Job Overview
The global Operational Excellence team is seeking a Head of Business Process Excellence to lead our Idea-to-Product domain and Business Architecture team. We are searching for a visionary, data-driven leader to transform our Creation processes. In this pivotal role, you will define next-generation digital capabilities, including advanced AI integration, while continuously optimizing our workflows. You will lead a newly formed team of 5-7 members, serving as the primary business owner and strategic partner to the Senior Leadership Team to drive operational excellence and shape our digital future. The Head of Business Process Excellence will report to the Senior Director for Operational Excellence, supporting teams across Product Strategy, Innovation, Design, Development, and Sourcing in the Apparel & Accessories (A&A) and Footwear (FTW) sectors.
Your Mission
- Vision & Roadmap Development: Shape the future of our Idea-to-Product organization by defining and executing a long-term vision for our business processes, workflows, and digital capabilities. Serve as the resident expert and visionary for integrating AI opportunities throughout the value chain.
- Process Optimization & Digital Twin: Document current workflows and processes to identify optimization potential, while developing the "Northstar" setup for the future way of working across Apparel & Accessories (A&A) and Footwear (FTW).
- Tech Partnership & Capability Delivery: Collaborate closely with the Technology team as the primary business owner to design, gather requirements, and align advanced business capabilities with strategic goals.
- Operational Leadership & Decision Making: Act as the primary spokesperson for operational teams, making critical trade-off decisions, managing the user base, and leading a dedicated team focused on the Idea-to-Product domain.
- Business Architecture: Lead the business architecture team, taking end-to-end responsibility for mapping, scaling, and structuring organizational capabilities.
- Stakeholder Engagement & Sparring: Foster high-level interactions and act as a trusted strategic partner for the Senior Leadership Team across Product Strategy, Innovation, Design, Development, and Sourcing teams.
- Enablement & Tool Adoption: Coordinate comprehensive training programs for new tools and capabilities, driving user adoption and operational excellence across teams.
Your Story
- Domain Expertise: Deep understanding of the product development value chain (Idea-to-Product) and Creation processes within the Apparel, Accessories, or Footwear industries.
- Proven Leadership Experience: Over 10 years of experience in business process management, digital transformation, or operational excellence, with a successful track record in managing and developing high-performing teams, ideally with experience managing 5+ direct reports.
- Team Architecture & Talent Leadership: Demonstrated success in strategically recruiting and developing top-tier talent to build high-performing organizational units from the ground up.
- Tech & AI Savviness: A technical affinity combined with a data-informed, problem-solving mindset, supported by deep business acumen and process expertise to shape technology roadmaps and assess AI opportunities.
- Strategic Stakeholder Management: Exceptional communication and interpersonal skills, demonstrating experience in influencing and collaborating with C-suite and Senior Leadership Teams.
- Change Management & Execution: Proven ability to document complex workflows, perform gap analyses, drive tool adoption, and manage large-scale user training across cross-functional teams.
- Academic Background: Degree or extensive knowledge in Business Administration, Engineering, Operations Management, or a related field, with strong emphasis on process mapping and capability maturity frameworks.
Attributes of a Successful Candidate
- Strategic Visionary: Capability to envision a digital "Northstar" for our future business practices while maintaining a pragmatic approach.
- Resilient Decision Maker: Aptitude for navigating ambiguity, prioritizing conflicting demands, and making critical trade-off decisions in a fast-paced environment.
- Collaborative Influencer: A natural bridge-builder who can effectively communicate with both deep-tech engineers and creative product operations teams.
Apply online using the form below. Only applications matching the job profile will be considered.