Marketing Director, Growth Markets

ASICS; Hoofddorp; Hybrid; EUR 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Access to office gym and sports

40% discount on ASICS gear

Calm app access

Runkeeper Go premium

Wellness programme

OpenUp OpenMind support

Working abroad for four weeks a year

Hybrid working model

Job summary

ASICS, based at our EMEA headquarters in Hoofddorp near Amsterdam, seeks a senior marketing leader to drive growth across Nordics, Benelux, Italy and Spain, translating brand ambitions into locally relevant plans that boost market share and net sales.

You will manage a team of 4 marketing leaders and about 50 professionals, spend ~25% on the road, and collaborate with cross-functional partners to align marketing with commercial goals.

Qualifications

• 12+ years of marketing experience in sports, footwear, fashion or lifestyle sectors.
• Proven experience leading large, geographically dispersed marketing teams (40+ people).
• Full integrated marketing mix expertise across international markets.
• Strong commercial acumen linking marketing investment to market share and outcomes.
• Exceptional planning and organizational skills for multi-market challenges.
• Culturally agile with ability to influence across diverse teams.

Responsibilities

• Grow markets strategy: translate brand and category plans into local marketing across Nordics, Benelux, Italy, Spain.
• Lead four Marketing Leaders and ~50 marketeers, ensuring high-performance, unified voice at EMEA level.
• Manage budget stewardship and ROI; align spend with strategy.
• Serve as marketing point for pan-EMEA strategic accounts (15%).
• Coordinate with Category, Commercial, Merchandising and enabling functions to connect priorities to GTM plans.
• Establish operating model, planning discipline and shared calendars across 10 countries.
• Partner with senior leadership to raise marketing excellence across ASICS.

Skills

Marketing leadership

Brand strategy

Go-to-market

Budget management

Cross-functional leadership

Multinational teams

Strategic thinking

Influencer

Job description

Be part of a movement that moves the world

At ASICS, we’re more than just a brand; we’re a movement. A movement of movement, propelled by the belief that motion strengthens the body and uplifts the mind. Our name itself, an acronym for "Anima Sana in Corpore Sano" (a Sound Mind in a Sound Body), encapsulates this commitment. Since taking our first step in Japan in 1949, our journey has been about more than just reaching the finish lines or clocking the fastest times. It’s about the joy of moving and it’s open to all.

If you’re inspired to move yourself and the world toward a brighter, more inclusive future, we’re looking for you.

Here at ASICS, we welcome diversity in our people, their backgrounds and life experiences. So, you could be the right person for this role regardless of your age, nationality, religious beliefs, or gender identification.

Your role in our shared journey

Based at our EMEA headquarters in Hoofddorp, near Amsterdam, you will lead marketing across four of ASICS’s most dynamic growth markets: Nordics, Benelux, Italy and Spain, spanning 10 countries in total. As a newly created senior role, this is your opportunity to give these markets a dedicated strategic voice at the EMEA marketing table and to translate ASICS’s brand and category ambitions into locally relevant plans that drive market share, brand preference and net sales.

You will lead a team of 4 marketing leaders and a total of 50 marketeers, trade marketeers and brand trainers across four market heads, building connection and raising execution standards across a rich mix of cultures and markets. Expect to spend around 25% of your time on the road visiting your markets, meeting your teams and staying close to the commercial realities on the ground. You will also serve as the single marketing point of contact for pan-EMEA strategic accounts (15% of your role), working across the full organisation to align marketing at scale. This is a role for a professional who is as comfortable with business and commercial objectives as they are with brand and marketing strategy; someone who can simplify complexity, empower others and make a real mark on a cluster of markets that ASICS is investing in for the long term.

Your key responsibilities will be:

• Growth Markets Strategy - translate EMEA brand and category strategies into locally relevant marketing plans across Nordics, Benelux, Italy and Spain; drive brand preference and market share growth for the cluster.
• People Leadership - lead four Marketing Leaders across the Growth Markets (50marketeers, trade marketeers and brand trainers in total); develop talent, build a high-performance connected team culture and give the Growth Markets a confident, unified voice at EMEA marketing level.
• Marketing Budget Stewardship - prioritise and align investment across four markets; hold market leads accountable for budget control and ROI; ensure spend is in line with agreed strategy and commercial priorities.
• Strategic Accounts Marketing EMEA (15%) - serve as the main marketing point of contact for pan-EMEA strategic accounts; partner with the commercial strategic governance team to consolidate and align marketing strategy and plans across all markets.
• Cross-Functional Partnership - align Growth Markets marketing with Category, Commercial, Merchandising and Enabling Functions (Media, Retail & Trade, Brand & PR); ensure marketing priorities connect to GTM plans and business objectives.
• Operating Model & Standards - simplify ways of working across 10 countries; establish shared planning discipline and activation calendars; scale best practices and raise execution standards across the cluster.
• Strong Contributor to Marketing Leadership – Partner with the Sr Director and Marketing Leadership Team to drive the next phase of capability building and raise the standard of marketing excellence across ASICS.

You have the following skills and experience:

• 12+ years in marketing within the sports, footwear, fashion or lifestyle industry, with a track record of delivering measurable brand and business outcomes across multiple markets.
• Proven experience leading large, geographically dispersed marketing teams (40+ people); a leader of leaders who empowers rather than executes.
• Full integrated marketing mix expertise - brand strategy, trade, retail marketing, and go-to-market planning across international markets.
• Strong commercial acumen - comfortable with business development topics , budget management and connecting marketing investment to market share and business outcomes.
• Exceptional planning and organisational skills - able to bring clarity and structure to complex, multi-market challenges and translate strategy into action.
• Culturally agile and a skilled influencer - builds trust across diverse teams and stakeholders; able to drive results through people not in your direct line.

Nice-to-haves:

• Additional European languages (Dutch, Italian, Spanish, Swedish or Danish) are a plus.

Life at ASICS

When you join ASICS, you become part of something special. Here, your voice matters, your growth and wellbeing are important. We believe in fostering an environment where every step forward is celebrated, where diversity fuels our journey, and inclusion strengthens individuals. And together and as individuals we can inspire more people to move for body and for mind.

Our commitment to your wellbeing

We’re dedicated to ensuring that every team member experiences the joy and benefits of movement. To support your wellbeing, we offer:

• Access to office gym and sports membership discount.
• Exclusive 50% discount on ASICS gear.
• Unlimited access to the Calm app for better sleep and mental fitness.
• Complimentary premium subscription to our Runkeeper Go™ app.
• A comprehensive wellness programme consisting of exercise and educational sessions.
• Professional support and meditation classes are available through OpenUp Access.
• Working abroad for four weeks every year.
• Hybrid working model. Combine the flexibility of working from home (max 50%) with the dynamic energy of an office environment.