As the Lead, Partner Marketing Canada – Foot Locker & Champs, you bring Nike, Inc. brands (Nike, Jordan) to life with, and through, key retail & strategic partners (Foot Locker, Champs, NBA, Toronto Tempo, and Canada Basketball), with select projects stretching into Nike-owned & other partner doors. You translate brand intent into partner-specific opportunities and marketplace impact. This role activates deeply local, culturally connected moments that resonate with communities-blending account expertise with brand vision to drive integrated plans, strengthen account relationships, and execute activations that build brand love and cultural relevance across the marketplace.
WHO YOU’LL WORK WITH
Working within a team of world class Canada & North America marketing teammates, you’ll develop strategies and campaigns that build and enhance Nike’s relationship with consumers. A typical day will include equal parts internal and external conversations, collaborating with:
- Your Partner Account Portfolio of : Foot Locker, Champs, NBA, Toronto Tempo, and Canada Basketball, etc…
- Partner Marketing Teams (i.e. teammates driving accountabilities tied to Nike Store Partners, Sport Chek, Foot Locker, JD Sports, NBHD etc…)
- Brand Planning and Operations, Brand Creative & Brand Marketing
- Cross Functional Leaders (i.e. members of Canada LT and NAIRM LT)
- Integrated Media, Creators & Influencers
- Digital Marketing, Sports Marketing, Sport Community Impact, EKINs
- Catalyst & Entertainment Marketing
- Agency & Production partners
- Athletes, Federations, & Sport Communities
- Sales, Planning, Product & Merchandising
WHO WE ARE LOOKING FOR
The Lead, Partner Marketing, Foot Locker & Champs -Canada is a Digital first, Retail Brand Marketing leader with a deep understanding of the consumer, their lifestyle, and their relationships with Sport. They will lead marketing efforts across a broad portfolio of accounts to deliver on brand and business objectives. They will connect athletes with the innovation, experiences and sport activity that position Nike as an industry leading sport and lifestyle brand. The ideal candidate is a proven leader, curious and eager to innovate, learn, while evolve. They value the importance of data and consumer insights and appreciate the creative process. They understand marketing technology, the role of online to offline (O2O), direct-to-consumer channels. They are a thought leader, a digital evangelist and a consumer advocate. They are self-aware, and model giving and receiving feedback as a gift.
The ideal candidate is someone who:
- Lives close to culture and brings a deep understanding of, and authentic connection to, the local market and communities where they work.
- Is passionate about Nike, Inc. brands, sport, and sport culture.
- Thrives in fast-paced, highly matrixed environments.
- Builds rapport naturally and values relationships-sparking conversations that lead to meaningful brand and account impact.
- Enjoys rolling up their sleeves to bring ideas to life on the ground
Qualifications:
- High-school degree (a bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience a plus)
- 6+ years of experience in at least one of the following -Brand, Retail or Digital Marketing and/or Visual Merchandising and Styling experience (working at a consumer facing retail considered also a plus)
- Obsess details while can also pull-up to think strategically at the Big Picture
- Marketing analytics, deriving actionable insights and applying learnings
- Strong understanding of cultural and consumer trends
- Proven ability at creating meaningful connections with consumers and brands
- Growth mindset, open to receiving and sharing regular feedback anchored in a commitment to prioritizing personal development
- Passionate about learning new tools and technologies / is an early adopter
- Invested in team and office culture with commitment to put team’s goals first
- Excellent communication, storytelling skills; experience crafting strategic recommendations and persuasive presentations to leadership
- Previous project management, or leadership experience in retail
- Highly effective at managing multiple and competing projects and priorities
- Ability to thrive within a fast-paced, high energy, skilled team of marketers
- Proficiency in Digital Marketing, Retail marketing, Visual Merchandising & Styling
- Able to drive a culture of always-on testing and learning, including the rapid application of consumer signals into strategy, planning, and content iteration
Day-to-day use of: Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint or Keynote (or comparable)
- Benefit ( not pre-requisite): SAP, Coupa, contract central, AirTable, etc..
- Evidence of adoption & experimentation with A.I. technologies to build efficiency i.e. Co-pilot (a plus)
Not a requirement, but a bonus
- Strong passion and/or expertise for at least one of our key Sport Offenses: Basketball and/or NSW / Lifestyle / Styling.
Key Capabilities
Insight-driven consumer mindset • Cultural and marketplace fluency • Integrated planning and matrix collaboration • Innovative and strategic storytelling • Community and partner engagement • End-to-end activation mastery
Skills and Competencies
- A passion for learning new tools and technologies is essential, with a proven track record as an early adopter who actively seeks out innovative solutions.
- Demonstrates investment in team and office culture, with strong commitment to prioritizing the goals of the team as a whole. Collaboration and a collective mindset are critical to team success.
- Excellent communication and storytelling skills are complemented by experience in crafting strategic recommendations. The ability to deliver persuasive presentations to leadership ensures alignment and buy-in from key stakeholders.
- Previous project management or leadership experience within the retail sector provides valuable insights into operational effectiveness and team dynamics.
- The capacity to manage multiple and competing projects / priorities is necessary, enabling efficient handling of complex workloads and shifting deadlines.
- An ability to thrive in a fast-paced, high-energy environment is evident, particularly when working with a skilled team of marketers. Adaptability and resilience are central to maintaining performance under pressure.
- There is proficiency across Digital Marketing, Retail Marketing, Visual Merchandising, and Styling. These skills contribute to the creation of compelling consumer experiences and effective brand representation.
