Senior Manager Development Footwear jobs at Adidas in Germany

Key Interfaces:BU Categories, Commercial, Brand Comms & Planning, Newsroom/PR, DTC, WHS, SPOMA, Culture Marketing, Brand Operations, Corporate Communications, external agencies and vendors.

You’ll be joining our Stockport

Skills you’ll need:

Advanced proficiency in Microsoft Office tools (Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Teams) and fluency in English are essential. This role requires creativity, commercial acumen, and the ability to manage budgets, resources, and multiple projects while ensuring visual consistency and delivering measurable results

To ensure everyone feels welcome we endeavour to accommodate everyone at all stages of the application and interview process. Should you need it, please let your recruitment partner know and they will be more than happy to help.

Additional Benefits:

Leading pension scheme, performance related bonus, 25 days holiday + bank holidays, Bupa health insurance & Westfield cash plan and generous employee discount.

Purpose & Overall Relevance for the Organization:

Leads and manages a team of product developers to complete the footwear product creation process for the assigned business unit (BU). Actively monitors development calendars to ensure deadlines, costing KPI and quality standards are met. Acts as an advocate for footwear product integrity by working closely with Business Units, Design, Tier 1 suppliers, Liaison Office’s (LO) to uphold quality standards and achieve BU and GOPs strategy and targets.

Key Responsibilities:

• Support the Sourcing & Development organization to implement and develop the strategic BU direction and ensure cross-functional alignment within the Creation teams
• Ensure achievement of OKR (Objectives & Key Results) set by the BU through partnership with Marketing and Design
• Identify new business opportunities and drive key product and/or process innovations. Provide input to short-, mid- and long-term planning and budgeting
• Work with adidas Innovation and Materials Development, and support research into new technologies and materials and communicate to Design and Marketing on potential new development options
• Manage the material development and costing related aspects in cooperation with the functional teams to ensure the Sourcing & Product Operations objectives are met and that strategies (i.e. material tool box strategy, costing framework) set forth by the Functional Heads of Material Development and Costing are supported
• Supervise the Costing process in alignment with Costing Framework and assume responsibility in alignment and cooperation with BU and Design to meet category margin targets for your area of responsibility.
• Ensure continuous product and process improvement with emphasis on leading and Right First Time development of products in accordance with the operation calendar
• Be responsible for Buy Ready performance through strong interfaces with T1, Quality Assurance, Sourcing and Product Marketing
• Manage your team Budget to yearly targets as set by BOPS
• Manage workload and organizational efficiency with the support of the process and capacity management organizaiton
• Allocate/delegate the different products/projects to the respective development teams considering experience, product complexity and workload
• Work with Development organization to support and develop the T1, Sourcing / Allocation and QA strategies
• Provide team with clear direction, projects and targets that are aligned with business needs and GOPS objectives
• Create a motivational, supportive work environment in which employees are challenged, coached, trained while being provided with performance feedback and career development opportunities
• Take ownership for the entire development process for assigned products and/or projects with an emphasis on quality product development and timely completion of all tasks in accordance with the applicable product creation calendar

Key Relationships:

• Marketing
• Design
• adidas innovation
• Tier 1 supply partners
• Tier 2 supply partners
• Material Development
• Costing Department
• Fit and Wear Test Department
• Quality Assurance
• Supply Chain Management

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:

• Strong communication (both written and verbal) and facilitation of meetings with (small and large groups) skills
• Ability to deliver effective and persuasive presentations on complex topics to diverse audiences
• Ability to think strategically, anticipate and define problems, synthesize complex data and develop innovative solutions
• Ability to think end-to-end with a global mindset
• Ability to manage through change, make decisions and act comfortably with risk and uncertainty
• Ability to provide a clear framework for performance to direct reports
• Ability to coach, guide, manage and develop a team
• Good understanding of sourcing allocation impact on product from a quality and cost perspective
• Fluent in English (written and spoken
  )
• Strong IT skills (MS office, PDM, CAD )
• Travel, domestic and international as required by business needs

Requisite Education and Experience / Minimum Qualifications:

• Four-year college or university degree with emphasis on footwear technology and/or manufacturing
• Minimum 7 years of progressive work experience in the athletic footwear industry, specializing in product development, design and / or marketing.
• 1-2 years of experience in Merchandising, Production or Development
• Minimum 3 years of experience managing a team
• Exposure to the latest in materials, components, processes, and concepts

Purpose & Overall Relevance for the Organization:

• To drive brand and consumer experience by managing a high-volume, strategically positioned Brand Flagship store that represents the adidas brand and product in the most impactful way

