Aufgabe
CONTEXT AND PURPOSE OF THE ROLE
The Senior Manager, Product Development Color & Material leads the global execution of color, material (C&M) development across footwear categories. This role is responsible for translating design and brand intent into scalable, manufacturable, and premium material executions, ensuring innovation, quality, cost targets, and speed-to-market are achieved.
Acting as a critical bridge between Design, Materials Innovation, Product Merchandising, Sourcing, and Manufacturing, this role sets standards, drives process excellence, and leads teams across HQ Paris and Asia to deliver consumer-right color and material solutions at scale.
MAIN REPONSIBILITIES
Leadership & Team Management
· Lead, inspire, and develop global Color & Material Development team across HQ and Asia.
· Set clear priorities, ways of working, and accountability across regions and categories.
· Coach and mentor senior developers, building strong succession and capability pipelines.
· Foster a culture of excellence, innovation, and continuous improvement.
Product Development & Innovation
· Own end-to-end color and material development from design handoff through production approval.
· Ensure feasibility, manufacturability, durability, and performance meet brand and consumer expectations.
· Partner with Design and Materials teams to push innovation in materials, finishes, dyes, and sustainable solutions.
· Translate creative vision into scalable executions without compromising quality or intent.
· Drive seasonal material strategies aligned to category, price point, and margin targets.
Operational Excellence
· Partner with Sourcing and Manufacturing to optimize cost, lead time, quality, and material availability.
· Establish and monitor KPIs across development timelines, material adoption, cost targets, and quality performance.
· Lead seasonal development calendars and manage risk across multiple product pipelines.
· Proactively troubleshoot material, color, or production challenges and implement scalable solutions.
Cross-Functional Collaboration
· Act as a key liaison between Design, Product Merch, CSR, Quality, and Supply Chain.
· Influence long-term material roadmaps and platform strategies with leadership and innovation teams.
· Ensure sustainability goals are embedded into material and color development decisions.
· Partner with leadership on strategic planning and future capability building.
Profil
· Extensive experience in footwear color and material development, with proven people leadership experience.
· Deep technical knowledge of materials, finishes, color application, dyeing, and manufacturing processes.
· Proven experience managing cross-regional teams with direct exposure to Asian manufacturing hubs.
· Strong track record of delivering premium, innovative footwear at scale.
· Strong project and calendar management skills in fast-paced, consumer-driven environments.
· Excellent leadership, communication, and cross-cultural collaboration skills.
· Strong business acumen with ability to balance creativity, cost, and scalability.