Lead Merchant, Kids Footwear - Jordan NA (Sport Focus)

In Jordan, we believe greatness exists in everyone. Our mission in the NA Jordan Kids team is to ignite the greatness in every child through play and purpose. With the consumer at the center of everything we do, we are looking for a consumer-obsessed merchant who will champion the NA Jordan Kids consumer and help shape the Jordan Brand into a brand that they see themselves in and feel deeply connected to.

WHO WE ARE LOOKING FOR

We are looking for a merchant who is passionate about product, sport, streetwear and fashion with the ability to stay on the pulse of the Gen Alpha consumer. A deep understanding of sneaker culture is also needed. The ability to recognize and evaluate product nuances and anticipate consumer sentiment is critical in balancing the need to drive revenue and preserve brand health.

The role requires strong product, merchandising and retail acumen. As a growth Sport, we need a strategic merchant who can architect long-term and sustainable growth while finding new ways to connect & deliver compelling product to our youngest consumer.

The candidate should have a strong understanding of the North America Nike Direct and Marketplace Partner landscape. A highly collaborative, solution-oriented mindset is essential for working cross-functionally to enable marketplace segmentation and differentiation, account and marketing activations, and winning key moments.

Success in this role requires the ability to lead strategy, influence across teams and manage a highly complex product portfolio across sports, genders and sizes with an exceptional attention to detail.

• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Merchandising, Marketing, or related field. Will accept any suitable combination of education, experience, and training.
• 5+ years of experience in Merchandising, Product Creation or Retail Buying.
• Portfolio Management, Line plan Management and/or Assortment-building experience
• Strong Product & Retail Acumen.
• Ability to drive strategy, influence & align across teams and drive execution in a highly collaborative environment.
• Understanding of the North America marketplace and ability to anticipate & respond to shifts in sales, inventory and marketplace dynamics.
• Strong communication and leadership skills
• Strong collaborator who brings people together to find solutions to complex problems and applies learnings for the future.
• High attention to detail in delivering seasonal tools & weekly updates and ensuring product accuracy across systems/tools.
• Team player who fosters an inclusive, positive and progressive team dynamic

WHAT YOU WILL WORK ON:

You will be responsible for building seasonal, consumer-right NA Jordan Kids FW line plans (inclusive of Streetwear, Basketball and Cleated product) that achieve seasonal revenue and financial targets.

You will manage multiple seasons through the E2E process by delivering insights and identifying product opportunities during line planning, curating seasonal consumer-right line plans, and regularly evaluating the business through bookings and point-of-sale results.

Key responsibilities include:

• Curating seasonal NA Jordan Kids FW line plans and drive assortment decisions
• Obsess the consumer and translate insights into product, assortment and marketplace actions.
• Parter closely with Global Merchandising by delivering consistent insights about the consumer, business, marketplace and trend to influence the Global Line plan
• Manage franchise health, product lifecycles and multi-season product journeys.
• Manage future and in-season launch needs relating to line planning, flow, allocations and delivery coverage.
• Partner closely across Sport Merchandising, Plannings, Sales, Marketing, Nike Direct and NMP to deliver multi-season plans and strategies.
• Lead seasonal NA product presentations for cross-functional partners to align on seasonal sport, product and marketplace strategies.
• Line plan and brief seasonal Local Creation product offerings.
• Execute seasonal & system readiness and deliverables to support the CODE process
  

WHO YOU WILL WORK WITH

You will report to the NA Jordan Kids & Core Merchandising Director and partner closely with:

• North America Jordan Streetwear, Sport and Nike Direct Merchandising teams
• North America Jordan Marketing, Marketplace, Planning, S&IP and Business Integration teams
• North America Local Creation
• Global Jordan Product and Merchandising teams
• North America Nike Kids Merchandising teams

We offer a number of accommodations to complete our interview process including screen readers, sign language interpreters, accessible and single location for in-person interviews, closed captioning, and other reasonable modifications as needed. If you discover, as you navigate our application process, that you need assistance or an accommodation due to a disability, please complete the Candidate Accommodation Request Form.