Director, Product Marketing, Kids Footwear

adidas adidas-group.com Open · verified Sep 18, 2026

Shanghai Director Product Marketing

Leadership Product Marketing role at adidas. Shanghai.

Role brief

Growth Roles summary, based on the employer's posting.

What you'll do

Set the kids footwear category direction and turn strategy into tactical plans
Lead design, development, materials, costing, and planning teams through product creation
Manage and grow the category team while building a high-performance, collaborative culture
Find innovation and commercial opportunities, then guide projects that improve category results
Track and communicate category performance, KPIs, and product information timelines

What you bring

At least ten years of product marketing experience, including required kids footwear experience
Five or more years leading and developing direct reports
A college degree, preferably in marketing, business, textile, or fashion
Fluent spoken and written English, plus MS Office proficiency
Strong leadership, analytical, communication, consumer, market, and retail skills

Who this fits

This role suits a sports-focused category leader who can coach a team, challenge established approaches, and handle change and conflict diplomatically. You’ll collaborate across design, development, materials, costing, planning, markets, and other functions in a fast-paced setting. The position is based in Shanghai, China, includes travel, and requires fluent English plus MS Office skills.

From the employer

Purpose & Overall Relevance for the Organization:

Recognize sport and consumer insights.
Heavily influence category direction and drive its implementation.
Execute strategies to tactical plans.
Steer a cross-functional product creation team to deliver the category vision.
Lead and develop the category team.

Key Responsibilities:

Manage a team and develop their functional and social skills using available resources to create a top performing team.
Set and manage strategic category direction; ensure cross-functional alignment.
Identify new business opportunities to drive innovation and / or commerciality.
Develop an "all for one attitude" within the team to ensure smooth cooperation with interlinked departments.
Have full understanding of the product creation process to drive it forward.
Be a role model for all team members in regards to strategic direction and the product creation process.
Show leadership through living the brand values while fostering a performance culture.
Manage and develop optimum relationship with cross-functional teams and with interlinked departments to enable an efficient product creation process.
Challenge the cross-functional team to ensure creation of industry leading products.
Analyse and report category business performance to ensure achievement of category KPIs.
Positively represent the category both internally and externally.
Be a competent partner for category and ranging discussions with markets.
Define projects to optimize category performance and steer to conclusion.
Build an understanding of product information systems and the interlinking functions – clarity on respective timelines

Key Relationships:

Steer a strong relationship and ensure constant dialogue/feedback with Your category across all functions, other categories and creation centers (if appl.)
Cross-functional team (Design, Development, Materials, Costing, Planning) Markets

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:

Manage a team to create industry leading products
Inspire, coach and lead; set framework for performance and growth
In-depth knowledge of respective product category
Advanced analytical skills, be solution driven and result oriented, strong business orientation
Ability to thrive in a fast paced environment
Strong communication skills
Lateral thinking and challenge status quo
Profound consumer, market and retail knowledge especially in regards to different needs of different countries/ regions
Step up to conflicts and work towards a diplomatic solution
Execute change management
Cooperate effectively to maintain and develop trustful relationships
Ability to travel
Passion for sports

Requisite Education and Experience / Minimum Qualifications:

College degree, preferably in marketing/business /textile/fashion
Minimum of 10 years Product Marketing experience with Kids’ FTW Product Marketing experience as a must have
At least 5 years of experience in managing and developing direct reports
Strong leadership skills
Experience in trade or sales is helpful
Fluent in English (oral/written)
PC skills (MS Office programs)