Senior Program & Process Manager, Apparel

Job description

**Who We Are:** At Brooks, we believe movement is the key to feeling more alive. That’s why we’re driven to create gear and experiences that take people to the place that makes them feel more alive — whether it’s a headspace, a feeling, or a finish line. Everyone who works at Brooks is propelled by a company culture that sparks excitement, fuels collaboration, inspires creativity, and ignites innovation. Our brand values help bond us together and drive our success: - ***Runner First*** - *We act in the best interest of the runner* - ***Word is Bond*** - *We do what we say we’ll do* - ***Champion Heart*** - *We give our all in everything we do* - ***There is no “I” in Run*** - *We stay generous with our humanity* - ***Keep Moving*** - *We find ways to move every day, because joy is kinetic!* We welcome everyone from every walk of life looking to inspire others through the power of movement - because we’re *all* moving towards something. Let’s run there. **Your Job**: The Brooks Apparel Product Operations team exists to enable and empower product teams to achieve their best possible outcomes. As part of Global Product (Footwear, Apparel & Accessories), the team drives excellence in portfolio and program management, focusing on optimizing operational processes, enhancing internal communication, and managing strategic projects and portfolios. A key priority is fostering alignment among stakeholders and continuously improving ways of working to support product development and execution. As the Senior Program & Process Manager, Apparel at Brooks, you will lead senior-level and high-impact Apparel & Accessory programs that span multiple teams and business objectives, ensuring that execution delivers value to business goals and objectives. You will be responsible for scope, time, and resourcing and acts as a cross-functional integrator, thought partner, and catalyst for continuous improvement. You will partner with senior leaders to drive alignment between business goals and program outcomes, influence decision-making, and shape how teams execute and collaborate. You will be a strong leader across the organization with the ability to influence without authority and be a role model for project/process management best practices. The ideal candidate is an experience program leader with a systems mindset, a bias for action, and a demonstrated ability to manage ambiguity. You have deep expertise in program and process management methodologies, strong stakeholder management skills, and a passion for enabling teams to deliver great products more effectively. You have expertise in project management systems and tools with the ability to learn, implement, and manage tools and systems required within Apparel and the Program Operations team. ### Your Responsibilities: - Lead the strategic execution of cross-functional programs, from initiation through delivery, aligning milestones, deliverables, and resourcing to broader portfolio and business priorities. Influence and support strategic decision-making by synthesizing data across programs, identifying trade-offs, surfacing risks, and guiding cross-functional and executive stakeholders through high-impact program choices. - Drive the end-to-end management of all Apparel programs and cross-functional workstreams; partner with Go-To-Market Program Director to drive overall GTM success. - Act as the central connector across cross-functional teams, resolving blockers, tracking key dependencies, and ensuring consistent communication and alignment throughout the product creation process. - Champion and apply best practices in program and portfolio management, contributing to the refinement of tools, templates, and methodologies. Drive integrated program planning, creating and maintaining work plan, program dashboards, milestone tracking, and status reporting for internal stakeholders. - Proactively identify risks and dependencies, developing mitigation strategies. - Contribute to portfolio-level planning and prioritization, ensuring programs align with resource capacity, strategic objectives, and timing constraints. - Act as a change agent, shaping team dynamics, and facilitating impactful participation in transformative strategic initiatives. - Lead and facilities program-level governance, milestone reviews, and decision forums, delivering strategic context and clarity to enable faster, smarter decision-making. - Drive continuous improvement efforts that enhance program execution, workflow efficiency, and team collaboration – elevating how the organization delivers product. - Be a partner to program sponsors, product creation leadership, and functional heads to shape program scope and success metrics, ensuring delivery contributes to enterprise value and product excellence. - Mentor and coach junior program managers, building team capability, cross-functional fluency, and program management excellence across the organization. - Track and manage program budgets, timelines, and deliverables with a forward-looking, proactive approach to identifying and resolving challenges. - Collaborate closely with peers in Product Operations, Product Management, Development, Sourcing, Footwear, and Marketing to integrate functional strategies into unified program plans. - Maintain knowledge of internal and external best practices related to project and process management; provide recommendations to evolve our processes and lead implementation of new tools/methodologies into Brooks. - Research, analyze, and evaluate new and emerging technologies, practices, and methodologies in support of project, portfolio, and process management. - Hold teams accountable for deliverables by positively influencing within Apparel. ### Qualifications: - Bachelor’s degree in Business, or related field; equivalent combination of education and years of experience can be considered in lieu of degree(s) - 7+ years of experience in program, portfolio, or process management ideally in a product development or consulting environment - 4+ years of experience leading project teams and project management certifications (PMP, etc.) desired - Advanced understanding of program management methodologies, governance, and portfolio planning. Proven track record of leading large-scale, cross-functional programs with significant visibility, complexity, and business impact; strong ability to translate strategic goals into executable plans, integrating multiple workstreams and functions toward shared outcomes - Demonstrated success in influencing decisions at the senior leadership level, using data, insight, and facilitation to drive clarity and commitment - Highly proficient in project/program management software (Smartsheet, Monday, Jira, or similar), portfolio tracking tools, and process mapping - Strong communication and storytelling skills, capable of synthesizing complex information, and presenting it to diverse audiences with clarity - Collaborative and proactive mindset, driven by curiosity, accountability, and a passion for continuous improvement - Strong understanding of product development lifecycle; experience in Apparel or Footwear is a plus. - Experience leading process improvement initiatives that create scalable, repeatable workflows and increase team effectiveness. - Proven ability to lead through influence, manage ambiguity, and rally cross-functional teams in a fast-paced, changing environment. - Exceptional work ethic: being adaptable to ever-changing demands, with the ability to refocus and develop options for quick changes in projects impacting programs - Excellent verbal and written communication skills, demonstrating effective listening through concise, clear verbal and written communication - Excellent interpersonal skills that inspire and build trust resulting in effective working relationships across the company - Keen attention to detail in planning, organization, and execution of tasks, while still seeing the big picture and understanding how all the pieces fit together and affect one another - Ability to anticipate how a decision made can affect our customers, our partners, our products, orother departments’ operations and/or morale; “connecting the dots” - Demonstration of innovation and initiative – always looking at improving our products and processes while also displaying a willingness to dive into the details and help wherever necessary - Proven ability to communicate and influence in a collaborative, team oriented, and complex global environment - Passionate participation in Brooks’ sports activities a plus, overridden by the ability to understand and empathize with the runner to develop loyal, engaging relationships with our customers and the Brooks community - Occasional international travel may be required - Embraces and lives the Brooks values!