Director, Retail Excellence

adidas; Portland (OR); Hybrid; USD 180,000 - 260,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Robust medical and dental plans

401k with employer match

Education assistance

Parental leave (14 weeks)

Job summary

adidas in Portland, OR is seeking a senior leader to define and execute the Retail SCM strategy across North America. You will partner with NAM Retail leadership and cross-functional teams to drive availability, inventory flow, and cost efficiency while strengthening store enablement and consumer experience.

The role requires proven executive presence, 10+ years in supply chain/retail, and a track record transforming reporting, processes, and automation.

Qualifications

• College or university degree in supply chain management, business, retail, operations, or related field; postgraduate degree preferred.
• Minimum of 10 years of progressive experience in supply chain, retail operations, inventory management, logistics, commercial operations, or a related field, preferably within footwear, apparel, consumer products, or omnichannel retail.
• Minimum of 5 years of people leadership experience, including demonstrated success developing leaders and high-performing teams.

Responsibilities

• Set a multi-year Retail SCM vision and operating model with measurable outcomes.
• Serve as the strategic retail partner for NAM and build trusted partnerships with Retail leadership, Store Operations, Merchandising, Finance, Inventory, Digital, Technology, and Operations.
• Translate SCM decisions into store sales, profitability, consumer experience, and business growth; articulate trade-offs clearly.

Skills

Executive presence

Strategic direction

Cross-functional leadership

Retail supply chain

Analytical thinking

Change management

Influence without authority

Lean Six Sigma

Education

College degree in supply chain/business/retail

Postgraduate degree preferred

Tools

SAP

Power BI

Tableau

Job description

PURPOSE

Lead SCM Retail Excellence for North America, serving as the strategic supply chain partner to the Retail business. Set the vision and roadmap for how SCM enables store performance, availability, speed, profitability, and growth. Lead and develop a capable team, translate supply chain complexity into commercial outcomes, and influence cross-functional partners to modernize reporting, simplify processes, automate work, strengthen store enablement, and deliver outstanding operational results.

Key Responsibilities

• Set the Retail SCM Vision – Define and communicate a multi-year strategy and operating model for Retail Excellence, translating business priorities into a clear roadmap, capabilities, and measurable outcomes.
• Serve as the Strategic Retail Partner – Act as the supply chain face of Retail for North America and build trusted partnerships with Retail leadership, Store Operations, Merchandising, Finance, Inventory, Digital, Technology, and Operations.
• Translate SCM into Commercial Value – Connect availability, inventory flow, speed, service, and cost decisions to store sales, profitability, consumer experience, and business growth; clearly articulate trade-offs and recommendations in business language.
• Drive Retail Supply Chain Performance – Own the performance agenda for product availability, inventory flow, replenishment, delivery reliability, speed, and other critical retail supply chain outcomes. Establish priorities, governance, and interventions that improve performance sustainably.
• Modernize Reporting and Insights – Advance self-service reporting, actionable insights, and exception-based management so leaders and teams can identify risks, make faster decisions, and focus resources where they create the most value.
• Lead Transformation and Automation – Identify and deliver opportunities to simplify processes, automate manual work, apply AI and digital capabilities, improve data quality, and redirect capacity toward higher-value activities.
• Enable Stores – Partner with Store Operations to understand frontline needs and improve the processes, tools, visibility, and service models that help stores serve consumers and execute effectively.
• Build Cross-Functional Alignment – Influence outcomes across teams without relying on direct authority. Establish decision forums, align competing priorities, clarify ownership, and constructively challenge partners to reach better solutions.
• Lead Continuous Improvement – Create a disciplined improvement pipeline, prioritize opportunities based on business value, and ensure changes are adopted, measured, and sustained across the Retail ecosystem.
• Manage Risk and Escalations – Anticipate material supply chain risks, lead cross-functional mitigation, and provide clear executive communication on impact, options, decisions, and recovery plans.
• Lead Executive Business Reviews – Shape and present concise, forward-looking updates that connect performance and initiatives to commercial outcomes, surface decisions, and build confidence in the direction of Retail SCM.
• Lead, Empower, and Develop the Team – Provide strategic direction, clear priorities, organizational stability, and respectful accountability. Develop talent, delegate meaningful ownership, recognize contributions, and create an inclusive culture where people understand how their work matters.

