Manager - Marketing Expenses Management & Controlling (m/f/d)

Adidas is an equal opportunity employer and we are committed to fostering an inclusive workplace. We welcome applications from people of all ages, genders (incl. gender identity), ethnic and social backgrounds, nationalities, sexual orientations, religions and beliefs, and those with apparent or non-apparent disabilities*. We do not tolerate harassment or discrimination toward any of our applicants or employees.

* We actively encourage individuals with disabilities to apply and will provide reasonable accommodations throughout the recruitment process.

Purpose & Overall Relevance for the Organization:

The Brand Finance Team partners with the adidas Brand to set and achieve tactical and strategic financial targets, while driving financial analysis to support fact-based decision making. The objective of the adidas Brand Marketing Finance team is to provide financial transparency and insights for the Global Brands organization, which includes all aspects of financial planning, budgeting, controlling, performance management as well as management reporting for Marketing investments. The position creates transparency about the Marketing Expenses development and acts as a financial advisor to the assigned business partners of the Global Marketing/Brand organization, by giving recommendations to enable and drive fact-based decision-making to support the achievement of the financial/brand targets as well as the Business Unit strategy. The Manager is the main contact for all Marketing Expenses related questions and responsible for the bottom-up planning / tracking.

Key Responsibilities:

• Partner with global marketing/brand teams, providing comprehensive expertise to ensure smooth operation of the business
• Planning, forecasting and tracking of Marketing Expenses for assigned area of responsibility
• Enable fact-based decision making by creating transparency on all relevant financial KPI's, risks and opportunities, as well as assessment of new initiatives.
• Drive communication and alignment on finance topics with Markets, as well as other relevant parties within the MaEx Controlling context, e.g. Legal, Accounting, etc.
• Develop and implement state-of-the-art analytical tools (or challenge/improve the existing ones)
• Develop, implement and further improve adequate communication packages to present derived results, recommendations and solutions. This includes management and execution of standard reporting as well as ad-hoc analysis
• Support during medium to large sized project, implementing findings and ensure sustainability of achievements
• Enhance processes or operational plans and deliver results with direct impact on the department targets
• Ensure accounting compliance of month-, quarter, and year-end close

Key Relationships:

• Global Brand & Marketing Teams
• BU Finance teams and Corporate Controlling Teams
• MaEx controlling Teams in all markets/HQ
• Corporate Finance Teams (GBS, Taxes, Accounting, Legal, Treasury)
• External Partners / external Business Consultants

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:

• Comprehensive business understanding of processes and structure as well as of external business drivers
• Strong analytical skills, managing large data quantities from multiple sources and the ability to define problems, establish facts and draw valid conclusions
• High degree of customer orientation and the ability to find compromises and solutions
• Excellent problem-solving skills and ability to maneuver in a constantly changing environment and
• Strong communication skills, persuasion and convincing others (internally & externally)
• Business fluency in English (written and spoken)
• Ability to maneuver in a consistently changing environment and to operate cross-functionally
• Solid understanding of system landscape (very good knowledge of MS Office, especially Excel and PowerPoint, good knowledge of SAC/SAP)

Requisite Education and Experience / Minimum Qualifications:

• University degree in Business Administration/Finance/Controlling
• Minimum of 4 years of work experience in Business Analysis or Finance, preferably within the retail, sporting goods industry or comparable industries