Product Creation Business Operations Lead, Footwear

Aquent is proud to partner with a globally recognized athletic footwear and apparel powerhouse, a company synonymous with innovation and excellence. This is a unique contract opportunity to join a team that shapes the future of iconic products.

Are you ready to be at the forefront of product innovation? Step into a pivotal leadership role where you will be instrumental in shaping the operational backbone of product creation, directly influencing how cutting-edge footwear products are brought to market. This thrilling opportunity offers the chance to optimize intricate processes, enhance collaboration, and drive efficiency within a dynamic product creation environment. Your strategic thinking and operational expertise will empower cross-functional teams, ensuring precision and speed in bringing innovative products to consumers worldwide.

What You'll Do

• Support day-to-day business operations across Product Management, Development, Design, Merchandising, and Planning teams within the footwear domain.
• Maintain product creation calendars, meticulously track milestones, and communicate critical updates to all stakeholders.
• Proactively identify operational inefficiencies and champion the implementation of impactful improvements to processes and workflows.
• Build and maintain essential collaborative tools, trackers, reporting processes, and comprehensive documentation.
• Facilitate crucial cross-functional meetings to resolve issues, ensure stakeholder alignment, and drive project execution.
• Prepare insightful operational reports and translate complex data into actionable business insights that inform strategic decisions.
• Develop clear process documentation and engaging training materials to support consistent execution across teams.
• Coordinate operational projects from inception to completion, expertly managing timelines, deliverables, and interdependencies.

What You'll Bring

• 5+ years of robust experience in product operations, business operations, project management, or process improvement.
• A deep understanding of physical product creation and development, ideally within footwear, apparel, or consumer products.
• Proven experience in enhancing business processes and skillfully coordinating work across multiple functional teams.
• Exceptional organizational, facilitation, communication, and stakeholder management skills.
• Demonstrated experience managing project timelines, calendars, operational reporting, and documentation.
• Strong Excel proficiency, including mastery of formulas, pivot tables, and lookup functions.
• Hands-on experience building or maintaining collaborative tools and workflows using platforms such as Airtable, Smartsheet, Miro, or similar industry-standard applications.
• A Bachelor's degree or equivalent relevant professional experience.

Stand Out With These Bonus Skills

• Previous experience within the athletic footwear industry.
• Knowledge of seasonal footwear product creation calendars, Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) processes, or global product operations.
• Experience supporting process adoption, training initiatives, or organizational change management.
• Advanced reporting, dashboard development, or workflow automation expertise.

Your Impact and Growth

• You'll be at the heart of product creation operations for one of the world's most recognizable athletic brands, contributing to products loved globally.
• Collaborate closely with experienced leaders across Product, Design, Development, and Merchandising, gaining invaluable insights and mentorship.
• Make a tangible and immediate impact by directly improving the processes and tools utilized by global teams.
• Gain unparalleled visibility across multiple functions within a complex and influential product organization.
• Join an established and supportive team where your operational expertise will be recognized and make a significant difference from day one.