KEY RELATIONSHIPS

• NAM Retail Leadership
• Store Operations and Field Leadership
• Retail Merchandising and Planning
• Inventory Management and Deployment
• Demand Planning and Product Supply
• NAM Distribution Center Operations
• Inbound and Outbound Transportation
• Commercial and Brand Finance
• Business Intelligence, Data, and Analytics
• Digital and Technology
• Global and Local SCM
• Omni Excellence Channel and Capability Teams

Knowledge, Skills, And Abilities

• Strong commercial mindset with demonstrated ability to connect supply chain decisions to retail sales, profitability, consumer experience, and business growth.
• Proven ability to set strategic direction, build multi-year roadmaps, define operating models, and convert vision into prioritized execution.
• Advanced understanding of retail supply chain, store operations, inventory flow, replenishment, availability, logistics, distribution, and service performance.
• Executive presence and strong storytelling skills, with the ability to simplify complexity, frame decisions, and create confidence with senior commercial and operational stakeholders.
• Demonstrated success leading through influence across Retail, Store Operations, Distribution, Inventory, Finance, Technology, and other partners with competing priorities.
• Builder mentality with experience creating new capabilities, governance, structures, and ways of working in an evolving organization.
• Track record of leading transformation, process redesign, reporting modernization, automation, technology adoption, and change management.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving capability with the judgment to move beyond metrics, identify root causes, prioritize opportunities, and turn insights into decisions and action.
• Ability to challenge constructively, balancing commercial urgency with supply chain realities to develop practical, mutually beneficial solutions.
• Healthy confidence, humility, and curiosity; comfortable acknowledging uncertainty while establishing a clear path to answers and decisions.
• Proven people leader who builds engagement, creates clarity, empowers teams, develops talent, and holds people accountable respectfully.
• Ability to stabilize and energize teams through change, reinforce purpose, and establish an environment of trust, ownership, learning, and continuous improvement.
• Knowledge of Lean, Six Sigma, Kaizen, or comparable continuous improvement approaches.
• Proficiency with enterprise supply chain systems and modern data and visualization tools such as SAP, Power BI, Tableau, or equivalent platforms.
• Experience in athletic footwear, apparel, consumer products, or another complex omnichannel retail environment preferred.

Requisite Education And Experience / Minimum Qualifications

• College or university degree with a focus in supply chain management, business, retail, operations, or a related discipline; postgraduate degree preferred. An equivalent combination of education and relevant experience will be considered.
• Minimum of 10 years of progressive experience in supply chain, retail operations, inventory management, logistics, commercial operations, or a related field, preferably within footwear, apparel, consumer products, or omnichannel retail.
• Minimum of 5 years of people leadership experience, including demonstrated success developing leaders and high-performing teams.
• Demonstrated experience leading enterprise-level transformation and influencing senior commercial and operational stakeholders across a matrixed organization.
• adidas celebrates diversity, supports inclusiveness and encourages individual expression in our workplace. We actively encourage individuals with disabilities to apply and will provide reasonable accommodations throughout the recruitment process. We do not tolerate the harassment or discrimination toward any of our applicants or employees. We are an Equal Opportunity Employer.
• adidas offers robust and progressive medical, including HSA (Health Savings Account) with employer funding or FSA (Flexible Spending Account) options, dental, vision, prescription drug coverage, adoption, with surrogate and fertility support, short and long-term disability, and basic life and AD&D insurance. Employees are able to enroll in adidas' 401k plan and Stock Purchase Plan with employer match. Full-time employees are eligible for education assistance and generous Leave policies including 14 weeks of paid parental leave.
• Employees are eligible to earn an annual bonus based on company performance. Employees accrue prorated flexible time off in the amount .4388 hours per day that increases with years of service, twelve paid holidays throughout the calendar year and Service Time Off during milestone years.
• At adidas we offer a Hybrid work policy which requires attendance in the office Monday through Thursday, with the flexibility to work remotely on Friday each week. For work requiring a high degree of collaboration or an in-person presentation, in-office attendance is required even on Friday. The working location of this position is Portland, OR.
• Though our teammates hail from all corners of the world, our working language is English.