[Hiring] Senior Strategy & Growth Manager @Cars Commerce

Role Description

Cars Commerce (NYSE: CARS) is a $700M+ platform powering U.S. automotive retail. Under new CEO leadership, the company is at an inflection point - reshaping its strategy, product portfolio, and operating model in a market being reshaped by AI, consolidation, and shifting consumer behavior. The Strategy & Growth function sits within the Office of the CEO: small team, high autonomy, direct CEO and ELT access. The problems are hard: how does a marketplace build durable advantage when AI is commoditizing search? How do you restructure a product portfolio mid-flight while protecting revenue? We need a senior who operates with the breadth of a chief of staff and the depth of a senior strategist. You run workstreams end-to-end, drive cross-functional execution, and deliver work that shapes the company’s trajectory. No analyst layer - you build the model, write the memo, run the meeting, and follow through.

What You’ll Do

• Cross-Functional Execution & Operating Cadence
  • Drive forward progress on the CEO’s most critical initiatives - ensure decisions get made, owners are accountable, nothing falls through the cracks across Product, Engineering, Commercial, Finance, and Legal.
  • Assist with building and running the operating cadence: weekly operating reviews, monthly strategic reviews, initiative tracking.
  • You are the system that surfaces exceptions before they become problems.
• Strategic Planning & Analysis
  • Help annual and long-range strategic planning: market sizing, competitive analysis, scenario modeling across business units.
  • Build analytical frameworks and business cases underpinning resource allocation, pricing, packaging, and GTM decisions for ELT and Board.
  • Aid with strategic planning coordination - work with BU leaders to develop frameworks, synthesize across the portfolio, manage cadence of readouts and decisions.
  • Help prepare Board pre-reads, investor narratives, and decision memos that directly inform Board-level conversations.
• Growth Levers & Execution
  • Drive execution on near-term growth and efficiency levers: marketplace monetization, pricing optimization, customer retention, marketing spend efficiency, cost structure.
  • Build the evidence package - track progress, quantify impact, construct the narrative that demonstrates the transformation is working.
  • Frame trade-offs between near-term execution and long-term positioning to inform leadership decisions.

Qualifications

• 8-10 years total experience, including 2-4 years at a top-tier firm: strategy consulting, investment banking, PE portfolio ops, or corporate strategy at a public company.
• Demonstrated ability to operate, not just advise. You’ve been accountable for outcomes, not just recommendations.
• Experience driving cross-functional execution, not just presenting to those who do.
• Influence without direct authority: outcomes through quality of thinking, strength of relationships, and relentless follow-through.
• Hold your own with C-suite audiences, with confidence, not arrogance.
• Exceptional analytical rigor paired with strong business judgment.
• Operator mentality: default to action, follow through relentlessly, comfortable with ambiguity and context-switching.
• Intellectually curious with a strong point of view. Drawn to hard problems: AI disruption, marketplace dynamics, competitive positioning in commoditizing industries.
• Technology, marketplace, or subscription model experience is a plus. Automotive not required.

Benefits

• Medical, Dental & Vision Healthcare Plans
• New Hire Stipend for Home Office Set-Up
• Generous PTO
• Paid Holidays, Floating Holiday, Volunteer Day, Recharge Day

Salary Range

$154,200.00 - $192,750.00