Head Of Strategy & Operations, Footwear Product Creation

In short

As the Head of Strategy & Operations, you are the architect of Footwear Creation's operating model. You will translate On's 2030 Long Range Plan into executable transformation - driving the strategic initiatives, processes, and systems that enable our team to deliver breakthrough footwear with Swiss-engineered precision. Sitting at the intersection of Development, Engineering, Materials, and Sustainability, you will influence leaders across functions, build organizational excitement for new ways of working, and make decisive calls on initiative prioritization and execution. Your mission: own the LRP initiative portfolio, orchestrate the leadership operating rhythm, and deliver measurable transformation that elevates how we create.

Your Mission

Strategic Leadership & Vision (LRP to Action)

• Architect the Roadmap: Translate On’s 2030 LRP and annual goals into a multi-year strategic roadmap for Footwear Product Creation.
• Strategic Prioritization: Act as the Creation gatekeeper for the footwear portfolio, ensuring technical breakthroughs are sequenced and resourced for maximum commercial impact.

Portfolio Strategy & Operating Rhythm

• Own seasonal range portfolio planning: capacity modeling, resource allocation, project prioritization.
• Design and manage the Footwear Creation operating rhythm: weekly leadership standups, monthly business reviews, quarterly strategic planning.
• Facilitate high-stakes leadership discussions; Own the agendas, pre-reads, drive decisions and follow-through for all leadership forums.
• Serve as the primary coordination point between Creation and cross-functional partners (Innovation, Sourcing, Brand, Supply Chain).
• Build portfolio dashboards that give leadership real-time visibility into capacity, progress, risks, and trade-offs.

Process Excellence & Transformation

• Lead strategic initiatives to improve creation velocity: stage-gate optimization, systems integration, capacity planning frameworks.
• Identify and eliminate process inefficiencies; challenge any workflow that doesn't add value.
• Drive adoption of new ways of working through clear metrics, change management, and feedback loops.
• Build a high-accountability, fast-decision culture within the Creation leadership team.

Change Management & Adoption Excellence

• Drive adoption of new initiatives through comprehensive change management: communication strategies, training programs, adoption metrics, feedback mechanisms.
• Build organizational excitement and understanding of the strategic rationale behind transformational changes.
• Navigate politics and complexity to drive decisions and unblock progress.
• Hold partners accountable to commitments even when they don't report to you.
• Monitor leading indicators of adoption; implement course corrections when resistance or confusion emerges.
• Foster a culture of accountability, transparency, and continuous improvement within Footwear Creation.

Your story

• Experience: 10+ years of leadership in Product Strategy, Program Management, or Footwear Creation, with a proven track record of translating corporate strategy into actionable cross-functional initiatives.
• Operational Rigor: Exceptional executive facilitation skills; you are comfortable holding senior stakeholders accountable and running high-stakes leadership rhythms.
• Influence without authority: You've led initiatives where success required getting leaders who don't report to you to change how they work. You have low self orientation.
• Footwear Acumen: Deep understanding of the end-to-end product creation lifecycle from innovation and engineering to global manufacturing.
• Data-Driven Mindset: Exceptional analytical and visualization skills; you can turn complex project data into clear insights for executive decision-making.
• Transformation Leader: Experience leading organizational change, including "Future State" org design and the implementation of new operating models.
• Communication: A natural storyteller, capable of inspiring large teams on stage and navigating complex cross-functional partnerships.
• Passion: An undeniable drive for sports, footwear technology, and Swiss-engineered innovation.

Why This Matters

On is scaling fast. Footwear Creation needs to evolve - not just work harder, but work smarter. We need new systems, new processes, new ways of collaborating. We need someone who can drive that transformation across a complex, cross-functional organization.

You won't build the products. But you'll build the operating model, the systems, and the culture that enable products and brand initiatives to be adopted and built with excellence, at speed, at scale.

If you're the kind of transformation leader who thrives on complexity, who knows how to influence without authority, who can make tough calls and drive change that sticks - this is your role.

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.

• Step One

  It starts with you...

  You'll start by submitting your application to a specific role. We try to keep this step as simple as possible. We do get a lot of applications, but we review them all. If you're a good fit to the role, a recruiter will follow up with you directly. If you didn't receive a reply, or were unsuccessful this time around, we encourage you to look for other possible matches at On.

• Step Two

  Interview with a recruiter

  What ignites your spirit? This is where we’ll start getting to know all about you and what makes you tick – and it’s your first chance to get a feel for our culture. Chatting with a member of our talent team, you’ll learn more about On and how we work. We’ll learn about what motivates you and what you could bring to the team.

• Step Three

  Interview with a hiring manager

  Ready to dig into the details? This second interview will be held with your future manager and will focus on the specifics of the job. Together you’ll delve into your unique skills and experiences and how they could be relevant at On. It's also a time to assess how you might feel working side-by-side. Bring any questions you have about the job, the team or anything else you might like to know – this is an open forum.

• Step Four

  The Case Study

  What's your style? This task will help us understand how you think, face a challenge and give insight into your novel ideas. Designed to give everyone their best shot, your case study is based on something you might typically experience on the job. This is your chance to show us what you’ve got. So express yourself. Be you.

• Step Five

  The Experience Day

  Your first taste of the Oniverse. This is a time to meet some of the people you'll be working closest with. In person or virtually, you'll get a feel for the day-to-day at On and the people who make it happen. You'll chat with a few potential teammates - the conversations will be as equally driven by the role and your experience as by our values. We believe how you do things is just as important as what you do.

• Step Six

  The Result

  Are we a good fit? We’ll get together internally to share our feedback and decide if we’re a match. We know that job searching is a big time investment, so it’s not a decision we take lightly. It’s also time for you to reflect on the experience – are we the right place for you? No matter the outcome, we’ll give you meaningful feedback.

Step One:

It starts with you...

You'll start by submitting your application to a specific role.

We try to keep this step as simple as possible. We do get a lot of applications, but we review them all. If you're a good fit to the role, a recruiter will follow up with you directly. If you didn't receive a reply, or were unsuccessful this time around, we encourage you to look for other possible matches at On.