Senior Manager Strategic Planning & Head Office, eu Ecom

ADIDAS; Amsterdam; On-site; EUR 110,000 - 150,000; Full time

Job summary

Adidas seeks a Sr. Manager in EU eCom Strategic Planning to define and execute the channel's annual strategy in alignment with the market. You will collaborate with Global Digital, Market BD, and Cluster HOs to advance the eCom experience and drive the #1 Ambition while navigating ambiguity and complex interdependencies.

The role requires strong communication, stakeholder management, and a commercial, analytical mindset; experience in Finance is a plus and leadership of a team is expected.

Qualifications

• University degree with focus on Business Administration, Communication or IT or related areas
• 8+ years of in-depth experience related to project management or similar topics
• Proven market business acumen
• 3-5 years of professional experience in the ecosystem environment of the project area in scope
• Experience in Finance is a plus
• Experience working with stakeholders at various seniority levels as well as subject matter experts across various functions
• 1+ years of experience in leading a team

Responsibilities

• Strategy Definition & Execution: define and execute the channel's annual strategy; deliver quarterly updates/analysis of channel performance
• Market Strategy: provide input into market-wide strategy and maintain reporting cadence with EU BD
• Translate market needs into Global Digital priorities; identify key capability gaps and capture demand
• Drive in-year demand process for Single Market Needs with cross-functional teams
• Identify interdependencies across teams and drive simplification of processes
• Act as key contact for major local/global stakeholders; manage communications through project lifecycle
• Handle conflicts/escalations and ensure changes are implemented successfully

Skills

Project management

Stakeholder management

Finance awareness

Business acumen

Team leadership

Communication

IT/Tech/eCom familiarity

Power BI usage

Fluent English

Strategic thinking

Education

University degree in Business/IT or related

Tools

Power BI

Job description

Purpose & Overall Relevance for the Organization

As part of the Strategic Planning & Head Office Team within the EU eCom organization, this role is responsible for the definition & execution of the channel's annual strategy in line with the overall market's strategy.

Keeping our #1 Ambition in mind, this team works with Global Digital & Tech counterparts, Market BD and Cluster HOs to push our eCom experience towards success. This role requires strong communication and stakeholder management skills, as well as an ability to navigate ambiguity, converting complex messages into simple action

The ideal candidate is expected to have a background in eCommerce Strategy or Business Development, & would benefit from experience in Finance. They should have the ability to see things from above, identify potential interdependencies across teams & solve issues proactively.

Key Responsibilities

Strategy Definition & Execution

• Channel Strategy - Support the definition of the eCom channel's annual strategy (Game Plan - current year +1) working with channel leadership & team leads, keeping in mind delivering against the longer term #1 Ambition (current year +2,3)
• Channel Strategy - Deliver current year Strategy Kick off event to eCom channel
• Channel Strategy - Manage execution of eCom channel's current year annual strategy and provide quarterly updates/analysis of the channel's performance
• Market Strategy - Provide input into market-wide strategy, aka Game Plan, representing the channel's contributions to the overall Market ambitions. (current year +1)
• Market Strategy - Maintain reporting cadence with EU BD to ensure proper tracking of channel contributions to overall strategy
• Market Demand into Global Digital & Tech
• Using the defined strategic ambition, support the Director in translating the market needs against the Global Digital priorities (Must Land process). This includes the identification & prioritization of key market capability needs, escalating gaps between market demand and proposed global delivery.
• As part of this process this person works with the Growth Team from SP&A (who drive the Growth Opportunity Process-identification & execution), identify the key capability gaps that require technical/capability support and capture this demand in the annual process.
• For capability needs that are identified as Single Market Needs, the Sr. Manager manages the in-year demand process, working with growth team, functional counterparts, analytics & finance teams to create business cases.
• Also tasked with driving simplification of this process whenever possible.
• Candidate requires a commercial critical eye on the overall channel, able to take a horizontal perspective and see potential opportunities across the functions.
• Expected to continuously drive optimizations and collaborate with internal stakeholders. Have the ability to identify potential interdependencies across teams & solve issues proactively.

Communication

• Act as the key contact person for major local / global stakeholders.
• Apply appropriate and effective communication methods to senior management and important stakeholders (incl. vendor) throughout the project lifecycle.
• As conflicts and escalations arise within projects, identify solutions and drive their resolution in a timely and appropriate manner.
• Manage change within projects and ensure changes are smoothly and successfully implemented to achieve lasting benefits.

Key Relationships

• EU eCom Functions (Product Merch, CX, DAT, MAT, DSO, DCO, Digital Sales, SP&A (specifically Growth & Analytics teams), HR, Finance)
• EU eCom Partner Teams (Legal, SCM)
• EU Market Teams (Business Development & HO, Finance, Retail HO, Internal Comms, Tech)
• Local Market/Cluster eCom HO teams
• Global Digital (Market Success, Strategy & Innovation, POs)
• Global Tech
• GOPS, Finance, Brand Marketing, Wholesale/Retail, Controlling

If required - Responsibilities

People Management

• Create a supportive work environment in which employees are coached, trained and provided with career opportunities through development.
• Provide team members/direct reports with clear direction and targets that are aligned with business needs and EU eCom objectives.

Requirements, Education & Experience

• University degree with focus on Business Administration, Communication or IT or related areas, or equivalent combination of education and experience
• 8+ years of in-depth experience related to project management or similar topics
• Proven market business acumen
• 3-5 years of professional experience in the ecosystem environment of the project area in scope
• Experience in Finance is a plus
• Experience working with stakeholders at various seniority levels as well as subject matter experts across various functions (Developers, business stakeholders, product and marketing teams, etc.)
• 1+ years of experience in leading a team

Soft-Skills

• Very good communication skills, especially when interacting with different levels of business; understands the audience & can simplify & deliver the message accordingly
• Ability to work in a fast-paced environment with different international cultures
• Ability to handle ambiguity and untangle complex situations into actionable activities
• Solutions-oriented approach and entrepreneurial mindset
• Active interest in industry advancements (i.e. AI)
• Good numerical and analytical skills
• Basic leadership skills are required

Hard-Skills

• Strong MS-Office skills (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Copilot, Loop, Power BI, Smartsheet)
• Ability to travel, domestic or international, as required
• Advanced understanding of IT / Tech / eCom industries
• Fluent English both verbally and written