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Senior Director of Product Portfolio Strategy

Location: Zurich

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Product Strategy

In short

On has become one of the fastest-growing premium sportswear brands in the world, with our team and business rapidly expanding globally. In this newly created leadership role, you will define On’s global collection strategy and steer a cross-vertical product portfolio based on deep consumer insights, market trends, and commercial needs. Collaborating closely with Product, Brand, and Commercial teams, you will translate insights and strategic direction into a high-performing, future-proof product portfolio that drives brand momentum and business growth.

Your Mission

Portfolio Architecture & LRP: Build and manage the Long-Range Plan (LRP) in strict alignment with Product and Merchandising strategies. Harmonize franchise lifecycles with channel/regional demands and the overarching Apparel Category Strategy.
P1 Planning & Resource Management: Establish a comprehensive seasonal and annual perspective. Clarify the upcoming year's briefings while masterfully balancing capacity planning, resource management, financials, and franchise health.
People Leadership: Build, nurture, and orchestrate a highly diversified, world-class team. Serve as a natural coach to unlock talent, establish a resilient team spirit, and effectively lead across a complex, matrixed global organization.
Horizontal Priority Execution: Act as the strategic engine leading execution across product teams for major horizontal brand priorities (e.g., LightSprayTM, Liquified Carbon, and overall brand Premiumization).
Innovation to Inline Roadmap: Strategically manage the innovation pipeline all the way through to GTM, ensuring breakthrough concepts transition smoothly into commercial inline products with clear, consumer-facing messaging.
Sustainability Catalyst Leadership: Serve as a catalyst for sustainable growth, ensuring ESG targets are strategically implemented, tracked, and managed throughout the entire product strategy lifecycle.
Market Insights & Category Extension: Drive continuous competitive landscaping, market insights, and trend research to identify white spaces, prioritizing portfolio decisions and exploring potential category extensions.

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Your story

You need to be at the center of a team that contributes to the plan, knowing when to pull in the right person to help you build it. But you also need to be the one to stand up for the vision, communicate it, and know when it’s time to evolve based on new information. You see yourself as a collaborative leader and understand the value of strong opinions, healthy debate, and the need to move forward as a unified team. You bring deep industry experience to the conversation, balanced with a passion for driving innovation. Demonstrated ability to develop strong relationships and build trust with empowered decision-makers is essential.

We’d love to hear from people with:

13+ years of experience in global product strategy, portfolio management, or product merchandising within premium lifestyle, footwear or sportswear brands.
Mature Executive Leadership: A proven track record of leading, mentoring, and navigating diverse cross-functional teams within complex, matrix-designed global organizations.
Strategic & Commercial Acumen: Deep experience building Long-Range Plans (LRP), managing complex financials/capacity planning and driving scalable growth.
Innovation & GTM Fluency: Experience bridging the gap between advanced R&D/product innovation and commercial inline reality, with a keen eye for translating consumer insights into culture-relevant storytelling.
Market & Competitive Expertise: Strong knowledge of global consumer culture, competitive landscaping, and advanced market segmentation within the sports and lifestyle sectors.
Entrepreneurial Mindset: A strategic thinker balanced with a hands-on approach; someone who looks at complex problems and sees them as brand opportunities.
Framework & Lifecycle Focus: A strong capability to design and integrate complex structural metrics, commercial parameters, or strategic planning frameworks into a product framework.
Exceptional communication and presentation skills, with the confidence to deliver executive-level narratives and pitch a visionary product roadmap to C-suite leadership and the wider global organization.
Degree in Economics, Business, or a related discipline

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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.

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Hyeyoung

Head of Strategic Product Initiatives

The way we solve problems is very unique and that brings a very unique energy into it. It motivates me everyday, waking up with this excitement that's quite unusual.

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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.

Build the better you

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.