Job DescriptionIn this position...
The Senior Manager, Business Operations, Ford Energy will serve as a people leader and the primary connective force driving Ford Energy's stand-up as an independent business unit. Reporting to the Director, Business Operations, Ford Energy, this person will lead and develop a team of business operations professionals while personally owning the alignment between Business Integration and Systems Integration workstreams - ensuring business process design, operational structure, and technology implementation move forward as one coordinated effort. This role carries direct accountability for execution outcomes across the business, not just process design: setting team priorities, removing roadblocks, holding workstreams accountable to milestones, and representing Business Operations in senior cross-functional forums. This is a foundational leadership role with significant opportunity to grow in scope and influence as Ford Energy scales.
ResponsibilitiesWhat you'll do...
Reporting Line & Scope
Reports to: Director, Business Operations, Ford Energy.
Direct reports: Leads a team of one business operations professional (analysts/managers) supporting Business Integration and Systems Integration workstreams along with overall enterprise governance.
Key partners: Ford Energy Systems Integration leadership; corporate function leads across finance, HR, legal, supply chain, and IT.
Scope: Owns the cross-functional business process stand-up spanning finance, HR, legal, supply chain, IT, and corporate integration - acting as the connective tissue and single point of accountability that keeps Business Integration and Systems Integration workstreams synchronized and moving together.
Key Responsibilities:
- People Leadership: Build, lead, and develop a team of business operations professionals; set clear priorities, provide coaching and performance feedback, and create a high-accountability team culture.
- Business & Systems Integration Alignment: Act as the connective tissue between Business Integration and Systems Integration teams, ensuring business process design directly informs system requirements and system implementation supports business readiness - resolving misalignment before it becomes risk.
- Execution Ownership: Drive execution of business process design, implementation, and governance workstreams end to end, holding cross-functional teams and own team accountable for milestones, dependencies, and decisions.
- Business Process Design: Partner with stakeholders across finance, HR, legal, supply chain, IT, and other functions to map current-state processes and design and implement the future-state, end-to-end business processes Ford Energy needs to operate as a standalone business.
- Operational Structure & Governance: Define and stand up the operational structures, decision rights, and governance forums needed for Ford Energy to run independently.
- Corporate Integration: Own coordination of integration points between Ford Energy and Ford's broader corporate functions, ensuring new processes align with policy, controls, and reporting needs.
- Implementation & Change Management: Lead the rollout of new processes, including documentation, stakeholder communication, training, and readiness activities.
- Program Tracking & Reporting: Own tracking of stand-up workstreams, risks, issues, and decisions; deliver clear, concise, and influential updates to senior leadership.
- Stakeholder & Influence Management: Build and leverage strong relationships across a broad set of business partners and senior stakeholders to keep work moving, resolve roadblocks quickly, and drive decisions in ambiguous or contested situations.
QualificationsWhat You'll Bring:
- A natural connector and influencer who builds trust and drives alignment across many teams and stakeholders, including senior leaders, with or without formal authority.
- A people leader who coaches, develops, and motivates a team, and who models accountability and ownership for the people around them.
- Structured, first-principles thinking, with comfort designing process and structure - and driving execution against it - in ambiguous, "zero-to-one" situations.
- A strong ownership mindset - proactively spotting gaps, driving issues to resolution, and holding self and team accountable for outcomes rather than just plans.
- Clear, confident, and persuasive communication skills, able to translate complex, cross-functional work into concise updates and recommendations for senior leadership.
- The ability to balance sharp attention to detail with big-picture thinking about how a business runs end to end.
- Comfort with a fast pace and evolving priorities that come with standing up a new business, while keeping a team focused and unblocked.
- A growth mindset and drive to expand scope, team, and impact as the business grows.
You'll have...
Required:
- Bachelor's degree in Business, Engineering, Finance, or a related field.
- 8+ years of experience in business operations, business process improvement, program/project management, management consulting, or a similar role, including experience leading or managing people.
- Demonstrated experience designing and implementing business processes across multiple functions, with accountability for execution and outcomes.
- Experience working with corporate functions such as finance, HR, legal, IT, or supply chain.
- Proven ability to lead, coach, and develop a team.
- Strong facilitation, communication, and stakeholder management skills, with the ability to connect, align, and influence diverse teams and senior leaders.
- Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, with comfort operating in ambiguous, fast-changing environments.
- High ownership mindset with strong follow-through and attention to detail.
- Ability to manage multiple concurrent workstreams, priorities, and direct reports simultaneously.
Even better, you may have...
Preferred:
- Experience supporting new business stand-ups, carve-outs, spin-offs, or joint ventures.
- Experience partnering with systems integration or IT teams on ERP or other core system implementations.
- Management consulting background with a focus on process design or operating model development.
- MBA or other advanced degree.
- Lean/Six Sigma or process excellence certification.
- Experience in a large, complex corporate or manufacturing environment.
Location & Travel:
- Location: Dearborn, MI.
- Travel: Limited - occasional domestic travel expected to support cross-functional workshops and stand-up activities, as needed.
You may not check every box, or your experience may look a little different from what we've outlined, but if you think you can bring value to Ford Motor Company, we encourage you to apply!
This position is hybrid with a requirement to be onsite four or more days per week. #LI-Hybrid
Company: As Ford establishes a wholly owned subsidiary focused on Battery Energy Storage Systems, this role will initially be employed by Ford and is expected to transition to the subsidiary within one year.
#LI-KF2
#FordEnergy
