Senior Manager Category Management: Sport + Partnerships - EM South

Purpose & Overall Relevance for the Organisation:

• Provide strategic guidance and input on Team Sport—including Football, Motorsport, Basketball, and Golf—to drive market share gains and deliver absolute sport credibility across all countries in EM South.
• Provide strategic guidance and input on Sport Partnerships and Properties to maximize the commercial and brand opportunity for adidas and its partners.

Key Responsibilities

• Define the partnership product strategy for all Team Sport partners.
• Guide the full partnership product process, including range building, range selection, range extension, and local badging.
• Manage external and internal stakeholders to ensure all product development deadlines are met.
• Develop and implement the Team Sport category product strategy for EMS to deliver market leadership across all key categories.
• Work closely with direct reports to deliver a compelling range and concept selection for EMS by balancing local consumer, global brand, and commercial considerations.
• Deliver net sales and profitability through pricing, margin, and product-mix management across key markets.
• Lead seasonal analysis of the marketplace to understand trends, competitor product assortments, and pricing.
• Drive cluster range enhancements, including product development, that meet local needs and provide differentiation where required.
• Support seasonal brand activations by aligning with Brand Activation and Omni teams on marketing, communication, and activation tools, while providing sports marketing support.
• Lead, coach, and develop direct reports.

Key Relationships

• Director CTC & Mops EM South
• EMS Category Management Team
• Cluster Demand Planning Team
• EMS commercial channel teams, including DTC, E-commerce, and wholesale
• EM and Global Business Units

KPIs

• Net Sales and GIM%
• Product development milestones met
• Partner Product KPIs
• Range efficiency targets, including range size, efficiency, and overlap
• Market share

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

• Merchandising, category management or planning, assortment planning, and/or retail experience, with a strong track record in the sports industry.
• Knowledge of the sports industry in South Africa, Kenya, and Nigeria; Football experience is beneficial.
• Essential experience in product development for sports teams and managing partners.
• Exposure to sports marketing, brand communication, retail, or sales is preferable.
• Strong presentation, communication, influencing, numerical, and analytical skills.
• Intermediate to advanced Microsoft Office skills, particularly Excel and PowerPoint.
• Structured, organized, process-oriented, and able to work effectively in a team under pressure.

Education and Experience / Minimum Qualifications

• University degree in Marketing, Business, or Merchandising.
• At least 10 years of equivalent professional experience.
• Experience working within a global sports brand, preferably Football.
• At least 5 years of people leadership experience.
• Fluent in English.

Adidas Culture

At adidas, employees are encouraged to demonstrate courage, ownership, innovation, teamplay, integrity, and respect. The company emphasizes diversity, equity, and inclusion as part of its culture and talent processes.