Head of Manufacturer Operations

You've probably heard of Autotrader, but do you know what we're all about?

We're the most trusted, most visited automotive marketplace in the UK. A heritage brand and a tech innovator. We bring together vehicle buyers and sellers to give them real choices. Cars may be what we're best known for, but we’re also the place for pretty much everything else on wheels, from e-bikes to caravans.

In the automotive world, change is a constant, that’s why we take our job of untangling the complex car-buying journey very seriously.

At our core, we’re all about people. We go our own way while embracing diversity and celebrating our differences. We dedicate ourselves to the idea that we work better together.

Autotrader is a beautiful, surprising and vibrant place to work. We might not be for everyone, but we could be perfect for you.

About the job

As Head of Manufacturer Operations, you’ll lead a high-impact performance team that acts as the central operational engine for our manufacturer partnerships. The team underpins all customer-facing activity across new car, manufacturer and media partners, ensuring our teams are enabled to deliver consistent, compelling and data-led conversations.

The core purpose of the role is to drive operational excellence through standardisation, efficiency and automation of our data. You’ll design scalable processes, frameworks, and best practices that simplify how we work, improve forecasting and reporting, and raise the quality of the insights we take to market. This will ensure our partner-facing teams are equipped with the right data, tools and content to deliver measurable commercial impact.

Combining deep automotive expertise with a strong understanding of the full Autotrader product portfolio, you’ll shape how our products are brought together to drive optimal performance for manufacturer partners. You’ll play a pivotal role in embedding a new operational model that supports our evolving organisational structure and long-term new car strategy.

This role sits within the new-car leadership team and has broad strategic influence. As both a senior leader and operational enabler, you’ll set direction, build capability and champion high performance, while remaining closely connected to day‑to‑day execution. Leading a team of performance managers and graduates, you’ll develop a culture of accountability, innovation and continuous improvement, with a strong focus on building future partnership leaders.

Working closely with senior stakeholders across the business, you’ll align operational priorities with Autotrader’s wider strategy, present clear performance insight, and ensure manufacturer operations delivers maximum value through data, insight and enablement.

What we’re looking for

• Deep knowledge of automotive manufacturers, including sales, marketing strategies, vehicle launch cycles and UK competitive dynamics
• Strong commercial acumen, with experience driving performance against revenue targets and understanding new car demand drivers, including macroeconomic factors
• Expertise in data, reporting and insight, including standardised frameworks, dashboards and performance metrics, with the ability to communicate complex data clearly to senior audiences
• Clear understanding of media agencies, media investment models and how spend is prioritised across media owners
• Proven people leader with a track record of building, coaching and developing high‑performing teams and future leaders
• Proven ability to navigate organisational change, with the emotional intelligence to lead teams through structural shifts and the technical skill to embed new ways of working
• Strong operational mindset, with experience improving efficiency through automation, data visualisation tools and scalable processes, alongside a curiosity for AI and emerging technologies
• Excellent stakeholder and consultative skills, able to translate business and partner needs into practical solutions and drive adoption across teams

We’re offering a competitive salary, plus an additional 10% of your salary awarded to you in shares each year. These awarded shares will become yours in yearly instalments over the next three years, and you can choose to either sell them or keep them as shares.

You’ll have 28 days' holiday per year, and that's in addition to bank holidays and half-day closures on Christmas and New Year's Eve.

That’s not all. You'll be enrolled in our pension scheme, where our standard contributions are 7% and employee contributions are 5%. We also have comprehensive private medical cover, enhanced family leave provisions, a car salary sacrifice scheme, share-save options, and much more.

We always want to give you the support you need and help prioritise your wellbeing, that’s why we provide access to 24/7 online GP and dentist, as well as specialist support for assisted fertility, gender dysphoria, menopause, period care plans and lots more.

On top of all that, our hybrid model, Connected Working, combines the best of both worlds – office and home working. You'll spend a minimum of 3 days a week in the office with your team, focused on collaboration and connection.

Additionally, we have our remote-first periods at set times during summer and winter. During these periods, you can work remotely anywhere in the UK and from certain locations abroad.

We are committed to making Autotrader a diverse and inclusive environment for everyone. For us to be successful, we want to attract and build a group of people where everyone is unique in their own way.

#J-18808-Ljbffr