Purpose & Overall Relevance for the Organization

As a Project Manager within adidas Digital Content Product Presentation you will lead the execution of medium-scale digital initiatives and key change requests. Operating primarily at the local market level, you will ensure projects are delivered on time, within budget, and to quality standards—always with a focus on consumer expectations. You’ll collaborate closely with cross-functional teams, manage resources, and serve as the central point of contact for local stakeholders.

This role requires bilingual fluency in Japanese and English, strong communication skills, and a dotted-line reporting relationship to the Japan team to ensure local alignment while maintaining strategic isolation. The position is hybrid, with a 50/50 split between in-studio and in-office presence.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

Scope: Manage and deliver digital projects on a local & global level

• Coordinate day to day scope of eCom/WHS.com photo and video creation on a seasonal basis
• Manage daily incidents to ensure Digital assets with errors are updated asap to drive conversion/sales and prevent returns (focus on imagery)
• Report on KPIs for all studios and follow up to continuously improve so markets can go-live on-time to drive sales
• Take into consideration the global Styleguide directions
• Act as a contact in stakeholder and photo studio communication
• Support with day to day business for increased requirements from key markets (focus on Asian markets)
• As conflicts and escalations arise within projects, contribute to the identification of solutions and in their resolution in a timely and appropriate manner
• Manage change within projects and ensure changes are smoothly and successfully implemented to achieve lasting benefits
• Drive continuous improvement of products, processes or systems within the project scope
• Monitor project variables (cost, effort, scope, etc.) against plan in order to implement corrective or preventive actions

RESOURCE PLANNING:

• Coordinate internal and external resources to support project execution
• Ensure optimal allocation and utilization of team capacity
• Manage vendor relationships on location, particularly for all shooting-related inquiries

COMMUNICATION:

• Serve as the primary liaison for local stakeholders (markets include Japan, China, Hong Kong, South Korea)
• Communicate effectively with sponsors and stakeholders throughout the project lifecycle
• Resolve conflicts and escalate issues when necessary
• Manage change processes to ensure smooth implementation and lasting impact
• Share market insights regularly with internal teams and cross-functional counterparts

PROJECT CONTROLLING:

• Monitor project costs and ensure alignment with committed budgets
• Conduct engagement reviews and validate quality assurance compliance
• Track key project variables (cost, effort, scope) and implement corrective actions as needed
• Own budget responsibilities including forecasting and vendor cost management

PRODUCT AVAILABILITY-SAMPLE MANAGEMENT

• Conduct all activities as a Single POC  / Hub for product sample readiness among Japan
  local stakeholders (DC/Warehouse, Brand & Channel)
• Lead sample delivery for production (ordering, tracking, etc) with the global Product Availability team 
• Handle customs-related sample issues and requests 
• Analyze data to monitor product availability and agency performance 
• Serve as main contact for photo studio sample coordination 
• Manage sample orders for the local “buy ready” range collaborating with local stakeholders (shipping, returning to DC, SAP transaction)
• Maintain sample data in Cataligent and across any required internal systems (SAP, Power BI etc.) 
• Track, update, and respond to all sample-related queries for studio and local teams 
• Support incident-related sample management 
• Address sample queries from studio and regional stakeholders (Japan, China, Hong Kong, South Korea) 
• Coordinate seasonal product returns from the studio 
• Drive process improvements and cross-functional workflow optimization for sample management

ADDITIONAL RESPONSIBILITIES

AGILE TRANSFORMATION:

• Support the shift toward agile working models and facilitate adoption
• Help shape the demand and delivery process within Digital Content 
• Lead initial demand discussions with stakeholders

MARKET DEVELOPMENT:

• Collaborate with Analytics to build market-specific business cases
• Recommend rollout priorities based on market potential
• Partner with IT to develop platform capabilities aligned with business needs

KEY RELATIONSHIPS

• Senior Project Managers / Director Digital Content 
• Local and global project teams
• Global IT and business functions (Finance, HR, Marketing, Retail/Wholesale)
• HR & procurement teams
• Japan team (dotted-line collaboration) eCom, WHS, SCM/Warehouse, Brand, CCT

Requisite Education and Experience / Minimum Qualifications

• University degree in Business, Communication, IT, or related field
• 5+ years of project management experience
• 1–3 years working within relevant digital ecosystems
• Experience in Finance is a plus
• Proven ability to work with diverse stakeholders across functions and seniority levels

Knowledge, Skills and Requirements

• Strong interpersonal and communication skills in both English and Japanese
• Comfortable working in fast-paced, multicultural environments
• Entrepreneurial mindset with a solution-oriented approach
• Strong analytical and numerical capabilities

• Proficiency in MS Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint)
• Willingness to travel domestically and internationally
• Solid understanding of IT fundamentals
• Fluent in English and Japanese, both written and spoken
• SAP experience is a plus