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Senior Director of Product Vertical Running
Location: Zurich
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In short
As the Senior Director of Product Vertical Running, you will be the architect of our running product vision, setting the strategic direction that shapes the future of the Running product strategy. In this pivotal role, you will provide visionary leadership for the running vertical, ensuring its alignment with our global mission and long-term business objectives. You will oversee a team of product directors, guiding them to deliver groundbreaking products that not only push the boundaries of technical excellence but also resonate deeply with athletes and consumers worldwide.
Your leadership will define the trajectory of On’s running category, balancing technical innovation with consumer insights, and ensuring products remain ahead of market trends. As a strategic leader, you will foster a culture of excellence and drive succession planning across the organization, ensuring the continued development of top-tier talent and the long-term sustainability of On’s leadership capabilities. This role is pivotal in ensuring that On continues to set industry benchmarks, through both product success and a robust leadership pipeline that fuels ongoing innovation.
Your Mission
- Define and steer the long-term strategic vision for the Running category, ensuring all product initiatives align with our broader business objectives.
- Serve as the primary strategic advisor for product directors, empowering them to drive innovation while maintaining coherence with the overall product strategy. - Guide new levels of excellence, best practices, and efficiencies within all creation teams.
- Work collaboratively with the Executive Leadership team on defining long-term growth strategies and align behind the company’s core vision and mission.
- Establish a clear vision for how channel strategy, brand strategy, and product strategy together orchestrate the product portfolio's lifecycle across our different communities.
- Lead with a focus on vision and innovation, ensuring that we stay ahead of industry trends and maintain our position as a leader in the running footwear market.
- Foster an environment of functional and cross-functional collaboration and transparency, ensuring synergy between product development, design, marketing, and other critical teams, elevating the running product strategy.
- Be a driving force behind our head-to-toe strategy balancing credibility, functionality, sustainability, and design, building the most premium sportswear product in the marketplace.
- Lead your teams with a consumer-first approach, ensuring that the product strategy is rooted in deep market insights and evolving consumer demands, while also driving our ambition to inspire athletes globally.
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Your story
- 12+ in product strategy or product management, with significant exposure to (performance) footwear
- 8+ years of experience in a leadership role - your leadership skills have been honed through previous management roles, and you have a demonstrated ability to inspire, motivate, and develop high-performing teams
- A visionary leader with proven expertise in setting and executing product strategies that elevate brand positioning and market leadership in the sports industry
- Extensive experience in guiding senior leaders, with a focus on strategic alignment, leadership development, and fostering authentic collaboration
- Demonstrated ability to balance big-picture thinking with detailed execution, ensuring that the teams are equipped to deliver on both tactical and strategic initiatives
- Ability to inspire cross-functional teams and drive a culture of excellence. Proven experience being a driver of cross-functional alignment at crucial intersections to architect a robust GTM strategy
- Strong understanding of the entire product creation process
- A deep background in (performance) running, including direct work with professional athletes across various disciplines to gain insights applicable to the global running line plan. Experience managing and growing key performance running platforms
- Great communication skills are a must, with a high proficiency in English
About the Team
As the product strategy team, we’re responsible for managing product creation from start to finish. Our cross functional interaction is driven by a consumer-focused mindset to ensure we create a product line that sells in and through.
About the Team video
Hyeyoung
Head of Strategic Product Initiatives
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.
What to expect
We want to set everyone up for success, so here’s the lowdown on how we hire. Our process is a two-way street – bringing you into our culture, while helping us learn how you think.
Our full process can last about eight weeks from application to offer, because we care about getting it right. These steps explain how we usually do things.
Before you get started, feel free to consider if you want to work with us. Strange question? Well, we give people a lot of space to navigate their day-to-day and that style isn't for everyone. We want you to be passionate about what you do and be sure this is the right fit. Because when skills and passion combine – it creates that 'Wow' moment.