Job Description
Celebrating over 50 years of growth, Sym-Tech is a leading finance and insurance provider to the retail automotive industry. At-Sym-Tech we are looking for associates who share our passion for innovation, creativity and results! We are passionate about delivering excellent client service, an outstanding employee experience and opportunities to learn and grow professionally. Sym-Tech is growing quickly and that means endless ways to make a real difference! We are currently recruiting for a Director , Dealer Technology to join our headquarters team located at HQ in Thornhill, Ontario.
A career with us offers:
•A fun, fast paced culture
•Opportunities to grow and develop your career
•On-going industry training programs and professional development opportunities
•A workplace that supports workplace diversity, equity and inclusion
•A strong promoter of women in the automotive industry
•The chance to work with some of the best in the business!
Position Summary:
The Vice President , Dealer Technology is responsible and accountable for delivering F&I technology that is dealer and customer centric, focussing on the user experience. This role will be responsible for managing our various dave platforms, working with internal and external clients, converting ideas into a final product, managing a solution roadmap in a fast-paced environment with collaborative cross-functional teams and delivering results. This position is conveniently located at Sym-Tech’s Home Office (407 / Leslie - Thornhill, Ontario) and is a hybrid position (currently a minimum 2 days in the office). Sym-Tech has a number of leading edge F&I software platforms, providing powerful Menu, Rating, Contracting, Remittance, Claims, Analytics and Resource Centre applications for Dealers and OEM programs. The Director, Dealer Technology will be the business owner responsible for developing and managing these platforms as well as new and related technologies. A new strategic focus will be on Digital Retailing and how Sym-Tech plays in this space over the next few years.
Position Functions:
• Track U.S. and Canadian market trends and competitive platform offerings; engage with dealers, clients and industry leaders to develop product strategy and direction to ensure that Sym-Tech’s Portal capabilities meet/exceed market needs and dealer, client and customer goals.
• Work with internal and external stakeholders to define detailed user experiences and requirements, creating a shared vision for dave requirements, priorities and product roadmaps.
• Work with business units to business prioritize planned development for the various dave platforms being used in Canada and the U.S.
• Build and execute the strategy and plan to consolidate our three generations of dave. Oversee the transition of existing dave1 platform to daveplus. Plan and lead transition of the SSQ Dealer Services non-dave platform to daveplus. Work with OEM team re timing for transitioning dave2 platform to daveplus.
• Work with Darwin Automotive (J.D. Power) on expanding our partnership and Canadianization and launching of additional Darwin functionality in daveplus (e.g. Service Lane, Marketing Campaigns, D2C) as justified.
• Take a leading role in defining and delivering Sym-Tech, Dealer and OEM business road-maps for “Digital F&I”, including potentially direct OEM/Dealer to Consumer F&I Online; Mobile Applications, Recommendation Engines, AI etc.
• Communicate commitments and any changes to deliverables or timelines to internal and external stakeholders. Consistently manage stakeholder expectations.
• Coordinate go-to-market activities with all functional departments and clients.
• Manage assigned budget. Be accountable for all deliverables being completed on-time, on budget and with quality.
• Be the subject matter expert on dave platforms and provide support to other areas of the organization as needed.
• Be a key technology spokesperson for Sym-Tech in various industry events, publications and Dealer, Dealer Group and OEM presentations.
• Develop good relationships with other Amynta Warranty Business Units in the U.S., with the objective to share and/or pool or leverage mutual capabilities.
• Additional responsibilities as assigned.
Education / Experience:
• 10 years automotive retail or equivalent relevant industry experience.
• Undergraduate degree – business, technology.
Knowledge / Competencies / Personal Attributes:
• Automotive B2B and/or B2C experience of the automotive car buying process, including F&I and protection program offerings and the transaction process.
• Automotive retail experience a definite plus.
• Knowledge of dealership systems, digital marketing, consumer experience and mobile applications.
• No traditional IT background required, but experienced/comfortable working with IT.
• Ability to analyze markets and competitors and react to changes which impact the current product plan.
• Proven ability to develop new concepts and deliver detailed plans in a team-based environment. This includes projects being completed on-time with high stakeholder/client satisfaction.
• Impeccable attention to detail and strong organizational skills.
•Commitment to excellence - quality, detail and deadline driven.
•An entrepreneurial mindset and take ownership attitude.
•Ability to work independently without frequent direction.
•Strong Product development / Project management skillset.
•Proficient computer skills - MS Excel, Word, Outlook, PowerPoint, Smartsheet, Teams.
•Effective presentation skills - capable of communicating with senior management, internal team members, external vendors, industry and dealer audiences.
•Excellent written communication skills.
•English fluency / French an asset.
•Travel Requirements ~ 20%