Senior Manager, Athleta Pipeline Operations and Product Development Digital Product Creation Lead

The Gap•Folsom, CA

11d

About The Position

The Senior Manager of Pipeline Operations and Product Development Digital Product Creation (DPC) Lead is a key leadership role, responsible for driving the overarching Product to Market (P2M) calendar strategy and transformation. This role requires a strategic thinker with exceptional leadership capabilities to influence and align cross functional leaders and teams across the organization. As a key partner to senior leadership, the Sr Manager will oversee the development and execution of innovative pipeline strategies, optimize processes, and ensure seamless collaboration across multiple teams to deliver operational excellence and support brand and Gap, Inc. initiatives. This position is instrumental in refining processes, enhancing productivity, and leading special projects to achieve both short-term and long-term business goals. Additionally, drive digital product creation excellence by enhancing training, onboarding, and workflow efficiency for Product Development and Fabric R&D teams. Lead cross-functional DPC initiatives, vendor partnerships, and continuous process improvement.

Requirements

6+ years of Product Development or Sourcing experience – understands critical product to market development cycles, timelines, and dependencies to create, develop and deliver product to customer
Exceptional organizational skills and ability to drive operational rigor
Thrives in agile environment with a strong ability to manage and navigate competing priorities
High learning agility and ability to embrace and champion new ways of working, inclusive of digital technologies and implementation
Exceptional Leadership & Stakeholder Management: Proven ability to inspire and motivate teams, drive results, and build strong relationships with cross-functional teams and senior leadership. Demonstrates a high level of candor and champions inclusion.
Strategic Mindset: Strong ability to think critically and strategically, driving the execution of high-impact initiatives with a focus on long-term success and continuous improvement.
Program & Project Management Expertise: Deep experience managing large-scale projects, with the ability to define roles, set priorities, and ensure timely and effective execution.
Communication & Influence: Excellent communication skills, with the ability to present complex ideas and data-driven insights clearly and persuasively to leadership at all levels. Skilled in conflict resolution and leveraging empathy to build consensus.

Responsibilities

Drive the creation and publication of the seasonal product to market calendar deliverables and deadlines.
Lead the development of data extraction and analyses to make pipeline process recommendations to Brand cross-functional leaders
Lead the ideation, creation, and execution of new & transformational pipeline strategies, transitioning from pilot processes to full-scale implementation across the operational pipeline.
Build clear, compelling documentation and presentations, using data-driven insights, to drive seasonal product-to-market strategies and implementation
Collaborate closely with senior leadership and cross-functional partners (inclusive of GIS, Ops, Sourcing) to influence and align on strategic proposals, calendars, and evolving operational expectations
Support the development of DPC training materials & training sessions for Product Development + Fabric R&D teams, identify areas of training improvement for further upskilling
Help develop a strong DPC onboarding experience that allows for high user system adoption & skill levels across Product Development + Fabric R&D teams
Identify new ways of working to improve the P2M calendar, streamline and recommend efficiencies in our digital workflows as they arise
Support in managing Vendor relationships, Digital Quality Standards, and future process improvement in partnership with GIS DPC team
Organize & update digital libraries as they continue to evolve and improve over time
Serve as point person for PD and Fabric R&D in cross-brand DPC initiatives and innovation work
Partner with senior leaders to redefine milestone expectations, cadence changes, and milestone communication, publishing updated guidelines and timelines to ensure smooth execution.
Provide operational support to Product teams to ensure tools, systems and processes meet brand needs.
Support in Change Management approach & strategy + overall communication of DPC program to PD and Fabric R&D teams
Drive continuous process and calendar improvements by gathering feedback from key stakeholders and leading cross-functional discussions to develop, refine, and implement strategic solutions
Oversee the Milestone Attendee Process with Brand Admins to ensure Milestone Meetings are scheduled in a timely manner, through an efficient and methodical process
Manage and prepare various seasonal reports and analytics in support of teams and seasonal objectives.
Responsible for learning from and sharing to Sister Brands on calendar and pipeline best practices
Serves as a Pipeline Subject Matter Expert and Point of Contact for all functions, as related to P2M