Manager Category, Brand Projects SEA

--- Purpose & Overall Relevance for the Organization

As Manager Category, Brand Projects, you will drive the execution of cross-category initiatives and nearshoring programs that improve speed, agility, and commercial responsiveness across Southeast Asia.

With a particular focus on nearshoring and local production initiatives, this role will help scale fast-response capabilities, improve cross-functional ways of working, and support healthier inventory and go-to-market outcomes across SEA.

--- Key Responsibilities Horizontal Category Strategy & Concept Development

• Own and rollout of horizontal category concepts that apply across multiple categories (e.g. franchise segments, Kids, product types).

• Identify operational opportunities to improve responsiveness, flexibility, and local market relevance.

• Ensure horizontal concepts support both brand ambition and commercial performance.

• Build frameworks, playbooks, and reporting routines to scale nearshoring initiatives across the region.

• Track KPIs linked to speed-to-market, service, inventory health, and commercial outcomes.

--- Project Management & Cross Functional Coordination

• Drive alignment around consumer‑led thinking, enabling consistent application across categories and markets.

• Partner with Category teams to help define clear roles of product within the broader adidas portfolio.

• Contribute to cleaner assortments by supporting horizontal guardrails for breadth, depth, and differentiation.

• Support key marketplace moments by ensuring horizontal concepts are reflected in seasonal line‑ups.

• Help balance global consistency with local relevance, enabling markets to flex within agreed frameworks.

• Own project plans, governance routines, action trackers, and follow-up mechanisms.

• Ensure alignment across stakeholders, proactively flagging risks, dependencies, and bottlenecks.

• Support workshop preparation, steering meetings, and executive updates for priority initiatives.

• Support disciplined execution and follow-through across multiple workstreams.

--- Cross‑Functional Collaboration

• Work closely with Category Management, Brand Analytics ,GTM, MOPS, Product, Brand, Demand Planning, Supply Chain and Finance teams.

• Act as a connector between Emerging Markets strategy and SEA regional / market needs, translating priorities both ways.

• Support SEA countries and GTM teams with frameworks, tools, and materials to enable consistent execution.

• Act as project owner for cross‑functional brand or category projects, ensuring timelines and outputs are aligned.

--- Commercial & Marketplace Impact

• Contribute to improved assortment productivity, clarity, and scalability across channels and markets.

• Support key marketplace moments by ensuring horizontal concepts are reflected in seasonal assortments.

• Assist in analysing cross‑category performance to identify structural opportunities and risks.

• Use insights and learnings to support continuous improvement of future concepts and plans.

--- Nearshoring & Speed Enablement

• Drive the connection between sourcing, supply chain, category planning, and go‑to‑market to develop responsive supply solutions tailored to SEA.

• Assist in the development and execution of the Southeast Asia nearshoring strategy, aligned with Global speed and agility priorities, in collaboration with Emerging Markets.

• Help identify categories, franchises, and price points best suited for nearshored or fast‑response production models.

• Work with stakeholders to translate strategic intent into concrete nearshoring use cases.

• Own tracking of nearshoring initiatives against speed, service, cost, and inventory KPIs.

• Contribute to the development of playbooks, frameworks, and tools to standardize nearshoring execution.

--- Behaviors & Capabilities

• Structured, systems‑oriented thinker with strong attention to detail.

• Confident communicator able to manage multiple stakeholders.

• Curious, learning‑oriented, and comfortable operating in ambiguity.

--- Key Relationships

• Internal: SEA Brand, Supply Chain & Operations, Country Teams, Emerging Markets Teams, Local Creation Centres, Factories / LO partners

--- Professional Experience & Profile

• 5-8 years of experience in category, planning, merchandising, supply chain, or related roles.

• Exposure to product creation, sourcing, or local production is a strong plus.

• Strong analytical, organizational, and stakeholder management skills.

• Passion for learning, speed, and end‑to‑end business understanding.