams (including product, marketing communications and academy) to build and share expertise in the light commercial vehicle sector.

Lead development of standardised processes, dealer standards, reports and governance relating to e-LCV.

Contribute to the setting of the annual Marketing plan, including business plan input as required relating to the product planning, pricing and profitability.

Measure, identify and track strategies to develop volume/share and profitability across each segment and develop UK propositions as appropriate.

Responsible for setting up the margin and pricing strategy and full competitor analysis.

Monitor and share updates on developments, trends and best practice in the e-LCV Market and other connected services.

Represent KUK on industry and government forums related to electric vans.

Co-operate and collaborate with the Product & Pricing Manager (carline) and Product Compliance Manager when compliance, product and price-related queries overlap.

About You

If you have substantial LCV experience and a demonstrable passion for the light commercial vehicle market this would be a great opportunity to lead the development of a van range that will challenge the dominance of established brands. We are looking for driven individuals who can utilise their energy and determination to help our ongoing achieve success in the car market and lead the way in transitioning to electrification in the e-LCV market.

Education: Educated to degree or graduate caliber.

Experience:

Substantial experience in sales and marketing role within the LCV sector, with field experience (preferable).

Experience of strategic development and management within marketing or product marketing (strongly preferred).

Experience working with regional HQ (preferable).

Skills:

Highly numerate and PC literate. MS Office advanced (PowerPoint/Excel) with strong presentation skills.

Excellent interpersonal and communication skills.

Business analysis, planning and data processing skills.

A strategic focus with the ability to see the overall vision but also to drill down into the operational detail, with the ability to work cross functionally.

Self-starter, motivated, driven, with a desire to learn.

Demonstrate high energy and drive, and the capability to lead, coach, delegate and empower others.

Ability to interpret and present complex data.

Full valid UK driving licence.

We recognise that there may be a number of ways to meet our requirements. We are looking for the best candidate for the job and encourage you to apply even if your experience or qualifications don’t exactly match what we’ve outlined in the role description. If you think you could be a good fit for this role, we’d love to hear from you

The Benefits

Flexible working hours (core hours between 10:00am-3:00pm)

Hybrid working (up to 2 days a week remote working pro rata)

Employee Car Scheme (car lease + insurance all included from £80/month)

Onsite Chef -> free lunch every day

Private Medical Care (Vitality) 

Annual Health Checks and free flu jabs offered on site

Private Dental Care (Denplan, £0 excess)

Pension with enhanced employer contribution

Income Protection & life Assurance

Critical Illness Protection

24 days Annual Leave + Bank Holidays

Wellness benefits including cycle to work scheme, free eye tests, employee assistance programme, Mental Health First Aiders and more

Financial hub providing free financial guidance and support

Work from anywhere for one week a year

Enhanced Maternity, Adoption and Shared Parental Leave (up to 6 months full pay)

Enhanced Paternity Leave

‍ Free weekly yoga, football, and badminton clubs

Pool tables, dart board, and massage chairs onsite

Opportunity to get involved & give back via our charity partners

Birthday Vouchers

Celebrations such as our Spring Ball, Christmas events, Social Club and much more

Location/Travel

The Kia UK Head Office is based in Walton-on-Thames, just a 5 minute walk from the station. We also have plenty of on-site parking for drivers, including EV charging ports.

There is step-free access throughout the building, but please let us know if you require any additional accessibility support and we will cater to your needs as best we can.

Interview Process

Step 1: CV review

Step 2: Teams interview

Step 3: Face-to-face interview