About this role
Japan Senior Project Manager
Automotive Retail & Customer Experience Transformation
We are seeking an experienced Project Manager to lead a confidential, but exciting, automotive retail & customer experience transformation initiative.
The successful candidate will work closely with client stakeholders, auto-industry specialists and project team members across multiple locations, markets, and regions. The role will involve coordinating several workstreams, managing the development of project deliverables and supporting the improvement of customer-facing and dealership-related processes.
This is not a purely administrative project management role. The successful candidate should have sufficient automotive retail knowledge to engage credibly with senior OEM stakeholders and subject-matter experts to oversee the development and delivery of critical and cutting-edge auto-retail processes.
*We are accepting applications during the period Aug 10-31 2026, with a start date expected in September.
Position
Senior Project Manager – Automotive Retail & Customer Experience Transformation
Key Responsibilities
Lead the overall project plan, schedule, quality, risks, issues and resourcesCoordinate multiple business functions and project workstreamsManage communication with client stakeholders and internal project membersOversee the concurrent development of multiple project deliverablesEstablish clear priorities, responsibilities, milestones and governance processesPlan and facilitate project meetings, workshops and review sessionsGather, assess and consolidate feedback from different stakeholder groupsSupport the development of common processes while considering different business and market requirementsAnalyze customer touchpoints, dealership processes and cross-functional working practicesManage the development of process documentation, guidelines, operational content and supporting materialsCoordinate subject-matter experts, content developers, designers and project-support resourcesProvide clear progress reporting and recommendations to senior stakeholdersIdentify and escalate risks, dependencies and critical decisionsReview deliverables and manage quality-assurance and client-approval processesIdentify additional opportunities for operational or customer-experience improvement Required Experience and Skills
Proven project management experience in the automotive industryExperience working for an automotive manufacturer, national sales company, dealer organization, consulting firm or related businessPractical understanding of automotive retail, dealership operations or customer experienceExperience coordinating multiple stakeholders and workstreamsExperience in process improvement, operating-model development, standardization or business transformationStrong meeting and workshop facilitation skillsExperience engaging with senior management and client stakeholdersAbility to structure complex information and convert it into clear plans, actions and deliverablesHigh-level Japanese communication skillsBusiness-level English communication skillsBased in Japan and able to attend face-to-face client meetings when requiredPreferred Experience
Experience in automotive retail, dealership operations or dealer-network developmentExperience in customer journey, customer experience or customer loyalty initiativesKnowledge of both Sales and Aftersales operationsExperience developing process guides, operating manuals, dealer standards or similar materialsExperience working on international or multi-market projectsExperience managing cross-functional teams and subject-matter expertsConsulting, change-management or learning-content development experienceExperience working with PMO or project-support functions Candidate Profile
The successful candidate will be:
A hands-on project leader who takes ownership and drives executionAble to engage in meaningful discussions about automotive retail and customer-facing processesSkilled at aligning stakeholders with different priorities and perspectivesComfortable working in a complex and evolving environmentAble to convert ambiguity into clear decisions, plans and actionsCapable of managing multiple deliverables simultaneouslyConfident when communicating with senior stakeholdersProactive, flexible, organized and delivery-focusedEffective in working with both Japanese and international team membersMSX is an equal opportunities employer and encourages applications from suitably qualified and eligible candidates regardless of sex, race, disability, neurodiversity or other personal characteristics and backgrounds, age, sexual orientation, gender reassignment, religion or belief, or marital and parental status. As users of the Disability Confident scheme, we interview all disabled applicants who meet the minimum criteria for the vacancy.