Purpose & Overall Relevance for the Organization:   

 

This is a key position for a structured, passionate, and goal-oriented future leader who will lead the implementation of strategic talent projects and programs, ensuring alignment with adidas' HR and business strategies. This role is responsible for applying project management and change management methodologies to drive sustainable integration of talent initiatives, while collaborating with cross-functional and regional teams to enhance adoption, communication effectiveness, and long-term impact.

 

Key Responsibilities

 

Lead the planning and execution of key strategic talent projects and programs, ensuring alignment with adidas' HR and business strategies to drive measurable organizational impact. Apply project management methodologies, leveraging tools and frameworks to define project scope, develop work plans, manage budgets, track progress, and ensure the timely delivery of talent initiatives. Develop and implement change management approaches and communication strategies that engage employees and drive the successful rollout and adoption of key talent initiatives. Collaborate with cross-functional teams to ensure the seamless and sustainable integration of innovative talent products, embedding best practices to maximize long-term impact. Design and deliver impactful communication strategies for talent initiatives, ensuring clear, consistent, and compelling messaging that resonates with diverse audiences across the organization. Partner with cross-functional communication leads to create a unified and cohesive voice for the business, enhancing clarity and effectiveness during transitions and transformations. Work closely with regional Talent teams to co-create and embed tailored strategies that enhance engagement, drive adoption of talent programs, and adapt tools to meet regional needs. Provide governance and reporting to ensure consistency and effectiveness of change efforts. Maintain expertise in project, transformation, and change management by building internal networks, actively exchanging best practices, and deriving actionable insights from internal adidas initiatives. Serve as a trend-spotter and thought leader, benchmarking against external industry standards to identify and integrate cutting-edge strategies for project and change management.

 

Key Relationships:

Sr. Mgr Programs and Engagement HR Talent STL and teams HR Strategy and Excellence team HR CoEs Functional and Market Leads & Head offices Corporate Communications Works Councils

 

 

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:

Creative and energetic personality with a global mindset and strong learning agility. Strategic thinker with the ability to take a big-picture view and evaluate organizational impact, making decisive and well-informed decisions. Comfortable working in fast-paced environments, adept at navigating ambiguity, and confident in high-exposure interactions with senior management. Demonstrates accountability by taking ownership and fostering a culture of ownership among peers and teams. Exceptional collaboration skills with a proven ability to influence and engage stakeholders across global teams and hold them accountable for shared outcomes. Highly situationally aware, demonstrating diplomacy, emotional intelligence, and a deep understanding of strengths and areas for improvement in oneself and others. Strong storytelling and communication skills, with a track record of crafting impactful messaging, content creation and compelling presentations. Proven capability to lead and influence cross-functional teams, ideally in a global or matrixed organization. Proficient in leveraging project management methodologies (e.g., Agile, Waterfall, or hybrid approaches) and tools such as Jira, or Microsoft Project to manage complex initiatives. Experience with analytics and reporting tools (e.g. Power BI, or Excel) to measure progress, track performance, and support data-driven decision-making. Ability to challenge the status quo with a continuous improvement mindset, independently proposing and implementing innovative solutions. Displays curiosity, fosters an inclusive and motivational work environment, supports team development, mentors peers, and embraces diverse perspectives. Builds strong team bonds and networks, creating a collaborative and high-performing culture.

 

Requisite Education and Experience / Minimum Qualifications:

 

Minimum 6–8 years of experience in project management, change management, or strategic transformation programs, ideally within consumer-driven industries such as retail, e-commerce, or sportswear. Proven track record in implementing organizational change initiatives, including driving employee engagement and fostering adoption of new practices. Demonstrated expertise in change management principles, including hands-on experience with frameworks such as PROSCI and ADKAR, and the application of related methodologies to successfully lead organizational transformation initiatives. Demonstrated ability to plan and execute complex projects, including designing and implementing communication strategies that drive stakeholder alignment and adoption. Strong proficiency with project management methodologies (e.g., Agile, Waterfall) and tools (e.g., Jira, Microsoft Project, or Smartsheet), with the ability to quickly learn and apply new technology solutions effectively. PROSCI Change Management certification is preferred. HR (Talent Management) experience is preferred.