Manager, BU Costing Footwear

Purpose & Overall Relevance for the Organisation

As Manager Product Costing Footwear, you will contribute to adidas brand growth and profitability by understanding business potential, anticipating requirements, and proposing cost-based solutions. You will provide cost engineering expertise, identify and implement cost-saving initiatives, and develop costing tools and insights to achieve optimal product cost and maximize product value.

Key Responsibilities

• Provide product costing expertise during product creation cycles to advise on cost drivers and options that meet margin targets.
• Provide technical costing expertise to enable design for manufacturing and maximize product cost value with cross-functional teams.
• Create FOB and margin reports at each milestone, analyze gaps, and follow up on variations against target margins and FOBs.
• Increase awareness of costing processes through communication and training.
• Drive or support projects to enhance costing processes and frameworks in collaboration with Brand, Product, and Global Operations.
• Participate in sourcing meetings and share BU challenges and opportunities.
• Contribute to allocation decisions through transparency of landed-cost optimization.
• Ensure costing standards, policies, practices, timelines, and calendars are followed accurately.
• Prepare and communicate cost-driver trend, FOB, margin, and other requested analyses.
• Maintain relevant costing systems in partnership with stakeholders.
• Role-model leadership that fosters diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Key Relationships

Brand design and marketing; Global Sourcing, including Sourcing Development, Operations, and Costing; and external Tier 1 Costing stakeholders.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

• Technical knowledge of products, material construction and properties, and product pricing.
• Knowledge of the sporting goods industry, specializing in product costing, product development, or production.
• Strong presentation, negotiation, influencing, people, and communication skills.
• Fluent English communication skills.
• Ability to work independently and cooperatively with diverse people.
• Clear, logical, analytical problem-solving approach.
• Computer literacy, including Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Power BI.
• Ability to investigate data, identify trends, forecast performance, and provide recommendations.

Minimum Qualifications

• University degree in footwear technology, manufacturing, engineering, or business, or a technical degree as a footwear technician.
• Alternatively, a combination of relevant education, experience, and training.
• Minimum five years of relevant experience in footwear product costing.

Culture

adidas fosters an athlete’s mindset through courage, ownership, innovation, teamplay, integrity, and respect. The company emphasizes diversity, equity, and inclusion as central to its culture and talent processes.