• To work in close collaboration with both the Market and Global teams to shape the strategic direction of the Brand Flagship concept in the Market

• To lead the Store Management Team in providing an outstanding consumer experience while maintaining high operational and brand standards.
• To drive store profitability by meeting or exceeding store sales and profit targets
• To ensure compliance through proper execution of established policies, procedures, initiatives and directives

Key Responsibilities:

• Deliver exceptional consumer experience tailored to the Brand Flagship through ensuring outstanding execution of global brand and retail operational standards
• Foster a positive culture in the store and enable the Store Management team to create an active, authentic and consumer-centric culture in the store
• Understand the concept and strategic importance of the Brand Flagship store and think broadly for the organization when setting the direction of the store and creating brand advocacy
• Develop and lead the execution of a visionary, well thought-out business plan for the Brand Flagship
• Provide input and feedback to different departments and global teams in order to achieve the Brand Flagship ambition
• Support and coach the leadership team and associates to drive sales and meet key performance indicators, while managing expenses to increase profitability and drive brand advocacy
• Partner with Store Management Teams to hire, develop and build a high performing team
• Hold P&L accountability for the Brand Flagship store
• Foster a collaborative working relationship with both the global and the Market organizations
• Collaborate with Line Manager to develop clear action plans for the Brand Flagship and thrive to achieve objectives, deliverables and timelines
• Communicate and provide visibility on product needs/other operational needs and opportunities to the Line Manager
• Ensure all established Visual Merchandising and In-Store Communication standards are consistently executed and maintained
• Ensure consistent implementation of all global programs, initiatives and strategies within the Brand Flagship
• Leverage global and local tools to lead the performance management, succession, recruiting, hiring and development activities, resulting in high employee engagement
• Promote a high-performance culture in the Brand Flagship by setting clear expectations, holding employees accountable, creating an effective and efficient work environment, and setting goals that focus the team on key drivers that impact success
• Take clear accountability for training and execution in store in all areas, including business, operations, sales/customer service, and visual merchandising, while also coordinating with Sales Academy to ensure all employees are trained in Retail Standards
• Ensure all team members are trained on Foundational and Seasonal Brand and product knowledge in all stores
• Ensure timely completion of all recordkeeping associated with applicants, new hires, payroll, performance appraisals, salary reviews, counselling, disciplinary actions and terminations

• Produce results under a variety of situations/market conditions and overcomes barriers to the company’s success in compliance with corporate guidelines
• Work with the Store Managers to identify and develop select strong performers with potential for growth along the Retail Field Career Ladder

Key Relationships:

• Consumers, Peers, Key Retail Support Functions i.e Marketing Activations, VM, Operations, Vendors and Supports Functions,

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:

• Strong ability to understand and use financial data to make decisions and influence outcomes
• Ability to use critical thinking and creative ways to solve problems
• Ability to make recommendations that effectively resolve problems by using judgment that is consistent with standards, practices, policies, and procedures
• Strong leadership, interpersonal and communication skills
• Strong ability to collaborate and influence across different levels and departments
• Thrives under ambiguity; open to change and act as advocate for the ‘new’
• Open to feedback; able to keep composure in stressful situations
• Passion for adidas brand and for sport
• Proficient with MS applications (Outlook, Excel, Word, PowerPoint) and other computer software (Internet, POS Systems, etc)

Requisite Education and Experience / Minimum Qualifications:

• Minimum 5 years of relevant market experience
• Leadership role in a branded organisation (creating a brand experience)
• Successful leadership of a team (50 people +)

• Geographical mobility
• Advanced numeracy, literacy and strong communication skills

• Act as a key player in Global Sourcing, driving the vision to be the Most Agile, Most Competitive, Most Digitalized & Cleanest Supply Base in the industry.
• Lead engineering and manufacturing innovations at both process and product levels—from concept validation to full deployment—to enhance overall industrial competitiveness.
• Serve as a technical consultant, guiding world-class supply of rubber, EVA, PU, injected plastic components, ink/paint, textile coloration, finishing processes, adhesives, and other chemical products.

• Research sporting goods, technologies, and supply partners through pulse checks and benchmarking across industries to identify opportunities for innovative technologies, processes, or materials that create competitive advantage.
• Understand and navigate the Intellectual Property (IP) landscape.
• Collaborate in project teams to develop and deploy engineering and manufacturing innovation concepts, ensuring readiness through Gate 1 & 2 meetings and scalability across assigned projects.
• Identify challenges and opportunities during innovation readiness stages; initiate workstreams focused on performance, efficiency, cost, and sustainability.
• Manage seasonal compound requests from product creation teams; guide supply partners in experimentation, formulation, testing, and transitioning from development to production.
• Own Material Lifecycle Management system for bottom material creation and management (including clean-ups).
• Provide technical feedback to Operations/Materials teams for supplier onboarding, costing, and quality.
• Ensure compliance with adidas’ Responsible Sourcing & Purchasing Policy, standards, and legal requirements across all sourcing operations.
• Role-model leadership to foster a culture of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion for an inclusive workplace.

