Director, Strategy & Operations – Consumer Products & Experiences

Mattel•El Segundo, CA

About The Position

Mattel is seeking a strategic and collaborative leader to help drive alignment, execution, and operational excellence across the Consumer Products & Experiences organization. Reporting directly to the Chief Consumer Products & Experiences Officer, this role partners closely with senior leadership across Mattel to turn priorities into action, strengthen cross-functional coordination, and help teams operate with greater clarity, focus, and efficiency. The Director will help shape the operating rhythms of the CPX organization—supporting strategic initiatives, enabling decision-making, and improving how teams work together across brands, categories, regions, and functions. The ideal candidate is a strong operator and trusted thought partner who brings a balance of strategic thinking, operational rigor, and relationship-building skills. They are energized by solving complex business challenges, navigating ambiguity, and helping teams deliver results in a fast-paced, highly collaborative environment.

Requirements

10–15+ years of experience in strategy, business operations, program management, consulting, or related fields.
Experience operating in complex, matrixed global organizations.
Proven track record leading cross-functional strategic initiatives with multiple senior stakeholders.
Experience supporting executive leadership teams and driving enterprise-level operating rhythms.
Exceptional strategic thinking and problem-solving skills with the ability to structure ambiguity into clear recommendations and action plans.
Strong executive communication and storytelling abilities, including development of executive-ready presentations and narratives.
Excellent operational leadership and program management capabilities with strong attention to detail and follow-through.
Demonstrated ability to influence across functions and levels without direct authority.
Strong financial and analytical fluency, including KPI management, planning processes, and business case development.
High emotional intelligence, sound judgment, and discretion in handling sensitive matters.
Ability to balance long-term strategic thinking with day-to-day operational rigor.
Strong organizational skills with the ability to manage multiple priorities simultaneously.
Curious, adaptable, and energized by continuous improvement and collaboration.

Nice To Haves

Experience in consumer products, entertainment, licensing, retail, media, or similarly fast-paced global organizations strongly preferred.
Familiarity with global brand organizations and franchise-driven businesses strongly preferred.
Experience managing external partners, agencies, vendors, or strategic alliances preferred.

Responsibilities

Lead strategic planning and execution processes across key initiatives within the Consumer Products & Experiences organization, ensuring alignment between priorities, timelines, business goals, and measurable outcomes.
Maintain visibility across critical initiatives, including milestones, dependencies, risks, decisions, and performance indicators.
Translate business priorities, market dynamics, consumer trends, and organizational goals into actionable recommendations and execution plans.
Drive governance and prioritization processes that enable leadership to make timely trade-offs and resource allocation decisions.
Partner with Finance and functional leaders on planning cycles, investment prioritization, budget alignment, and performance reporting.
Lead high-priority strategic initiatives end-to-end, from framing and planning through execution, stakeholder alignment, and delivery.
Build and manage scalable operating cadences including leadership meetings, business reviews, quarterly planning sessions, executive forums, and cross-functional governance rituals.
Establish lightweight but effective governance frameworks including decision logs, escalation paths, accountability structures, and execution tracking.
Coordinate cross-functional approvals, dependencies, and workflows across Brand, Product Development, Licensing, Experiences, Commercial, Creative, Legal, and regional teams.
Drive operational alignment across global and regional teams to improve communication, execution efficiency, and organizational transparency.
Support organizational transformation and process improvement initiatives by identifying opportunities to streamline workflows, clarify ownership, and improve execution consistency.
Partner closely with senior executives to translate complex strategic and operational work into clear executive-level narratives, presentations, and decision-ready materials.
Lead development of executive presentations, business reviews, strategic updates, and organizational communications.
Prepare leadership briefings, synthesize cross-functional inputs, and ensure rigorous follow-through on action items and strategic priorities.
Facilitate executive forums and leadership meetings, ensuring clarity, alignment, accountability, and actionable outcomes.
Drive operating cadence and collaboration models across internal and external stakeholders.
Ensure alignment across brands, regions, business units, and enterprise initiatives through structured communication and planning processes.
Build strong relationships across matrixed teams and influence without direct authority to drive alignment and execution.
Standardize reporting, operational insights, and execution frameworks to support enterprise decision-making and organizational visibility.