GENERAL PURPOSE

This role sits within the North America (NAM) eCommerce Business Operations - Strategy & Programs team serving as a critical partner to NAM Digital leadership in shaping and operationalizing the market’s strategic agenda. As a Senior Manager - Strategic Business Operations, you will lead the strategic planning cycle, drive market and competitive landscape insights, facilitate identification of strategic choices and initiatives, establish a disciplined approach to value realization, and manage the department’s financial operating cadence (“business drumbeats”) to ensure leadership has clear visibility into performance, investments, and outcomes.

This role partners closely with senior leadership and cross-functional teams operating as a trusted advisor to leadership translating strategy into a prioritized initiative portfolio, defined measurable outcomes, and monitor progress through consistent governance and financial rhythms.

This is an individual contributor role with significant leadership and cross-functional influence.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

COMPETITOR & MARKET LANDSCAPE ANALYSIS

• Lead ongoing competitive and market intelligence to inform strategic decisions, including competitor benchmarking, trend analysis, and opportunity identification.
• Produce leadership-ready insights (briefs, dashboards, readouts) on market dynamics, category trends, and consumer behavior signals, and competitor moves.
• Partner with analytics, product, marketing, and finance to triangulate insights and convert them into actionable recommendations.

MANAGE THE STRATEGIC PLANNING CYCLE

• Own the department’s strategic planning operating model, including annual planning and refresh cycles.
• Design and facilitate planning workshops and leadership working sessions to align on goals, strategic choices, investments, and dependencies.
• Establish clear planning artifacts (strategy narrative, strategic choices, initiative portfolio, investment asks, KPI tree) and ensure teams follow the process.

DRIVE IDENTIFICATION OF STRATEGIC CHOICES & INITIATIVES

• Structure ambiguous problem spaces into clear strategic choices (where to play/how to win) and initiative options. 
• Facilitate cross-functional input to define initiative charters, scope, outcomes, resourcing assumptions, and high-level roadmaps.
• Support leadership decision-making through scenario analysis and trade-off frameworks (impact vs. effort, ROI, risk, strategic alignment).
• Act as a thought partner to leadership in shaping strategic narratives, framing decisions, and preparing for key forums (business reviews, investment committees, executive updates)
• Drive consistency in how the organization tells its strategy and performance story, reinforcing clarity, credibility, and alignment across stakeholders

TRACK VALUE REALIZATION OF INITIATIVES

• Implement a consistent value realization framework for major initiatives (baseline → forecast → realized), including KPI definition and measurement approach.
• Track benefits realization and outcomes across initiatives (financial and non-financial), identifying risks to value capture early.
• Create monthly/quarterly/yearly value realization reporting and drive accountability for corrective actions when outcomes are off track.

MANAGE BUSINESS FINANCIAL DRUMBEATS (OPERATING CADENCE)

• Run the department’s business cadence: weekly business meetings, monthly business reviews, and ad hoc leadership readouts.
• Capture, track and ensure completion of business meeting cadence action items.
• Prepare executive-level updates for business meetings, using clear storytelling tailored to the audience.

LEADERSHIP CONTENT CREATION & EXECUTIVE STORYTELLING

• Develop high-quality, executive-ready content for senior leadership, including strategy presentations, business cases, board/executive level readouts, and decision materials.
• Create reusable templates and standards for leadership materials (e.g. strategic plans, initiative updates, value realization reporting).

REQUIREMENTS

EDUCATION & EXPERIENCE

• 7-10+ years of experience in strategic planning, financial analysis, business operations, management consulting, or portfolio performance
• Strong business acumen, financial analysis, business case development, ROI modeling, and investment trade-off analysis
• Proven experience running strategic planning cycles and facilitating cross-functional working sessions
• Demonstrated track record in business performance management, KPI development, and benefits/value realization tracking
• Advanced Excel and PowerPoint skills, experience with Power BI a plus
• Experience building operating rhythms across a matrixed organization
• Experience working with Senior Leadership
• Experience performing competitor and marketplace analysis

SOFT-SKILLS

• Strong communication, storytelling, and stakeholder management skills
• Ability to effectively prioritize in a fast-paced environment
• Ability to create structure out of ambiguity

HARD SKILLS

• Business acumen and financial analysis including understanding of financial KPIs
• Strong MS-Office skills (Excel and PowerPoint are necessary)
• Understanding of website experience KPIs preferred
• MS Teams, Smartsheet, Power BI, and SharePoint proficiency preferred
• Ability to travel, domestic or international, as required
• Fluent English both verbally and written

• adidas celebrates diversity, supports inclusiveness and encourages individual expression in our workplace. We actively encourage individuals with disabilities to apply and will provide reasonable accommodations throughout the recruitment process. We do not tolerate the harassment or discrimination toward any of our applicants or employees. We are an Equal Opportunity Employer.
• adidas offers robust and progressive medical, including HSA (Health Savings Account) with employer funding or FSA (Flexible Spending Account) options, dental, vision, prescription drug coverage, adoption, with surrogate and fertility support, short and long-term disability, and basic life and AD&D insurance, which can be supplemented with employee-paid coverage. Employees are able to enroll in adidas’ 401k plan and Stock Purchase Plan with employer match. Full-time employees are eligible for education assistance and generous Leave policies including 12 weeks of paid parental leave.
• Employees are eligible to earn an annual bonus based on both company and personal performance. Employees accrue prorated flexible time off in the amount .4388 hours per day that increases with years of service, twelve paid holidays throughout the calendar year and Service Time Off during milestone years. 
• At adidas we offer a Hybrid work policy which requires attendance in the office Monday through Thursday, with the flexibility to work remotely on Friday each week. For work requiring a high degree of collaboration or an in-person presentation, in-office attendance is required even on Friday. The working location of this position is Portland, OR.
• Though our teammates hail from all corners of the world, our working language is English.