• Internal: Global Sourcing (costing, materials operations, sourcing operations, sustainability sourcing, engineering & manufacturing innovation), HQ innovation teams, innovation management, materials creation, sustainability, and Product Development.
• External: Sourcing suppliers.

• Advanced knowledge of polymer chemistry and chemical products, including formulations, processing, machinery, and physical testing in:
  • Solid: Rubber, injected plastic components, textiles
  • Liquid: Ink/paint, textile coloration, dyes/finishing chemicals, adhesives, primers
  • Gas: EVA, PU, TPU, and other chemical foams
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills; ability to plan and deliver projects effectively.
• Ability to explain complex technical concepts to non-technical audiences.
• Innovative mindset; constantly challenges the status quo.
• Basic understanding of costing principles.
• Excellent influencing, presentation, and communication skills.
• Fluent in English (written and spoken).
• Proficient in Microsoft Office.

• University degree in Chemical Engineering, Polymer Science, Materials Science, Textile Engineering , or related fields.
• Minimum 5+ years of relevant experience.

Purpose & Overall Relevance for the Organization:

As a Senior Manager in Product Marketing, you lead the development of product marketing strategies that align with brand and business objectives while driving local market acceleration. You combine a global strategy with a strong local mindset, ensuring consumer-centric decision-making and the creation of compelling product assortments tailored to local needs. Through agility and entrepreneurial leadership, you guide cross-functional teams, manage complex timelines, and deliver insight-driven execution that influences category growth and elevates brand presence.

Key Responsibilities:

• Maintain a strong understanding ofBrand vision, strategic roadmap, and financial objectives to ensure product direction and goals remain aligned with brand positioning and evolving market demands.
• Align seasonal product portfolio plans and tactics with strategic direction and category priorities to achieve business goals and maximize consumer impact.
• Translate market and consumer insights into actionable growth opportunities within the business unit, with a focus on local market acceleration.
• Drive the execution of the product creation process and key milestones, coordinating cross-functional teams to meet timelines, quality standards, and strategic targets.
• Deliver against product creation milestones, ensure teams follow the agreed development calendar, and influence efficient range development.
• Manage accurate and complete product master data to enable downstream systems and processes.
• Own the creation and maintenance of product master data and ensure all relevant attributes are accurately managed to meet go-to-market and sales readiness milestones for assigned product ranges.
• Foster strong cross-functional collaboration and ensure Design, Development, and Marketing teams are aligned on product creation goals and timelines.
• Cultivate and strengthen collaboration across aJ BU and Global BU to identify opportunities and ensure strategic consistency.
• Lead the analysis of market trends, consumer behavior, and product performance to optimize product offerings and future range planning.
• Drive KPI performance (Financial KPIs) and provide actionable insights to optimize planning and product performance reviews.
• With entrepreneurship mindset, proactively identify growth opportunities and lead initiatives that deliver measurable business impact.

Key Relationships:

• Partnerships across global functions, markets, and creation centers.
• aJ/global Business Unit
• aJ Business Unit
• Cross-functional teams, Designer, Operation (Developer).
• External partners, key accounts, and market stakeholders.

Knowledge, Skills, Abilities:

• In-depth knowledge of sport/style industry dynamics and product category expertise
• Strong familiarity with cross-functional marketing and go-to-market planning
• Advanced analytical, strategic, and tactical planning proficiency
• Excellent verbal and written communication
• Clear and engaging presentation capabilities for internal and external stakeholders
• Ability to resolve conflicts and align cross-functional stakeholders
• Experience executing change management in fast-paced environments
• Strong consumer-centric mindset in product decisions
• Creative and lateral thinking to challenge the status quo and drive innovation
• Ability to travel and represent brand passion for sports

Requisite Education and Experience / Minimum Qualifications:

• University degree (BA/MA) in Marketing, Business Administration, Product Management, or related field.
• 6–8 years of experience in Product Marketing or Category Management, specifically in Footwear.
• Deep understanding of consumer behavior and segmentation across markets.
• Familiarity with global retail environments, e-commerce, and omnichannel strategies.
• Proven track record in leading product creation processes from concept to launch.
• Fluent in English and Japanese (native level).
• Digital fluency in Office 365 applications and product and marketing tools.