The Product Specialist will play a key role in developing, executing, and supporting NAPA’s inventory assortment planning business capability. The position will engage regularly with key stakeholders and will represent the “voice of the customer” for development, execution, and support efforts.

The successful candidate will possess a strong understanding of the automotive aftermarket value chain with the ability to effectively communicate to a wide range of audiences. In addition, the candidate should be a highly organized team player, with a demonstrated ability to collaborate to achieve the desired outcome(s).

Summary of essential job functions

• Manage the engagement process for internal and external stakeholders.
• Leverage problem solving techniques to decompose complex problems.
• Translate insights into user stories and document in Jira/Trello.
• Partner with stakeholders to define the problem statement, desired outcome, and minimum viable product.
• Provide vision, direction, and subject matter expertise to Agile development team.
• Develop best practices and training programs.
• Lead assortment planning efforts for major account customers and key national product deployment efforts.
• Function as L3 support for PULSE users by researching problems and interfacing with appropriate team(s) to resolve.
• Lead ad-hoc projects on request

Key Performance Metrics:

• Net Promoter Score
• Inventory productivity
• Revenue at POS
• Sales effectiveness
• Achieving the desired outcome(s) as defined by the business
• On-time completion

Minimum requirements

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent work experience.
• Demonstrated understanding of Agile product development framework
• 1-3 years of business analysis experience
• 1-3 years automotive aftermarket experience (strongly desired)
• Experience facilitating conversation across a diverse set of stakeholders with ability to balance advocacy and inquiry.

DETAILED JOB FUNCTIONS

Manage Stakeholder Engagement – 5%

• Manage stakeholder engagement for key stakeholders including HQ and field management, store managers, users, installers (indirect customers) and jobbers (direct customers)
• Leverage communication tools and techniques to understand the underlying thought processes of stakeholders.
• Develop user stories and define desired outcome(s)
• Validate MVP with stakeholders and ensure alignment to vision.
• Quantify value add to stakeholders and business.

Collaborate with Development Team to Define Minimum Viable Product (MVP)– 10%

• Partner with development team to document backlog requirements. Function as SME and represent “Voice of the Customer.”
• Define MVP and associated backlog items.
• Manage user acceptance testing.

Develop Best Practice and Training Programs – 10%

• Partner with users and key stakeholders to develop best practices to produce desired outcome(s)
• Create change management plans for MVP including stakeholder communication strategies and training content creation.
• Regularly monitor results to ensure desired outcome is achieved.

Project Management: - 15%

• Lead ad-hoc projects as required by the business
  
  

Major Account and Key National Product Assortment Planning – 30%

• Interface with major Account Customers and/or Category Managers to identify needs and manage expectations.
• Using a combination of PULSE analytics and Excel, develop inventory assortment recommendations that support customer/stakeholder objectives.
• Coordinate with the Automotive Supply Chain to ensure assortment changes are accounted for in the inventory and supply plan.

Level 3 Support – 30%

• Assign priority to L3 support tickets based on impact to business.
• Execute triage process for high impact support tickets.
• Deep dive into complex PULSE problems and collaborate with appropriate team(s) to resolve.
• Resolve L3 support tickets.