Job description

Vans: Be a Part of the Original

“It was never about waving the brand like a flag, it was always about the people” – Paul Van Doren

Vans is the original action sports footwear company rooted in authenticity and creativity. Founded in 1966, Vans has thrived on a legacy of impacting our greater community through Vans’ four pillars: action sports, music, art and street culture. We are constantly inspired by the creative expressers within our company and community as they bring new and innovative perspectives to help shape and transform the future of our business.

 

At Vans our culture sets us apart and it influences everything we do. Everything we do supports creativity and we are driven by our five values. We are determined. We are connected to our consumers and to each other. We are inclusive. We are expressive and Fun. And most of all, we are a family.

 

Vans is a subsidiary of VF, the world’s largest retail company comprised of over 30 brands. We are the leading drivers of retail as our global footwear, apparel and accessory brand is available in 170 countries worldwide. As we continue to expand, we take great measures in developing our growing number of individuals through our distinct learning culture.

 

Vans is founded on a culture of learning. We take great pride in our ability to facilitate learning opportunities by providing the resources and tools necessary to build each individual’s personal strengths to achieve future goals. In order to prioritize career growth within our company, Vans offers courses on topics such as Leadership, Communication, Collaboration and Technical Skills to ensure our employees are self-motivated and developing to the pace of our rapidly, growing business.

 

By joining the Vans family, you will be immersed into an environment of incredibly supportive and collaborative folk. We work very hard across a multitude of large initiatives to bring the Van Doren spirit to life. We live for what we do.

 

Senior Director – Strategy: Become the Newest Member of the Vans Family

As the Senior Director of Strategy, you will lead strategic process and business problem solving for the Brand. To fulfill your role, you will assess market trends, consumer insights and competitor actions to drive brand health and commercial success. This role will cover areas such as integration of new business, new product initiatives, strategic brand management, continuous process improvement, and brand expansion.

 

How You Will Move the Needle:  

  1. Oversight of annual strategic planning process with Vice President of Strategy and Vans Executive team. Ensures a disciplined process to define, communicate, activate, execute and manage strategic choices and initiatives that will drive achievement of short and long-term goals.
  2. Actively interact with the Global Brand Leadership team in developing a long-term strategic vision, including executing global strategy meetings.
  3. Strong partnership with VF Corporate Strategy function to ensure strategy development approach interfaces and aligns with enterprise-wide standards.
  4. Lead deep dives on business initiatives to develop and test business cases.
  5. Identify, quantify, validate and execute adjacent and white space opportunities that strengthen market position and align with brand growth objectives. Conduct competitive analysis, evaluate new business opportunities and assist in acquisition evaluation/integration.
  6. Serve as internal consultant for key business leaders in vetting strategic ideas. Partner in identifying growth opportunities and develop plans for executive initiatives, including line extensions into new categories, new distributions segments and new geographies.
  7. Support Human Resources efforts in advancing strategic planning skills across key leaders.
  8. Coach and develop Strategy team members. Align team objectives with Brand and Corporate initiatives and establish and monitor achievement of objectives.
  9. Maintain the dashboard of strategic priorities for the senior management team. Manage reporting to VF Corporate. Answer requests for information and develop talking points for Corporate Communications Director and Corporate Investor Relations.

 

Skills for Success:

Years of Related Professional Experience: 12+

Educational/ Position Requirements:

  • Bachelor’s degree and 10+ years relevant and progressive experience in a management role.
  • Skills:
  • Must be self-starter and able to take projects from concept to completion.
  • Ability to lead through influence and work with counterparts across the organization to create synergy, effectiveness, and provide strategies that are complimentary to brand objectives.
  • Strong leadership skills including interpersonal, communication, team building and problem solving ability.
  • Strong financial acumen
  • Superior planning and analysis ability
  • Data driven
  • Superior market knowledge and trend spotting ability
  • A strong communicator with superior presentation skills
  • Branded retail experience
  • Keen ability to lead and navigate large-scale change

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