Purpose & Relevance:

• To steer EM strategic agenda by driving and tracking change, and delivering results through cross-functional business partnering and actionable insights. 

Key responsibilities:

Head Office:

• Prepare, facilitate and follow-up on local Senior Leadership meetings as well as Senior Stakeholder Market Visits, including Board Updates, Market Business Review Days, etc.
• Lead organization of relevant documentation to ensure EM MD is prepared for all key stakeholder interactions
• Support ongoing improvement of management processes through review and assessment, making recommendations based on best practices
• Support the MD to drive engagement and understanding of the Leadership Team priorities and action plans across various communication tools (All Employee Meetings, Yammer posts, etc.)
• Operate as the counterpart to Global Head Office teams mutually driving efficiency and harmonization
• Facilitate best-practice sharing across EM clusters

Strategic Planning:

• Support in the identification and execution of EM priorities and in creating aspirational long-term vision for Emerging Markets
• Co-ordinate delivery of strategic business plan in close collaboration with Finance and clusters, providing a consolidated category, channel and country level assessment, framework, and targets
• Work with local functional leaders to create action plans to support the delivery of priorities, and track progress against agreed targets
• Ensure communication of a consistent narrative on the EM Strategic plan through the organization by securing alignment with Internal Comms and collaborating closely with Global and EM Business Development teams
• Act as end-to-end internal consultant playing role of challenger and sparring partner for EM BD lead by providing the relevant local insights and data to support informed decision making

Strategic Execution:

• Support and drive significant initiatives and action plans (e.g., brand carve outs, operating model changes, capability roll-outs, sustainability projects, etc.)
• Support business case development for new initiatives and business models through to approval by relevant stakeholders
• Act as direct liaison with Global Corporate Strategy for key initiatives
• Apply Global Project Management toolkit and approach ensuring consistency through EM
• Provide ongoing communication and tracking of progress for priority projects to the Leadership Team and identified stakeholders, highlighting successes and interventions required and assessing ultimate impact and learning
• Lead, facilitate, manage and support specific cross-functional projects and change management as required

Consumer / Market Intelligence:

• Lead the delivery of Market Intelligence (MI) to deliver broad insights supporting high quality business decisions
• Feed into and utilize a led standardized insights toolkit approach across the market
• Provide internal stakeholders with relevant information packages meeting their respective needs through an aligned communication plan and process

Change & Comms Initiatives (e.g., EM TR4M):

• Plan, coordinate and execute local change management activities
• Ensure local change management approach fits the market needs
• Align with global / central change management leads on change management approach and strategy (to ensure consistent journey across program)
• Provide consistent change framework & tools in alignment with global program strategy
• Define and align training approach for all market resources
• Own local communication plan around the change

Key Relationships:

Internal

• EM Business Development community
• EM SLT
• Cluster Leadership Teams
• Sales, Marketing, Finance, IT and HR hub teams
• EM Internal Communications
• Global Corporate Strategy
• Key stakeholders identified for specific projects and initiatives

External

• Market Intelligence providers, e.g., Euromonitor, MEA Business Group
• Strategic partners

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:

• A proven track record of successfully delivering cross-functional projects, ideally with Marketing, Sales, Digital or Operations experience
• Strong strategic acting and high visionary thinking in addition to operational skills
• High degree of commercial and business acumen
• Proven leadership track record and managerial skills
• High personal impact and excellent communication skills
• Fluency in written and spoken English essential. Additional languages are a benefit
• Professional experience in Emerging Markets a distinctive advantage
• Mindset: Curious, questioning, agile, collaborative, pro-active and action orientated

Requisite Education and Experience / Minimum Qualifications:

• Minimum 10 years of experience within relevant industries and/or consulting industry
• Experience in sporting goods or retail a benefit
• Experience in successfully leading, managing, and developing a team
• Business degree from a leading academic institution, MBA an advantage