Lead, NSW/Kids Brand Planning APLA
Nike
WHO WE ARE LOOKING FOR
Nike is searching for a strategic brand operator to lead Sportswear/Kids Brand Planning & Operations for APLA. This is a high-impact role for someone who thrives on strategic thinking, creative problem-solving, and collaborative teamwork. You’ll be a marketer at heart, passionate about driving clarity and alignment across complex organizations. The ideal candidate brings deep experience in brand planning, a commitment to operational excellence, and a strong belief in Nike’s culture of innovation, inclusivity, and purpose.
As a key partner to APLA Sportswear/Kids brand leaders, you’ll help shape both seasonal and long-range planning, optimize operational processes, and empower teams to deliver on Nike’s bold brand vision.
WHAT YOU WILL WORK ON
In this role, you’ll drive Brand alignment and integration with Business and Consumer strategies. You’ll orchestrate the Sportswear/Kids Brand Management team through seasonal processes and key decision gates, ensuring operational excellence and cross-functional collaboration. Your work will enable the Brand to deliver with clarity, discipline, and agility.
Key Job Accountabilities:
· Provide strategic thought leadership and partnership to Sportswear/Kids’s brand management leaders
· Activate and implement critical strategies into the team’s ways of working and marketing plans
· Develop and execute seasonal and long-range brand planning frameworks for the APLA Sportswear/Kids Brand team
· Synthesize and integrate Sportswear/Kids brand inputs into holistic, cross-sport geo plans for Nike Brand
· Partner with cross-functional brand teams (Digital, Retail, Creative, Media) to ensure integrated planning and execution
· Build, evolve, and implement tools and systems (budget tools, project trackers) for brand management teams
· Manage the seasonal workflow for the Brand Initiative’s project portfolio, driving efficiencies and process optimization
· Lead the operating model—setting meeting cadence, team resourcing, communication, and tools
WHO YOU WILL WORK WITH
You’ll report to the Director of Brand Planning & Ops and collaborate with BPO leads across every Sport offense. You’ll partner closely with the APLA Senior Director of Sportswear/Kids Brand and work alongside cross-functional leaders in Retail, Digital, Creative, and Media. This is a role at the heart of Nike’s brand engine, where teamwork and partnership drive success.
WHAT YOU BRING
· Bachelor’s degree in Marketing or related field. Will accept any suitable combination of education, experience, and training.
· A minimum of 6 years of directly relevant work experience in brand marketing, brand planning, marketing operations, or strategic planning—ideally within a global, matrixed organization
· Strong understanding of seasonal marketing workflows, go-to-market planning, and consumer-led brand strategy
· Experience building and scaling operational systems, tools, and processes for brand and marketing functions
· Proven track record of leading cross-functional teams and managing complex, multi-stakeholder projects
· Operational excellence in project management, resource planning, and budget oversight
· Exceptional communication and storytelling skills
· Strategic thinking and analytical skills
· Ability to influence at all levels of the organization
· Proficiency in planning and collaboration tools (Airtable, Smartsheet, Box, Tableau)
· Comfort thriving in a fast-paced, dynamic, matrixed environment
· Passion for sport, culture, and the Nike brand
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.