Design Director, Partnerships

Area adidas Brand

Department Culture, Collaborations & Partnerships

Direct Reporting Line: D Direct Reporting Line Sr Design Director

Indirect/secondary reporting line VP Culture, Collaborations & Partnerships

Subsidiary/country USA

Location Los Angeles, California

Number of Personnel Managed 1 - 5

Purpose & Overall Relevance for the Organization

The work created will function to shape and steer the Partnership(s) Creative Vision into product expression in partnership with adidas/ Partner product creation teams. Create industry leading advanced design solutions that provide design direction to the look/ feel of Partnership strategy to market. Lead and establish team and direction of designs provided by Senior Design Leader(s) and Partner. Maintain and nurture the design, material and color direction with the Design team, Development, Marketing, and the consumer. Influence both design teams developing Current and Future product initiatives across key categories based on direction of Senior Design Leader(s) & Partner.

Key Responsibilities

Develop the seasonal Direction of the Design according to market trends as well as overall Design Direction and ensure consistency though products and ranges

Be a key functional relationship interface with Culture, Collaborations & Partnerships Senior Leadership Team, Originals, Basketball & Partnerships Creative Direction, ADIDAS Business Unit teams, External Consultants and Partner(s)

Direct variety of creative resources (agencies, freelancers, etc) on creative execution to ensure holistic creative excellence

Be at a global forefront of design trends and innovation as well as their application

Steer and drive the conceptualization process

Manage a team towards objectives and implement process changes

Steer and coach team members and their creative processes and drive development of direct reports.

Inspire and motivate teams to pursue cutting edge ideas that are innovative and original in the market, by researching functional criteria for product and product concepts and outlining area of innovation

Work closely with Culture, Collaborations & Partnerships category design to drive seamless collaboration.

Ensure the correct execution of Corporate Identity guidelines and against legal restrictions within the category.

Verbally present strategies with clarity and expertise.

Disseminate Design Strategy into design team and x-functional teams

Create professional level presentations of ideas; from loose sketch to detailed renderings to Digital Presentation

Ensure efficient processes and communication between external and internal teams

Key Relationships

Product Marketing/Go To Market / Brand Communicatinss

Development

Sample Room

Culture, Collaborations & Partnerships Design Teams wider Originals Basketball and Partnerships Design teams

Adidas Brand Design Teams

External creative partners

Partner

Knowledge, Skills And Abilities

IT skills: Excel, Word, PowerPoint: advanced/Outlook

Knowledge and use of Macintosh computer design software/systems (Photoshop, Illustrator)

Strong visual and verbal skills with the ability to create impactful/existing visuals

Passion for sports, culture, design

Innovative and highly collaborative leader and coach

Profound knowledge of fashion product and fashion design/industrial product or industrial design

Excellent communication skills

Strong influencing skills

Ability to lead teams through complex and ambiguous projects while maintaining positivity, productivity, and speed

High level of initiative & maturity

Ability to inspire, think creatively and strategically as well as to act tactically

Problem solving attitude & can-do personality. Proven ability to find avenues to success in the face of challenges

Fluent in English (spoken and written)

Lead teams across multiple locations, build and manage hybrid teams, including external creative resources

Requisite Education And Experience / Minimum Qualifications

Under-graduate level Design education or combination thereof

Solid education and advanced experience in the creative development of communication tools

At least 10 years’ experience in Sporting Goods/Fashion Industry or Design on managerial level

3 years personnel management experience

Proven experience with the entire design process (project scope and time planning, design steps, production/execution of design solution, pre-press processes)

Passion for adidas and it’s mission

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at adidas means championing individual uniqueness and cultivating a culture of belonging in which everyone can create at their best. We embrace diverse backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives and seek to create a workforce that reflects our consumers and communities. adidas offers robust and progressive medical, including HSA (Health Savings Account) with employer funding or FSA (Flexible Spending Account) options, dental, vision, prescription drug coverage, adoption, with surrogate and fertility support, short and long-term disability, and basic life and AD&D insurance, which can be supplemented with employee-paid coverage. Employees are able to enroll in adidas’ 401k plan and Stock Purchase Plan with employer match. Full-time employees are eligible for education assistance and generous Leave policies including 12 weeks of paid parental leave. Employees are eligible to earn an annual bonus based on both company and personal performance. Employees accrue prorated flexible time off in the amount .4388 hours per day that increases with years of service, eleven paid holidays throughout the calendar year and Service Time Off during milestone years. The anticipated low and high end of the base pay range for this position is $185,000 to $212,750. Actual salary will be based on various factors, such as a candidate’s experience, qualifications, skills and competencies, proficiency for the role. adidas is an equal opportunity employer and will consider requests for accommodation in accordance with all relevant laws. We officially returned to office in a hybrid work environment, working 3 days in office and 2 days remote. The working location of this position is Los Angeles, CA. Though our teammates hail from all corners of the world, our working language is English.