Head of Footwear Sourcing Strategy

This role's mission is to bridge the gap between global sourcing and product development, ensuring sourcing is a strategic enabler from the outset. By fostering strong partnerships across Innovation, Creation, Quality, Supply Chain, and Sustainability teams, you'll drive a learning culture that enhances quality and on-time delivery. Ultimately, your success hinges on delivering a sourcing roadmap that enables the flawless execution of our product portfolio, balancing cost, quality, and delivery objectives.

• Strategic Alignment: Drive close collaboration between the sourcing organisation (primarily based in Vietnam) and the wider product organisation (based in Switzerland)

• Integrate Sourcing Considerations: Ensure sourcing requirements are strategically embedded into the product roadmap, enabling all projects to be fully ‘sourcing ready’ by the time of product freeze

• Stakeholder Management: Act as a strategic partner across cross-functional teams including Innovation, Creation, Quality, Supply Chain, and Sustainability

• Learning Culture: Embed a ‘learning culture & process’ within our product development process to structurally enhance quality & on-time delivery

• Portfolio Execution: Deliver a sourcing roadmap that supports flawless execution of the product portfolio, balancing cost, quality, and delivery objectives

• 8+ years of progressive experience in strategic footwear sourcing, production operations (apparel & accessories experience is a plus)

• Product Development Acumen - strong understanding of the product development lifecycle, from concept to commercialisation, with a specific emphasis on the points of integration for sourcing, experience across upstream product strategy, innovation, product creation, and quality management

• Strong ability to ‘connect the dots’ across functions, ability to navigate ambiguity and adapt to changing priorities

• Strong leadership skills to manage a portfolio of cross-functional projects

• Strategic Thinking & Execution - proven ability to translate strategic objectives into actionable plans and drive their successful execution within a complex organisational structure

• Cross-cultural Collaboration - experience working in a global organisation, demonstrated experience in fostering effective collaboration between geographically dispersed teams (e.g., Europe and Asia)

• Stakeholder Management - exceptional ability to build and maintain strong relationships with diverse internal stakeholders at all levels, influencing outcomes and driving consensus

• Continuous Improvement Mindset - experience in implementing continuous improvement methodologies and fostering a learning-oriented environment

• Analytical & Problem-Solving Skills - strong analytical capabilities to evaluate complex trade-offs (cost, quality, delivery) and develop effective solutions, strong ability to synthesise, structure & simplify complex problems

• Excellent Communication Skills - ability to articulate complex ideas clearly and persuasively to various audiences; engaging, influencing and aligning with senior leaders