Senior Manager Costing

Yanfeng is a leading global automotive supplier, focusing on interior, exterior, seating, cockpit electronics, and passive safety, and is exploring new business actively. Yanfeng has more than 240 locations and approximately 57,000 employees worldwide. The technical team of 4,200 experts is in 10 R&D centers and other regional offices, with complete capabilities including engineering and software development, styling, and test validation. Focusing on smart cabin and lightweight technology, Yanfeng supports automakers to explore future mobility and provide leading cabin solutions. For more information, please visit www.yanfeng.com.

As a Senior Costing Manager, your responsibilities will include preparing real-time business case quotes, analyzing and comparing cost inputs, and supporting strategic projects with a particular focus on improving internal competitiveness. Your focus will be on strategic cost initiatives, plant cost studies, and the development of accurate and predictive overhead and rate updates for our network of manufacturing facilities. Internal plant strategy, work patterns, collaboration with leadership, and improvement initiatives will guide your focus.

Additionally, you will be responsible for coordinating the cross-functional development of new business cases for new quote opportunities. The Senior Costing Manager will be able to build upon prior manufacturing experience to ensure comprehensive business cases are developed based on accurate internal cost assumptions and team input. The Senior Costing Manager is fully responsible for ensuring all relevant inputs have been considered and for coherently summarizing key financial and operational considerations, risks, and opportunities to ensure YF provides quotes that are both profitable and competitive.

Key Responsibilities

• Coordinate costing overhead rate development, annual releases, and iterative rate studies, utilizing financial data with support from costing and cross-functional colleagues.
• Work closely with YF’s manufacturing plants to ensure a comprehensive understanding of specific plant processes, performance, and opportunities.
• Work with plants to ensure a mutual understanding of the rate development process.
• Coordinate and communicate applicable rate updates to colleagues actively working on Phase 1 quotes.
• Coordinate approved data updates to secondary financial tracking systems.
• Ensure rate-dependent assumptions are applied properly, efficiently, and consistently across all Phase 1 quotes.
• Coordinate management reviews of rate and key KPI assumptions currently being used in quotes.
• Maintain centralized data tracking for all key KPIs across all North American plants.
• Conduct specific plant reviews related to structural changes or opportunities to enhance YF’s competitiveness.
• Manage and coordinate annual overhead rate updates. Specific plant collaboration will be assigned on an as-needed basis. Complete iterative rate study updates and overlays as assigned.
• Ensure coordination and accurate estimation of economic factors to be considered in new quotes.
• Coordinate and verify that all relevant cross-functional business case inputs have been received and integrated into the business case proposal:
  • Learn and understand key KPI assumptions and demonstrate the ability to articulate concerns or risks related to assumptions in business cases.
• Identify and implement overall rate development process improvements.
• 20% Travel expectation to respective Yanfeng locations .

Additional Responsibilities

• Support or lead quoting assignments and other ad hoc costing studies as needed.
  • Lead or participate in plant cost reviews, alignment, and identification of internal opportunities.
  • Conduct specific plant reviews related to structural changes or opportunities to enhance YF’s competitiveness.
  • Support Phase 2-5 SDT teams on assigned programs to ensure a complete feedback loop for needed adjustments.
  • Support commodity cost model design and application.
  • Support projects that enhance internal competitive intelligence for supplier expectations, while also assessing identified gaps between YF, suppliers, and other Tier 2 suppliers.
  • Focus on reducing material supplier costs to incrementally improve YF profit margins.

Required Skillset

• A manufacturing finance background and experience will provide a significant advantage in the role. Must learn and fully understand the mechanical development of business cases, including P&L, Capex, margins, ROS, IRR, and related metrics.
• Comprehensive understanding of overhead rates and how the organization monitors and assesses various financial KPIs.
• Strong interpersonal skills, with the ability to collaborate effectively with stakeholders across multiple functions and backgrounds.
• Ability to communicate and summarize succinctly in a manner that allows non-financial functions to understand key impacts and financial status.
• Strong business acumen and ability to prioritize topics based on potential material impact.

Minimum Qualifications

• Minimum of 10 years of professional work experience.
• Minimum of 5 years working in the automotive manufacturing industry.
• Demonstrated experience working on and managing costing rate assignments.
• Bachelor’s degree in Finance, Engineering, or Business.
• Strong technical skills, including a very strong grasp of Microsoft Excel functionality.
• Database experience is not required but will enhance effectiveness in the role.
• Demonstrated ability to communicate technical information to nontechnical audiences.
• Ability to sort and manipulate large amounts of data.
• High aptitude for problem solving, creating succinct summaries, and communicating critical points to a large cross-functional audience.
• Proven interpersonal, communication, and teamwork skills.
• Driven leaders who are looking to expand their work experience in ways that result in process and profitability improvements at YF.
• Must possess highly effective analytical skills in accounting and finance, critical thinking, analysis, and communication.
• Must be able to flex priorities on a regular basis and work effectively under time pressure.
• Fluent written and verbal communication skills in English are required; Spanish language skills would be an advantage.
• In-depth understanding of financial terminology and ability to translate that terminology into business case and quote communications.

Essential Common Requirements for All Employees: 

• International Operating System (IOS): Understand, apply and meet all function-related IOS requirements.
• Environmental, Health & Safety (EHS): Understand, apply and meet all function-related EHS requirements.
• Product Safety: Understand, apply and meet all function-related Product Safety requirements.
• Compliance: Understand, apply and meet all function-related Compliance requirements
• Information Security: Understand, apply and meet all function-related IT / Information Security and confidentiality of YFAI information requirements.
• Must comply with all company policies and procedures. 
• Employee must have the ability to work additional hours and / or overtime as needed or assigned to complete job duties on time.
• Ability to multitask, interact politely and
  professionally with customers, suppliers and vendors, and work cooperatively with employees at all levels.
• Ability to maintain predictable and regular attendance, arrive to designated location on time, or be at assigned location ready to work for assignment (plant, corporate office, or remote).