
On · Ho Chi Minh City
In short As On’s Head of Footwear Sourcing Operations, based in Ho Chi Min City, Vietnam, you are responsible for leading On’s footwear sourcing operations tea...
In short
As On’s Head of Footwear Sourcing Operations, based in Ho Chi Min City, Vietnam, you are responsible for leading On’s footwear
sourcing operations teams across multiple regions. Your role carries a long-term strategic vision to drive the implementation of
innovation and operational excellence, ensuring On remains at the forefront of the industry.
You are a people leader who elevates the team and inspires them to perform through bringing your strategic and sustainable vision
to life. You care about your team’s well being and growth, and actively develop your team by providing opportunities to grow
through projects and evolving responsibilities. You create a collaborative and high performing team culture.
You are excited for On’s products, technology and innovation, and continuously strive to bring the next innovation fast into
inline.
You are passionate about digital creation and automation, you inspire our partners to think beyond the status quo, and to invest
sustainably for the future.
You care about our manufacturing partners, you nurture relationships with a high level of trust. You inspire our partners to build
capabilities, autonomy, and to prioritise for On. You don’t settle for ‘Industrial Standard’, you strive to build On’s footwear
sourcing performance to the highest level.
You are a connector who builds and fosters strong relationships across functions: In your role, you will partner closely with our
Innovation, Product Strategy, Product Creation, Sustainability, Supply Chain and Finance teams.
Your mission
collaboration toward shared goals.
relationships.
leadership team.
the right roles.
Your story
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.
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.
IN SHORT As the Head of Merchandising, Footwear, you will chart the strategic course for the footwear category across the Americas, ensuring product assortments align seamlessly with On’s premium brand vision and regional commercial needs. Reporting to the Director of Merchandising, AMER on the Americas Merchandising team, you will simplify regional complexity to drive a cohesive omnichannel strategy that captures market opportunities and powers brand love. This role is a critical pillar in balancing global product direction with regional execution to deliver high-impact results and foster a culture of excellence and innovation YOUR MISSION * Develop and execute a comprehensive regional merchandising strategy for footwear that aligns with global product vision and regional commercial objectives across wholesale and DTC channels * Lead the seasonal assortment planning process, optimizing product segmentation, account differentiation, and lifecycle management to drive premium growth targets * Drive the regional go-to-market process by fostering tight alignment between global product teams, regional sales, and demand planning to ensure on-time delivery and forecast accuracy * Synthesize competitor analysis, consumer trends, and market dynamics to identify and act on growth opportunities unique to the Americas landscape * Collaborate with analytics teams to translate sales data and market research into actionable insights that refine product offerings and improve commercial outcomes * Track and analyze key performance indicators including sell-through rates, inventory turn, and margin health to optimize category performance * Mentor and develop a high-performing merchandising team, providing coaching that empowers individuals to own their professional growth and functional expertise * Partner across the matrix to bridge gaps between global strategy and local execution, ensuring the footwear category contributes to On’s overall strategic priorities YOUR STORY * You bring 9+ years of experience in merchandising, product management, or retail buying within a premium global retailer in the footwear or apparel industry * You have 4+ years of experience leading merchandising teams in a high-growth environment, with a proven ability to manage regional scope and cross-functional complexity * Extensive expertise in managing footwear assortments within a vertically integrated or omnichannel brand, balancing central strategy with regional flexibility * Proven track record of achieving high-quality outcomes in margin management, assortment planning, and inventory turnover through data-informed decision-making * Expert analytical skills with the ability to navigate complex data sets and systems to identify underlying trends and root causes * Experience leveraging product lifecycle management (PLM) tools and BI platforms to optimize workflow and strategic planning * Masterful communication and relationship-building skills, with the ability to influence diverse stakeholders and align outputs with broad organizational goals * Deep commitment to fostering an inclusive environment and championing sustainable practices within the product lifecycle YOUR TEAM You will join the Americas Merchandising team, acting as trusted advisors in setting the vision and direction for product for the region. The team acts as a bridge between our Global Product/Commercial teams and regional business leaders. Our cross-functional interaction is driven by a market-relevant, consumer-focused mindset touching on all departments inside our organization to set a commercial plan and identify profitable growth and act on sales opportunities and actions together. Our Americas team is growing; help us drive that journey. Typical cash compensation range for this position inclusive of base + bonus + equity: $220,000-$270,000. Individual compensation packages are based on various factors unique to each candidate including experience, industry knowledge, qualifications, skill set, and location. Certain roles may be eligible for equity compensation in addition to cash compensation.
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.