Director - Business Strategy

Role description:

This role is responsible for shaping and aligning International Sales business strategy, enabling disciplined execution of strategic priorities, providing high-quality decision support to senior leadership, and developing clear executive communications that support strategic alignment and decision-making. The position will lead the coordination of strategic initiatives, governance processes, executive reporting, and leadership communication across International Sales to ensure business priorities are clearly defined, effectively executed, and aligned with corporate objectives.

Key responsibilities:

Drive the development, alignment, and deployment of business objectives and strategic priorities across International Sales.

Facilitate strategic discussions with senior stakeholders to define business direction and execution plans.

Support the development and monitoring of annual business plans, performance targets, business review governance frameworks, management materials, and related business review governance requirements.

Lead and coordinate key cross-functional strategic initiatives and projects.

Ensure project objectives, timelines, milestones, ownership, and stakeholder expectations are clearly defined and effectively managed.

Drive project governance, progress tracking, issues resolution, and executive reporting to support disciplined delivery.

Foster strong collaboration across regional, functional, and headquarters teams to ensure alignment, transparency, and accountability.

Develop concise and impactful executive communications, business narratives, leadership materials, and stakeholder messaging to support strategic discussions.

Develop and execute communication plans and materials that support stakeholder understanding, engagement, and alignment.

Prepare and coordinate executive-level communication materials, including leadership updates, strategic briefings, talking points, and key messages for internal and external stakeholders.

Requirements

Education

Bachelor's Degree in Business Administration, Management, Economics, or a related discipline.

Master's Degree or MBA is an advantage.

Experience

Minimum 15 years of relevant experience in business planning, corporate strategy, project management,  or related functions, including direct exposure to senior management decision-making.

Automotive industry experience is preferred, with commercial vehicle sector experience considered a strong advantage.

Proven ability to lead cross-functional projects, manage diverse stakeholder environments, and drive business initiatives in a multinational organization.

Experience owning strategic workstreams and developing executive-level communication materials, including leadership updates, briefing papers, key messages, stakeholder narratives, and transformation-related communications that support alignment of business priorities.

Knowledge & Competencies

Strong business acumen, strategic thinking, analytical capability, and sound judgement.

Excellent project and program management skills, with the ability to manage ambiguity and multiple priorities independently.

Strong stakeholder management, influencing, facilitation, presentation, and executive communication skills, including the ability to translate topics into clear, concise, leadership-ready messages.

High level of professionalism, integrity and discretion

Language

Fluent in English, both written and spoken. Knowledge in Japanese language is an advantage.