Director - Footwear Sourcing Operations

On

IN SHORT: The global Operational Excellence team is looking for a Head of Business Process Excellence to lead our Idea-to-Product domain and Business Architecture team. We are seeking a visionary, data-driven leader to revolutionize our Creation processes. In this role, you will define next-generation digital capabilities - including advanced AI integration- while continuously optimizing our current workflows. You will lead a newly formed team of 5-7, acting as the primary business owner and strategic sparring partner for the Senior Leadership Team to drive operational excellence and chart our digital future. The Head of Business Process Excellence will report to the Senior Director for Operational Excellence, supporting Product Strategy, Innovation, Design, Development and Sourcing teams across Apparel & Accessories (A&A), and Footwear (FTW). YOUR MISSION: * Vision & Roadmap Development: Shape the future of our Idea-to-Product organization by defining and executing a long-term vision for our business processes, workflows, and digital capabilities. Act as the resident expert and visionary for integrating AI opportunities throughout the value chain. * Process Optimization & Digital Twin: Document current workflows and processes to identify optimization potential, while developing the "Northstar" setup for the future way of working across Apparel & Accessories (A&A) and Footwear (FTW). * Tech Partnership & Capability Delivery: Partner closely with the Technology team as the primary business owner and thought partner to design, gather requirements and align advanced business capabilities with strategic goals. * Operational Leadership & Decision Making: Act as the primary spokesperson for operational teams, taking critical trade-off decisions, managing the user base, and heading up a dedicated team covering the Idea-to-Product domain. * Business Architecture: Lead the business architecture team, taking end-to-end responsibility for mapping, scaling, and structuring organizational capabilities. * Stakeholder Engagement & Sparring: Manage high-level senior interactions and act as a trusted strategic sparring partner for the Senior Leadership Team across Product Strategy, Innovation, Design, Development, and Sourcing teams. * Enablement & Tool Adoption: Coordinate comprehensive training programs for new tools and capabilities, actively driving user adoption and operational excellence across teams. YOUR STORY: * Proven Leadership Experience: 10+ years of experience in business process management, digital transformation, or operational excellence, with a proven track record of managing and developing high-performing teams, with experience managing 5+ direct reports preferred. * Team Architecture & Talent Leadership: Demonstrated success in the strategic recruitment and development of top-tier talent to build high-performing organizational units from scratch. * Domain Expertise: Deep understanding of the product development value chain (Idea-to-Product) and Creation processes, preferably within the Apparel, Accessories, or Footwear industries. * Tech & AI saviness:Technical affinity and a data-informed, problem-solving mindset, backed by deep business acumen and process expertise to help shape technology roadmaps and evaluate AI opportunities. * Strategic Stakeholder Management: Exceptional communication and interpersonal skills, with demonstrated experience influencing, collaborating with, and acting as a peer to C-suite and Senior Leadership Teams. * Change Management & Execution: Demonstrated capability in documenting complex workflows, executing gap analyses, driving tool adoption, and managing large-scale user training across cross-functional teams. * Academic Background: Degree or deep knowledge in Business Administration, Engineering, Operations Management, or a related field with a strong focus on process mapping and capability maturity frameworks. ATTRIBUTES OF A SUCCESSFUL CANDIDATE:  * Strategic Visionary: Ability to look past current constraints to design a digital "Northstar," for our future way of doing business, balanced with a pragmatic approach * Resilient Decision Maker: Comfortable navigating ambiguity, prioritizing conflicting demands, and making high-stakes trade-off decisions in a fast-paced environment. * Collaborative Influencer: A natural bridge-builder who can seamlessly speak the language of both deep-tech engineers and creative product operations teams. YOUR TEAM: As the Business Process Excellence team for the Idea-to-Product value stream, we define, manage, and optimize the workflows and technical capabilities that bring our innovative products to life. We are visionaries who are data-driven, action-oriented, and obsessed with challenging the status quo. Heading up a team of 5-7 domain experts, we work hand-in-hand with Product Strategy, Innovation, Design, Development, Sourcing, and Technology teams to champion future ways of working - ensuring our global growth is supported by cutting-edge AI, digital twins, and operational excellence.

