Manager Performance GCC

Education:

• Education: University Degree in Marketing, Business, or a similar field
• Diploma in creative design or basic knowledge of Photoshop & Illustrator

 Experience:

• Minimum of 5 years of relevant experience in Retail, Brand Marketing or Merchandising, preferably in the Sports or Fashion industries
• At least 3 years of people training experience in a focused, customer service-oriented retail environment (preferably apparel/footwear)
• Sport background in Running/Cycling/Triathlon and/or other cyclical sports
• Experience in dealing with multiple stakeholders and countries/time zones is preferred

Capabilities:

• Ability to work in cross-functional teams at all levels
• Strong analytical skills and business acumen
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills, including English at a business level
• Strong interpersonal skills
• Creativity and the ability to think out of the box
• Ability to effectively prioritise various tasks in a fast-paced activations environment
• Exceptional follow-through, organisational and time management skills
• Regional travel to stores, appropriate meetings and events
• High level of energy, initiative, and professionalism

Develop, drive and deliver the strategic business plan for the Performance category for the GCC markets. Define long-term and short-term objectives to sustainably grow profitability and market share. Develop and execute locally relevant seasonal cross-functional marketing plan to reach targets from a commercial and brand marketing perspective within the performance category. Specialised in product-driven initiatives for own and partner retail, wholesale customers, and local sports communities, athlete management, sports marketing concepts, with the goal of delivering effective commercial programs that will help PUMA improve reputation and growth in the performance category within the GCC region.

As part of the BU category responsibilities, the  Manager Performance GCC will cover the following: Running, Training and Teamsports.

Sports Marketing

• Enhance the Performance Category by integrating athletes and local communities into the Key Initiative Programs for the retail staff teams.
• Lead the day-to-day smooth running of the Sports Marketing function, to help achieve company objectives, as directed by the Head of Marketing.
• Manage the timely ordering and delivery of products for activities including seeding, photo-shoots and events, ensuring the brand and our latest products are always visible in the market.
• Build, maintain and leverage strong relationships with athletes and their managers.
• Support with athlete management and direction onsite at photo-shoots and events.
• Manage running community activations (Run clubs & Run/Train Athletes).
• Lead on key running events (on & off season).
• Develop and implement grassroots (Running Clinics) product launches.
• Manage administrative responsibilities to support the marketing team (e.g. organising stock, organising meetings, developing reports, updating documents and presentations, and office/stock room housekeeping).
• Develop strong relationships with internal functions (e.g., Retail, Sales, Merchandising) as well as external agencies (e.g. production and social agencies), to help achieve objectives.
• Develop a strong understanding of the PUMA business to enable commercial decision-making with regard to player management and activation.
• Work closely with the Marketing teams to plan and execute creative concepts/ideas for player activations that will benefit our trade partners and drive brand desirability for our products.
• Lead the brand marketing strategy and on-ground execution for local retail events, lead and execute product test & try events.
• Identify and represent the brand at the key marathon fairs and running events.

Wholesale (Partners)

• Drive strategic alignments with Channels and Key Accounts to define priorities and opportunities to maximise the business.
• Develop and maintain strong relationships with key Running partners and specialists in GCC.
• Lead and develop product creditability sessions during sell in period.
• Dedicated time spent on customer-facing & product selling across the stores of the Wholesale partners.

• Local retailer event support as well as leading and fulfilling test & try events.
• Gather market insights and product feedback, sharing regularly with Running BU and GCC Merchandising.

Own and Partner Retail (FPS)

• Create Key Initiatives for Retail Training in the Performance Category.
• Deliver specific programs that aim to empower the retail store staff with the necessary tools and skills.
• Act as the Performance Product Expert within the business that integrates across Retail, Sales and Marketing teams.
• Work closely with the Retail Training Manager, field operations and P&O teams to identify training needs and tools required to develop the level of store associates’ skills and knowledge.
• Continually evaluate the effectiveness of ongoing Performance training programs and revise regularly as necessary.
• Provide monthly sell-out support and conduct in-house product training for the own and partner Retail stores.
• Dedicate time to customer-facing & product selling across the PUMA and partner Retail stores.
• Produce and distribute Best Practices for the Performance Category to all retail stores to increase staff knowledge and performance. 
• Analyse results of training programs, sales results, and KPIs to identify areas of opportunity for development of sales and /or enhanced training.
• Collaborate with various Regional and International teams for networking and sharing of knowledge.