- A focus on driving a culture of continuous testing and learning is maintained, with rapid application of consumer signals to inform strategy, planning, and content iteration.
- Day-to-day utilization of tools such as Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, or Keynote (or comparable platforms) is expected, supporting productivity and communication.
- Early adopter of technical backend systems / platforms consistent with those listed towards end of qualification section (SAP, Coupa, Contract Central, AirTable)
WHAT YOU’LL WORK ON
In this role you will be responsible for creating and executing an annual marketing plan. You will work amongst a team of marketers focused on building and growing the territory’s direct & partner marketing ecosystem, transforming Nike into the most connected, athlete focused, digital and retail Brand in Canada (and across the world). You will bring best-in-class brand and commerce experiences to life for the consumer, working as part of an integrated O2O Marketing team.
More specifically, you will play a critical role in shaping Nike Inc.’s presence across:
- Our Partner Marketing Ecosystem
- From Physical Retail (Brick & Mortar), to Partner .COMs to Creators
- Spanning your portfolio of accounts / partners: Foot Locker, Champs and other key Basketball and Lifestyle partners.
Based on market needs you will occasionally stretch to support teammates across -Nike Store Partners, Sport Chek, JD Sports, Authenticators), Apps and Social Ecosystems.
You will connect the emotion of the Nike Inc. brand to athletes through innovative retail and digital strategies to drive demand, engagement, retention/acquisition, and brand affinity.
You will bring a best-in-class brand and commerce experiences to life for the consumer, and your responsibilities can be bucketed in these areas of focus:
LEADERSHIP
- Manage, lead and execute a growing, portfolio across all Retail & Digital platforms.
- Create integration and connectivity between teams to build elevated consumer journeys and O2O consumer experience.
- Foster a collaborative, inclusive, and innovative team culture
- Join a team of consumer-obsessed, digital and retail marketing experts responsible for building, powering, and evolving online to offline Prescence
- This Partner ecosystem includes brick & mortar, partner apps / targeted communications, social platform (s) while influencing Nike’s presence within Partner.COM for your portfolio of accounts/partners
STRATEGY
- As part of Corporate Strategy Review (CSR), on an annual basis you will partner with teammates and Leadership Team(s) to deliver the Marketing Section (for Canada’s CSR) for your portfolio of accounts (Foot Locker, Champs, etc…)
- In addition, you will lead, own, and drive the holistic approach for your portfolio – Marketing Vision, Strategy & Plan for Canada, delivering on brand, business, and member activity.
- Author annual and seasonal partner marketing strategies
- Play pivotal role on continually landing – Big Ideas, Strategic Pillars and Resourcing (Operating Budget and Team /Agency /Tech)
- Operationalize Canada territory playbooks and tool kits with channel guidelines, consumer-journey frameworks, and use cases and best practices informed by data and insights to drive efficiency, consistency, and effectiveness.
RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT
Key integrator and thought-leader between core business partners
- Canada & NA Marketing functions: Integrated Retail Marketing, Brand Planning & Operations, Visual Merchandising and Styling, Integrated Media, Digital Team, Brand Management, Brand Creative, Integrated Media, Digital Team, Social Community Impact etc..
- Canada Cross-functional teams: Sales, Digital Operations, Supply Chain, Merchandising, Planning, Finance et…
- External Agencies, and NIKE Partners
- Foster relationship with Territory, Regional and Global City level leads
CONSUMER LED MARKETING
- Build and execute timely, and effective consumer and/or Partner Member-led Marketing plans that serve both brand & business objectives, balancing commerce with sport activity
- Lead quick-turn, ‘read and react’ strategies in response to business performance
- Lead and execute strategic partnership(s) with Sports Marketing (i.e. Canada Basketball )
DATA BASED DECISION MAKING
- Build, execute, monitor and optimise the performance of retail and digital (020) marketing initiatives
- Track and improve key digital KPIs and metrics
- Oversee resource allocation and budget management
- Drive continuous improvement through testing and learning
- Lead digital marketing excellence and innovation
- Showcase best-in-class work across Canada and the Geo (North America)
OPERATIONAL EXCELLENCE
- Model budgeting discipline, with market responsiveness, applying agility as market ebbs & flows
- Operationalize project teams to drive balance across seasonal, product and traffic driving project work
- Implement new best practices to create efficiencies across the team
- Monitor, and model timely authoring for all team contracts & admin milestones (i.e. across finance, Contract Central, Trademark Aravo, legal, etc…)
- Track notes in Air Table and deliverables in integrated marketing & team meetings
- Help fulfil the Canadian product contract, which can include design (i.e. grassroots events like OFSAA) from to forecast to launch
The annual base compensation for this position generally ranges from 102K to 153k. Actual compensation will vary based on a candidate’s qualifications, skills, and experience.
(In accordance with the Ontario Human Rights Code, Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA), 2005, and the City of Toronto’s Accommodation Policy, accommodation will be provided in all parts of the hiring process. Applicants can make their needs known when contacted for interviews.)
Please note: This is an individual contributor or People Leader/ Hybrid role based out of our Nike Canada Downtown Toronto HQ (Mondays to Thursdays on-site and Fridays, remote)
We offer a number of accommodations to complete our interview process including screen readers, sign language interpreters, accessible and single location for in-person interviews, closed captioning, and other reasonable modifications as needed. If you discover, as you navigate our application process, that you need assistance or an accommodation due to a disability, please complete the Candidate Accommodation Request Form.
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