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.
  
  

adidas celebrates diversity, supports inclusiveness and encourages individual expression in our workplace. We do not tolerate the harassment or discrimination toward any of our applicants or employees. We are an equal opportunity employer.