Lead, Jordan Sports Marketing, Buyer & Athlete Merchandising

Nike • Beaverton, OR

3d

About The Position

NIKE, Inc. is seeking a leader for Jordan Sports Marketing to manage seasonal buying, athlete merchandising, contract management, inventory planning, reporting, and select sport portfolio servicing. This role is crucial for managing the product buying and servicing engine across footwear, apparel, and equipment, from demand creation to inventory release. The ideal candidate will have a strong background in buying, planning, inventory management, merchandising, and cross-functional leadership, combined with a passion for sport, fashion, culture, and athlete insights. This position involves translating athlete preferences, product stories, and market trends into effective buying strategies and curated athlete assortments, going beyond a traditional buying role to shape the athlete product experience.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Merchandising, Inventory Management, Supply Chain, Product, Sports Marketing, or a related field; or equivalent combination of education, experience, and training.
• 5+ years of progressively responsible experience in buying, merchandising, planning, inventory management, product operations, marketplace, retail, supply chain, Sports Marketing operations, or related work.
• Proven experience buying product, managing assortment plans, supporting merchandising processes, developing demand forecasts, managing inventory to a plan, and managing a plan to a budget.
• Genuine passion for sport, athletes, fashion, style, culture, product, and premium service experiences.
• Strong knowledge of Nike and/or Jordan product, seasonal assortments, marketplace trends, consumer demand, product storytelling, and athlete-relevant style cues.
• Ability to translate athlete insights, product preferences, and cultural trends into buying strategy, product curation, and athlete assortments.
• Strong understanding of seasonal buying, contract creation, inventory management, product servicing, reporting, and supply chain process flow.
• Experience with SAP order management and contract-related workflows.
• Strong Excel skills and ability to build, analyze, and maintain tools that support business decisions.
• Experience with reporting tools such as Cognos, Brio, SO reports, PO reports, or similar reporting and data platforms.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, with the ability to identify issues, develop solutions, and elevate when needed.
• Detail-oriented with strong organizational skills and the ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced environment.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills, including meeting facilitation, presentation, documentation, and follow-up.
• Skilled relationship builder and stakeholder manager with proven ability to build trust across a matrixed organization.
• Ability to collaborate across Sports Marketing, Athlete Insights, Athlete Experience, Merchandising, Brand Marketing, Product Management, Communications, Demand Planning, Supply & Inventory Planning, Finance, Operations, and vendor partners.

Nice To Haves

• Experience supporting athlete servicing, product allocations, product seeding, account management, or high-profile sport portfolio work (e.g., WNBA) preferred.
• Experience in Sports Marketing, athlete servicing, product seeding, promotional product, or brand marketing operations.
• Experience partnering with Merchandising and Product teams to understand seasonal product strategies, marketplace product priorities, and athlete-relevant product opportunities.
• Experience capturing athlete feedback, preferences, and product insights and translating them into service or buying decisions.
• Experience supporting high-heat product, energy product, special projects, athlete key moments, or premium service moments.
• Experience with AV / VLP tools, seasonal buy templates, Box, SAP/S4, Material Master, SO reports, PO reports, and inventory reporting.
• Experience managing vendor processes, invoice approvals, purchase requests, or non-standard buying workflows.
• Demand planning experience.
• Experience creating SOPs, reporting calendars, business tools, and onboarding resources.

Responsibilities

• Lead seasonal product buying and product servicing operations for Jordan Sports Marketing across footwear, apparel, and equipment.
• Manage buy calendars, forecast demand, build and validate buy templates, and maintain product planning tools.
• Ensure deadlines are met and support athlete, team, event, contractual, sport portfolio, and brand marketing needs.
• Partner with Merchandising, Product, Brand Marketing, Athlete Insights, Sports Marketing Representatives, and Athlete Experience partners to understand seasonal product strategies, athlete preferences, key styles, launch priorities, and cultural trends.
• Create, maintain, validate, and adjust contracts in SAP and related systems, managing contract setup, maintenance, inventory adjustments, dropped styles, substitute product, cancel dates, delivery status, product exceptions, and ad hoc contract analysis.
• Own reporting and inventory management routines, including usage reporting, coverage reporting, SO and PO reporting, delivery status tracking, aged inventory monitoring, past due purchase order review, contract utilization analysis, and forecasting input.
• Capture athlete feedback, preferences, and product insights and share them across the organization.
• Support select high-priority athletes, teams, sport portfolio work, and initiatives through product allocations, key event seeding, product fulfillment coordination, and athlete-specific product needs.
• Represent Jordan Brand through every product and service touchpoint by delivering a premium, thoughtful, and relationship-led athlete experience.

Benefits

• Accommodations to complete the interview process including screen readers, sign language interpreters, accessible and single location for in-person interviews, closed captioning, and other reasonable modifications as needed.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior