Senior Specialist Category Management- Training and Specialist Sport - EM South

Purpose & Overall Relevance for the Organisation

The Category Management team develops product ranges by category to meet local consumer needs profitably. This role delivers a globally aligned and locally relevant product range for EM South, supporting sales growth by channel, profitability, market share, and local product expertise.

Key Responsibilities

• Work with the Manager Category Management- Running to develop the Training and Specialist Sport product strategy, including lifecycle management, for the local market.
• Deliver compelling range and concept selections for EM South by balancing local consumer, global brand, and commercial considerations.
• Support the go-to-market process by engaging channels, customers, and events or partners to build the strongest viable product mix.
• Deliver net sales and profitability by managing pricing, margin, and product mix.
• Own product demand forecasting to reflect customer and consumer demand in the market.
• Analyze marketplace trends, competitor assortments, and pricing each season.
• Drive cluster range enhancements and product development that meet local needs and differentiate the marketplace.
• Own range architecture for the cluster, considering range guidance, brand focus, and local pricing requirements.
• Monitor and maintain product data accuracy in required systems.
• Analyze monthly sell-through and sell-out performance and adjust the range where necessary.
• Support seasonal brand activations by aligning with Brand Activation and Omni teams on marketing and activation plans and providing sports marketing support.

Key Relationships

EMS Category Management and MOPS teams, Cluster Demand Planning, EMS commercial channel teams including DTC, E-commerce and wholesale, EM business units, and Global Sports Marketing and Events.

Key Performance Indicators

• Net sales and GIM percentage
• Range efficiency targets, range size, and efficiency
• Market share

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

• Merchandising, category management or planning, and assortment planning
• Commercial experience
• Understanding of the sport and lifestyle market in Sub-Saharan Africa
• Strong presentation, communication, influencing, numerical, and analytical skills
• Intermediate to advanced Microsoft Excel and PowerPoint skills
• Structured, organized, process-oriented, and able to work effectively under pressure in a team environment
• Experience in sport, lifestyle, fashion retail, or brand environments preferred
• Exposure to commercial channels such as DTC, e-commerce, and wholesale, as well as partnership management

Education and Experience

• University degree in Fashion, Consumer Science, Marketing, or a related field
• More than five years of experience in category management or range building
• Fluency in English

Company Culture

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