CASE STUDY 
Sales Program Manager 

Brief

Our client, a leading Tier 1 automotive components manufacturer with a major plant in Poland, required a Sales Program Manager to take on a brand new, hybrid role that combined sales responsibilities with program management. This unique position required a candidate who was not only commercially savvy but also highly organized and capable of handling the administrative duties that come with program management. The challenge was to find someone comfortable in this mixed role and adaptable enough to shape the position as the company’s needs evolve.

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Our Process

We approached the search by identifying candidates who had experience in both sales and program management within the automotive sector or similar industries. Given the importance of balancing the two distinct skill sets, we focused on:

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• Candidates with strong commercial awareness, capable of driving sales and understanding the needs of OEM clients and industry partners.

• Individuals with solid program management experience, who could oversee the lifecycle of projects, manage timelines, and handle the associated administrative tasks.

• We conducted in-depth screenings to evaluate candidates' ability to adapt to a newly created role, assessing their organizational skills, attention to detail, and capacity to manage both client relationships and internal project coordination.

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Given the hybrid nature of the role, we made sure to focus on candidates who demonstrated a blend of leadership and administrative competence, with a proven track record in multitasking and driving cross-functional collaboration.

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Challenges

The key challenge for this role was the dual nature of the responsibilities. Finding a candidate with both strong sales skills and program management experience was difficult, as these functions typically exist in separate roles within the automotive industry. The candidate needed to be comfortable working in a new and undefined position, where they would have to shape the role and create processes as the company continued to grow.

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Additionally, the administrative requirements of the role posed a challenge, as many candidates with strong sales backgrounds were less inclined to take on the detailed program management and administrative tasks required.

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Result

After a thorough search, we were able to present the client with a shortlist of highly qualified candidates who possessed the right mix of sales expertise, program management experience, and organizational skills. The shortlisted candidates demonstrated strong adaptability, crucial for the success of a role that was being defined as the company expanded.

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While the search is ongoing, the client has been impressed with the candidates’ abilities to balance the sales and program management responsibilities, and they are confident that a successful placement will be made shortly. This search highlights our expertise in filling hybrid roles that require a unique combination of skills, helping clients build versatile teams capable of meeting their evolving needs.

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