Senior Specialist - Brand Activation, Italy

In short

Welcome to On. We’re redefining the future of sportswear as one of the world’s fastest-growing premium performance brands.

As a Senior Specialist – Brand Activation for Italy you will shape how our brand comes to life across the market. Your mission is to empower local teams to deliver best-in-class partner training and create unforgettable grassroots experiences that connect deeply with our communities. If you’re a natural collaborator who thrives on turning ideas into meaningful moments that move people, this is your opportunity to make a lasting impact in Italy — a dynamic and high-growth market for On.

Your Mission

• Own and deliver best-in-class, integrated brand activations across Italy—including events, community initiatives, and partnerships—by translating global strategy into locally relevant experiences that enhance brand desirability while remaining anchored in On’s core DNA.
• Drive brand education as a core pillar of the role. Ensure retail teams and in-store staff are consistently up to date with the latest brand and product training, empowering them to confidently communicate On’s heritage and innovative technology. Support B2B activations in collaboration with commercial and retail teams, enhancing brand presence and partner engagement.
• You work autonomously, communicate effectively with diverse stakeholders, challenge conventions and the status quo, and champion innovative approaches to brand building. You are energized by complexity, thrive in dynamic environments, and are not afraid of being stretched or taking on ambitious challenges.
• Drive cross-functional excellence and strategic alignment by managing diverse relationships—including global teams, external agencies, athletes, partners, retailers and federations—to orchestrate complex B2B and B2C workstreams from conceptual planning through to final execution and evaluation.
• Act as the eyes and hands on the ground for Marketing, guaranteeing best-in-class visual merchandising and POS installations that showcase On’s products at the highest standard.
• Proactively engage, educate, and manage freelance Brand Activation and Visual Merchandising teams, supporting scheduling and coordination of their activities.
• Oversee campaign planning, event production, logistics, budgeting, and post-event evaluation.
• Track performance through KPIs, reporting insights and continuously optimizing impact.
• Ensure accurate and timely administration of all activation activities within CRM systems — a small but critical contribution to team transparency and performance tracking.

Your story

• Typically we look for 5+ years of relevant experience in brand activation, or related fields such as retail, sales, marketing, or events.
• A genuine passion for people and movement — essential to thriving as a Brand Activation Specialist at On. Deep knowledge of relevant running or movement lifestyle communities across Italy with a key city focus on Milan
• An entrepreneurial mindset and proactive attitude. You’re energized by being out in the community — leading runs, activating events, and building connections — rather than sitting behind a desk.
• Solid understanding of B2B environments, partnerships, and retail activations.
• Proven experience managing agencies, suppliers, and complex stakeholder ecosystems.
• Excellent organizational, communication, and project management skills.
• Ideally based in Milan or the Greater Milan area, as this is a regional role.
• Fluent Italian (C1+ level) and strong working proficiency in English (C1+ level).
• A valid driver’s license and comfort with driving for business needs.
• Willingness and flexibility to travel. You will have opportunities to attend global conferences, offsites, and major sporting industry events.
• Adaptability and a hands-on approach. You navigate evolving environments and on-the-ground challenges with a solution-oriented mindset. You know when to reinvent and when to optimize.
• Alignment with On’s 5 Spirits. Visit our careers page to learn more about the values that guide how we work and grow together.

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.