Purpose & Overall Relevance for the Organisation
Lead strategic positioning of the Athlete Servicing team within adidas Sports Performance to authenticate the brand DNA.
Ensure our contracted partners can perform at their very best for the brand through creating, running, and consistently improving world class services to elite athletes.
Lead state-of-the-art elite athlete assessment, custom product engineering, and steering of production for Athlete Servicing products.
Incorporate the elite athletes’ voice into the BU and Innovation creation process to drive the development of world-leading performance products.
Key Responsibilities
- Drive and implement a global strategy and lead the global Athlete Servicing team in the creation of customized products for our elite partners
- Define the framework for providing and ensuring product related elite athlete insights and testing to support creation teams in developing best-in-class performance products
- Translate BU, Innovation, and Sports Marketing requirements into strategies for world-class custom product engineering and production aimed at optimizing fit, performance, and return to play
- Lead and steer a constantly evolving world-class infrastructure (e.g. assessment processes and databases)
- Lead the implementation of world-class on-site services for major sports events such as the Olympic Games and World Championships
- Own and influence strategic relationships to experts, research partners, and universities in the field of athlete assessment, data analysis, and product engineering
- Lead a world-class global team, develop their skills, knowledge, and behavior
- Continuously monitor and evaluate team workload and organizational efficiency with the support of systems, data and analysis, and team feedback and make appropriate changes in order to meet business needs
- Ensure appropriate leadership skills are present through creating a motivational and supportive work environment in which employees are coached, trained, and provided with career opportunities
- Manage a business budget in close cooperation with the SVP Brand Partnerships
Key Relationships
- High-profile category symbols and contracted athletes and their staff
- Professional sports teams, NCAA schools, trainers, and equipment managers
- Global senior leadership in Marketing, Development, Design, and Strategy & Innovation
- Athlete Science and Advanced Creation Testing & Quality
- Marketing Operations & Processes teams
- Corporate functions (e.g. Legal & Compliance, Human Resources, Finance, IT, Logistics)
- Tier 1 and Tier 2 suppliers
- Research institutions and industrial and academic partners
Knowledge, Skills & Abilities
- Thought leader with a strategic mindset
- Big picture and visionary thinking
- Proven collaboration and people skills
- Team oriented and compelling presence and excellent communication skills with proven ability to motivate, network, and influence across business levels effectively
- Extensive industry knowledge and in-depth knowledge of the sporting goods industry in product, engineering, and production
- Experience in leadership roles, executing and driving a vision holistically across the organization
- Experience in multi-cultural and cross-divisional management
- Proven track record of managing complex cross functional programs
- Proven track record on setting and implementing a people strategy
- Accountable for budget setting and management
Requisite Education and Experience / Minimum Qualifications
- University degree in engineering, sport science, or equivalent experience required
- Minimum of 10 years progressive work experience in the sporting goods industry, managing people and projects
- Minimum of 6 years team lead experience with proven ability to effectively build and lead diverse teams
- Strong sports background or experience in product marketing or development and respective categories and passion for sports and products
- Availability for frequent travel abroad
- Language skills: fluent in English, spoken and written