This job has expired, please see additional jobs below
Senior Director, Advanced Concepts Footwear & Apparel
Adidas Group
New York, NY, United States
Job Details - this job has expired, please see similar jobs below
ADVANCED CONCEPTS
Our industry relies on cutting edge innovations to build brand heat and desire for our consumers which will ultimately drive company growth. Based on the continuous success of 'Creating the New' and Brand Leadership as our operating model we need to elevate our game. To lead and manage these innovations better, we recently announced the new Advanced Concepts (AC) team to further strengthen our ambition as a leading creator sports brand. The newly formed Advanced Creation (AC) team, to further strengthen the ambition as a leading creator brand which fuels the innovation pipeline for our consumers. AC will shape the future of sport through athlete driven strategic innovations. The aim for AC is to provide a functional link and close gap between our innovation and categories teams, with one shared innovation goal. Working together with the Horizontal Concept and Creation Direction team, they will set us up to accelerate apparel & footwear innovation across the brand. Advanced Creation will have dedicated resources and teams across 3 locations (PDX/Brooklyn/Herzo). Key purpose will be design, development, testing, costing and planning the roll-out of faster innovation, more reliable and fully orchestrated in the framework of Brand Leadership. It is important that we continue to challenge ourselves, to learn and adapt to our changing business environment. We must constantly iterate and evolve to become faster and stronger together.
RESPONSIBILITIES
• Identify future design opportunities to ‘fuel’ the brand.
• Think outside the box, yet always from adidas and consumer POV.
• Develop hyper creative and innovative designs that are functional, emotional and strategic to elevate brand.
• Prototype fast to explore and convey ideas.
Purpose
• Drive revolutionary Innovations for the category, lead the sport into the future; create a vision for sport.
• Liaise between Sports Performance and other BU functions regarding strategy/roadmap to fulfill the vision
• Create holistic Innovation experiences that span product to retail. Work horizontally to drive, collaborate and communicate concepts.
Key Responsibilities
• Drive and disseminate research in both soft (Psychological) and hard (Technical) innovation. Develop a deep understanding of the sport, and consumer as well as key research. Work with universities, agencies, and partners to stay on the cutting edge of research in the sport.
• Immerse the team in the lives of the consumer to understand their needs, wants, and pain points – be consumer centric.
• Collaborate and communicate with the trend group to understand macro and micro or vertical trends.
• Develop the story of the concept that translates into an innovation experience. Develop and hand over a complete concept story that takes the inline team and ultimately the consumer on a journey.
• Work with Technology partners to find new materials, techniques, constructions, and solutions for consumer pain points and to fulfill needs and desires.
• Steer the category Future team to fulfill innovation stories and experiences to hit all deadlines.
• Work with other BU functions to create concept launch plans, lifecycle, and business models and plans (if needed).
• Unite Sports Performance team including design, engineering, research, and project management toward a common goal.
• Ensure the transition of projects to other BU functions smoothly and consult if needed.
• Drive the testing of products and materials for quality, fit, wear, and biomechanical properties to fulfill adidas standards.
• Be the spokesperson for specific innovation for internal communication as well as outside media.
• Manage a team and develop their functional and social skills using available resources to create a top performing team.
Key Relationships
• All BU functions
• Future group competencies
• Global Consumer Insight
• Trend group
• External partners – universities, agencies, factories, and suppliers
• Athlete Services
• Athletes and consumers
Knowledge, Skills and Abilities
• Leadership – Visionary thinking – ability to envision the future of the sport. Create and inspire a vision and a strategy to achieve it.
• Provide a framework for performance to the team to achieve the vision and strategy.
• Display analytical and strategic thought in decision-making.
• Effective and consistent collaboration and communication within a cross-functional team and cultivates strong cross-functional relationships.
• Display a deep understanding of the consumer, the market and trends associated that shows a category specific competency.
• Strong analytical, process and organizational skills.
• Experience and understanding of marketing principles
• Ability to manage and motivate a diverse and highly skilled/educated team as well as develop them through talent management and personal development plans. Aid in mentoring and identifying career paths.
• Understanding of the product creation process and costing
• Very strong presentation and communication skills – internal and external (media, university, and agency partners)
• Ability to travel
• Ability to manage a budget
• Ability to manage change
• Fearless and risk taking – ability to learn from mistakes, challenge the status quo
• Confident in conflict resolution
• Positive and productive – positive team culture, and inspires creativity
• Persuader and motivator
• Fluent in English (spoken and written)
Qualifications
1. Bachelor degree (B.A.) from four-year college or university in a relevant Design subject or equivalent relevant industry experience
2. Minimum of 10 years practical experience in a relevant area
3. Minimum of 5 years of management including team leadership