Product Specialist - Middle East Africa, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia📣 Job Ad

About the Role

Valvoline Global Operations is seeking a Product Specialist to manage its product portfolio across the Middle East and Africa region, with a primary focus on Saudi Arabia. This role is crucial for optimizing product costing, enhancing profitability, streamlining supply chain operations, and managing the product lifecycle. As an affiliate of Aramco, Valvoline Global Operations is a key player in the automotive and industrial solutions industry. This position is based in our Jeddah, Saudi Arabia office.

Key Responsibilities

The Product Specialist will serve as the main point of contact for all business units regarding product costing, cost changes, and the impact of supply chain adjustments. This includes:

• Acting as the single point of contact for all business units concerning current costing of portfolio items, cost changes based on supplier inputs, and the cost implications of supply chain shifts.
• Communicating cost changes to relevant teams and understanding the impacts of absorption on the portfolio via the LE process.
• Driving the high-impact bid costing process for the region, ensuring cross-functional inputs are considered and documentation is completed on time and to standard for new business opportunities.
• Assisting in the costing of new materials and developing effective supply chains to meet fill rates while maintaining low inventory and Cost of Goods Sold (COGS).
• Continuously seeking ways to optimize margin within the entire portfolio through supply chain optimizations, procurement savings, and portfolio consolidation via product life-cycle management.
• Owning, monitoring, and recommending product lifecycle strategies for the Light Duty portfolio, including annual SKU rationalization, obsolete tracking, and process completion.
• Determining which SKUs should be cured and providing a strategic path, leveraging data, to improve item positioning.
• Reviewing and managing SMOG inventory in coordination with Supply Chain, providing direction on excess inventory solutions and ensuring organizational execution.
• Reviewing, updating, maintaining, and managing SAP data related to the portfolio, acting as the point of contact for all topics related to product hierarchy in our controls.
• Ensuring all data related to the portfolio is accurately updated in a timely manner.
• Conducting regular meetings with senior leaders to align on recommendations and enhancements to drive increases in profitability across the portfolio.

Qualifications and Requirements

• Bachelor's Degree
• 5-7 years of experience

Required Skills

• Product / Portfolio Costing
• Product Profitability Review & Improvement
• Supply Chain Optimization
• SMOG Inventory Management
• Product Lifecycle Data Management
• SAP proficiency
• Strong analytical thinking and business mindset, with the ability to turn insights into action.
• Ability to pull, assess, and conceptualize key data in a manner that makes it digestible for leadership.
• An inquisitive approach to learning and seeking truth.
• Team-oriented with strong communication abilities and a willingness to share ideas for diverse input and perspective.
• Passion for continually improving recommendations and optimizations to extract value from products and supply chains.

Work Environment and Travel

This is a full-time position based on-site in our Jeddah, Saudi Arabia office. The role requires up to 20% travel within the region.

Valvoline Global is an equal opportunity employer dedicated to fostering an inclusive environment. If you require a reasonable accommodation during the recruitment process, please contact V@****************************************.