EMEA Category Planning Leader — Growth & GTM

New Balance; Amsterdam; Hybrid; EUR 110,000 - 170,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Discretionary bonus

Hybrid working

On-site gym

Employee discount

Pension scheme

25 days annual leave

Wellbeing program

Job summary

New Balance is seeking a Senior Category Planning Manager, EMEA, to lead the full seasonal planning cycle across wholesale, DTC and e-commerce. You will bridge Brand, Merchandising and the commercial team to translate category ambitions into actionable plans.

You will own go-to-market execution, in-season trading and category intelligence, building grow-focused frameworks and aligning with Finance and Supply Chain.

Qualifications

• 5+ years in sales planning, category planning or commercial operations.
• Strong understanding of category performance drivers: franchise lifecycle, assortment, sell-through and margins.
• Advanced Excel and BI tool experience (Tableau, Power BI, SAP, o9).
• Consumer-first mindset with market awareness and product intuition.
• Willingness to travel across EMEA for planning reviews and meetings.

Responsibilities

• Lead Pre-Season Category Sales Planning for all EMEA channels (wholesale, DTC, e-commerce).
• Translate priorities into commercial frameworks and revenue targets.
• Define option counts, depth-by-channel and investment levels for sell-in and sell-through.

Skills

Analytical thinking

Advanced Excel

English fluency

Cross-functional collaboration

Education

Degree in Business/ Economics/ Merchandising

Tools

Tableau

Power BI

SAP

o9

Job description

New Balance is seeking a Senior Category Planning Manager, EMEA, to lead the full seasonal planning cycle across wholesale, DTC and e-commerce. You will bridge Brand, Merchandising and the commercial team to translate category ambitions into actionable plans.

You will own go-to-market execution, in-season trading and category intelligence, building grow-focused frameworks and aligning with Finance and Supply Chain.