On

IN SHORT: At On, we are obsessed with empowering human movement and delivering an unparalleled performance and sensory experience. We are seeking a visionary Director of Product Testing to lead the evolution of our lab, transforming it from a traditional mechanical testing center into a world-class hub for dynamic, consumer-centric, and subjective product validation. This is a pivotal leadership role designed to infuse the voice of the athlete and the psychology of the consumer into the heart of our product creation engine, ensuring every On product delivers on its promise of Swiss Engineering. YOUR MISSION: As the Director of Product Testing, you will be the architect of our future testing strategy. You will lead a talented team of technical experts, guiding them beyond the 'what' of objective durability to the 'why' of subjective feel, comfort, and performance. You will build and manage a new, independent lab function focused on fit, wear, and innovation, creating the methodologies and environment necessary to capture honest, actionable consumer insights. Your leadership will be instrumental in shifting our quality paradigm from reactionary analysis to preventative excellence, embedding quality and consumer obsession at the very beginning of the product lifecycle. KEY RESPONSIBILITIES * Strategic Leadership: Develop and execute a forward-thinking strategy for product testing that prioritizes subjective, consumer-focused feedback and psychological insights over traditional, objective mechanical testing. * Team Development & Mentorship: Lead, inspire, and upskill a team of technical testing experts. Foster a culture of trust, stability, and high performance, coaching the team in the principles of consumer psychology and sensory analysis. * Methodology Innovation: Design and implement novel testing frameworks, including dynamic focus groups and A/B testing protocols, to scientifically evaluate subjective product attributes like comfort, fit, and the feeling of speed. * Organizational Management & Alignment: Provide unified leadership and strategic direction to our global Product Testing organization. You will manage and align our geographically distributed teams, including the durability and fit team based in Asia and the consumer-centric testing team in Zurich. Your role is to harmonize these functions, ensuring our foundational durability and fit standards are seamlessly integrated with the advanced athlete and consumer insights gathered from Zurich's dynamic focus groups. * Cross-Functional Collaboration: Partner closely with Product Development, Design, Quality Engineering, and Strategy teams to ensure testing insights are integrated early in the design and manufacturing process, preventing issues before they arise. * Technological Advancement: Champion the use of new technologies, including AI and automation, to empower the team, streamline processes, and free up resources for more in-field, human-centric testing. * Insight Synthesis: Translate complex quantitative and qualitative data into a clear, compelling narrative that informs critical product decisions and reinforces our commitment to premium, consumer-obsessed products. YOUR STORY: * A World-Class People Leader: You are a fantastic and experienced leader, known for your ability to cultivate trust, manage down effectively, and develop the "superpowers" of your team members. Your primary passion is leading people, not just processes. * Consumer-Obsessed: You have a deep-seated curiosity about consumer behavior and are driven to understand the psychology behind their decisions and perceptions. You naturally put the consumer at the center of every decision. * A Strategic Thinker with an Explorer's Spirit: You are not a traditional technical tester. You have a background that allows you to approach testing in a new light, with an entrepreneurial mindset to challenge the status quo and explore new frontiers in product validation. * Psychologically Astute: You have a strong interest or formal background in psychology, consumer science, or a related field, enabling you to build a scientifically rigorous approach to subjective testing. * An Exceptional Communicator: You possess strong communication skills, capable of articulating a clear vision and providing candid, constructive feedback to your team and stakeholders. QUALIFICATIONS * Proven experience in a senior leadership role, with a strong track record of building and developing high-performing teams. * Experience in a consumer-facing industry is essential; a background in sporting goods (footwear, apparel, accessories), consumer electronics, or other premium product categories is highly preferred. * Demonstrated ability to lead through organizational change and transition. * While not mandatory, a degree or advanced studies in Psychology, Kinesiology, Human Factors, or a related field is a significant asset. * Passion for sport, movement, and the On brand. YOUR TEAM: You'll be a leader in a global team fueled by a culture of relentless discovery. We test and validate our product promises, transforming athlete feedback and scientific data into market-leading performance. While our creation partners work to make products great, our mission is to prove they're great. Based in Zurich, our team is the ultimate destination for individuals dedicated to enhancing the consumer experience.   On is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We are committed to creating a work environment that is fair and inclusive, where all decisions related to recruitment, advancement, and retention are free of discrimination.

On

Your mission Integrated Brand & Product Campaigns * Lead the creation and execution of impactful brand and product campaigns from concept to launch, overseeing the full lifecycle including creative development, production, social media, PR, retail marketing, partnerships, and event execution. * Demonstrate the ability to build campaigns from zero to one, shaping compelling product and brand stories that resonate with consumers. Marketing Strategy & Excellence * Leverage global best practices and local market insights to continuously elevate marketing excellence. * Balance a cohesive global brand identity with locally relevant campaigns that resonate with diverse consumer segments and cultural contexts. * Ensure strong, consistent brand storytelling across all consumer touchpoints. Business & Data-Driven Leadership * Deeply understand the business and apply data, insights, and performance metrics to inform marketing decisions. * Deploy diverse marketing strategies and channels to drive brand awareness, demand generation, and long-term brand equity. * Balance short-term commercial impact with long-term brand building. Leadership & Cross-Functional Collaboration * Lead, inspire, and develop a large, high-performing marketing team, fostering a culture of collaboration, accountability, and growth. * Manage marketing budgets and ensure effective allocation to maximize brand and business impact. * Act as a bridge between global and local teams, advocating for local market needs while ensuring strong execution of global strategies. * Partner closely with commercial, retail, product, and global marketing teams to deliver integrated business outcomes. * Communicate and collaborate effectively with global senior leadership, providing strategic insights and market perspectives. Your Story * Over 20 years of experience in marketing and communications. Proven track record in sportswear, footwear, apparel, or FMCG industries. * Strong strategic thinking combined with hands-on execution capability. * Demonstrated success leading large-scale brand and product campaigns across multiple channels. * Experience managing sizable teams (over 30) in a fast-paced environment. * Deep understanding of modern marketing ecosystems, including digital, social media, PR, retail marketing, and experiential marketing. * Highly data-driven and commercially minded, with a strong understanding of how marketing drives business growth. * Exceptional leadership, communication, and stakeholder management skills, including experience working with global senior executives. * Ability to operate effectively in a global organization with strong cross-market collaboration. What We Offer On is a place that is centered around growth and progress. We offer an environment designed to give people the tools to develop holistically – to stay active, to learn, explore and innovate. Our distinctive approach combines a supportive, team-oriented atmosphere, with access to personal self-care for both physical and mental well-being, so each person is led by purpose. On is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We are committed to creating a work environment that is fair and inclusive, where all decisions related to recruitment, advancement, and retention are free of discrimination.