Early-phase and Project Readiness Lead

Company description: "Founded in 1927, the Volvo Group is committed to driving prosperity and shaping the future landscape through sustainable transport, mobility, and infrastructure solutions. By offering trucks, buses, construction equipment, power solutions for marine and industrial applications, financing and services that increase our customers’ uptime and productivity. Our headquarters are in Gothenburg, Sweden. Volvo Group shares are listed on Nasdaq Stockholm." Job description: Who we are Within our department, Cab Over Trucks (COT) Engineering, we work across technology, product development and industrial interfaces to prepare and deliver competitive transport solutions for the future. We create value by bringing the right knowledge, data and decisions into projects at the right time. As part of our team, you will lead activities that move engineering and cross-functional work further upstream, enabling better-informed decisions before concept choices are made. The position Early-phase and Project Readiness Lead, you will lead left-shifting activities within COT Engineering and towards our interfaces within Volvo Trucks Technology and Industrial Division (TTI). The role focuses on project preparations and early project phases, while also contributing to road maps, strategies and the long-term development of our ways of working. You will ensure that relevant data, simulations and engineering knowledge are available early enough to support robust concept decisions. By coordinating cross-functional activities and strengthening collaboration across the organization, you will help improve project readiness, accelerate decision-making and increase business value within TTI. The role involves close cooperation with Engineering departments, COT Manufacturing, COT Purchasing, suppliers, as well as Truck Technology including Volvo Group Design. You will also benchmark the speed and development practices of the Chinese automotive industry and assess how relevant findings can be implemented within COT. Profile description: In this role, you will: 

Lead left-shifting activities within COT Engineering and towards Trucks Technology and Industrial Division, TTI. 

Drive project preparation and early-phase activities, ensuring that data, simulations and engineering knowledge support decisions before concept selection. 

Contribute to road maps, strategies and improved ways of working. 

Coordinate cooperation between COT Engineering, COT Manufacturing, COT Purchasing, Powertrain, Function and Software Defined Vehicle as well as Truck Technology. 

Strengthen collaboration and alignment between COT and TTI. 

Benchmark the speed and development practices of the Chinese automotive industry and identify relevant improvements for COT. 

Identify risks, dependencies and opportunities, and communicate recommendations to engineers, project teams and senior stakeholders. 

Drive action-oriented solutions that create business value within TTI. 

The impactSuccess in this role means that projects are better prepared, critical knowledge is available earlier and technical decisions are supported by reliable data and simulations. You will help COT Engineering move from late problem-solving towards earlier, fact-based and value-driven decision-making.You will have the opportunity to influence both individual projects and the broader strategies, processes and collaboration models used across COT Engineering and its interfaces with TTI.Are you the right fit?We are looking for an experienced project manager with a strong interest in automotive development, research and early-phase project work. You combine technical understanding with the ability to create alignment across organizational boundaries and drive progress towards clear results.We believe that you have: 

Solid knowledge of automotive development, research and related development processes. 

Experience of leading cross-functional projects in complex organizations. 

An understanding of project preparations, early project phases and concept development. 

The ability to work with engineering data, simulations and fact-based decision support. 

Strong collaboration skills and the ability to build effective relationships across functions. 

A clear action- and solution-oriented mindset. 

Strong communication skills, enabling you to engage effectively with engineers, senior managers and other stakeholders. 

Business acumen and the ability to connect technical activities to business value within TTI. 

The ability to work independently, create structure and drive progress in uncertain or ambiguous situations. 

An international mindset and an interest in learning from developments across global automotive markets. 

Experience from manufacturing, purchasing, supplier collaboration, vehicle development or cooperation across engineering and industrial functions is considered an advantage. Experience from the Chinese automotive industry or from benchmarking international development organizations is also valuable.