THE ROLE

As General Manager for the CEE region, you will be responsible for Zalando’s local strategy in the twelve very diverse markets. Your mandate will be to develop distinct go-to-market strategies that will move the dial, spanning all dimensions of the Zalando value proposition, to achieve clear customer engagement, business and growth KPIs in your markets, helping to build a sustainable presence rooted in local relevancy and customer satisfaction.  

With deep passion and understanding for the CEE region and the individual markets and their differences and nuances, you will drive local business development to our partner platform to enrich our assortment offer and engagement with local consumers. Building on deep local knowledge and market insight, identifying cultural nuances and future trends, your input will be invaluable to help shape functional operational plans and ensure we reflect the local consumer needs, and are on top of market and consumer development trends to be agile and ready to win. Scaling the partner program in the region will be a key priority. 

Steering a dedicated group of cross functional leaders for your region, you shall provide strategic direction, key market investment choices, align, collaborate and problem solve with local market teams, and other peers. Leveraging services and expertise across Zalando from Marketing (Demand), Partner Program (Supply), Pricing, ZMS and Lounge/Off-price. You will have responsibility for the definition of the local value proposition in your region and accountability for its translation into strategic milestones.

WHAT WE'D LOVE YOU TO DO (AND LOVE DOING)

As General Manager, by understanding the holistic global market approach and the ultimate desire to scale best practices, brands, assortment etc to entice and engage consumers, you will identify where there is a strategic need to differentiate a service/initiative locally. Whilst leveraging the strength and scale of global capability, resources, initiatives and services where differentiation is not required for the consumer, trusting the cross functional BU to scale accordingly.

• Drive the business - You are mutually accountable to manage the P&L of your region, including short -and long-term sales forecasting as well as the local cost lines. You guide the local teams to drive in-season optimization and ad hoc actions on a market level to ensure that targets are achieved. You steer the business performance being very close to the market and highly agile by evaluating KPIs ranging from marketing to operations to capture commercial and improvement opportunities. 

• You work with your Marketing and the Retail Team across the countries of your region to aggregate and prioritize local customer and commercial needs (i.e., assortment, innovation, branding, online marketing, operations, etc.). You are the main point of contact for other Zalando departments for what concerns your region and you drive high-level cross functional alignment on strategic initiatives.

• Drive local business development to our partner platform to enrich our assortment offer and engage local consumers.  With your deep local knowledge and market insight, cultural nuances and future trends, input and help shape functional operational plans.  Be on top of market and consumer development and trends to be agile and ready to win. 

• Leadership & responsibility - Inspire and engage an international virtual market team, fostering a team spirit to be no.1 in market by setting a clear vision, aligning and collaborating a steering regional committee of cross-functional leaders.  You shall empower cross functional local teams to operationally deliver and not get involved in the detail, sharing accountability for performance. You are a fully trustworthy person, collaborative, influential, led by integrity, energy, empathy and an optimistic can-do-attitude.

• Strong business partner - Collaborate strongly with your peers cross functionally from the Fashion Store to Off-price and Connected Retail, to drive the Regional Market strategic roadmap and to bring the cross-functional team behind the strategic priorities. Problem solving and galvanising strong buy-in to the key strategic initiatives that will enable your region to win.

WE'D LOVE TO MEET YOU IF YOU

Are a strong leadership & business partner - You thrive on taking people on a journey, delivering through others by inspiring a virtual local team spirit, leveraging the strengths and expertise of cross functional business units. You excel in influencing, collaborating and managing multiple stakeholders at all levels effectively. You understand the challenges of a fast-paced fashion/e-com business and are exhilarated by this. You have excellent leadership and do not see the need of direct reporting lines, as a hindrance to driving performance and results within your market. You inspire others, empower cross functional teams to operationally deliver what is needed for your region. 

Have general professional experience & skills - You have relevant professional experience and are a senior and highly respected leader with a strong track regional record of success. You have expertise in working in an international set-up. Having a multinational Fashion retailer background or an in-depth understanding of E-commerce is a plus. Management consultancy experience is an advantage.  Your in-depth knowledge of a market is exemplified by your experience working in the region, understanding the local consumer trends, language, cultural nuances, legal framework, logistical and economic challenges of your market.

Have entrepreneurial & strategic, analytical mind - You have a proven track record in strategically planning regional strategies for multiple markets. With a strong entrepreneurial spirit, with deep expertise in reaching and engaging specific user/audience segments through a targeted value proposition strategy. You are experienced in applying latest insights and KPIs to strengthen the market position and to drive market share growth and revenue. You are a strategic commercial and marketing mind, able to translate customer needs and commercial opportunities to a sound commercial plan that yields results on both short-term and mid-term.

Are driven by curiosity & innovation - You ongoingly strive to improve the value proposition in the market to drive user experience and market growth. You are able and familiar to translate insights and lessons learned into actionable market and marketing recommendations, strategy and tactics. You embrace and drive change.

Excel at achieving results through others - You challenge, problem solve and strategically drive initiatives in a fast-paced, dynamic environment. You are a highly reliable, credible, agile business partner, passionate and driven to win but able view things holistically, choosing the right battles and investment choices that add value and solve for our consumer needs. You embrace and drive change and are always on the hunt for solutions and improvements.

Are a strong communicator - You have excellent English skills, to articulate clear succinct messages with various stakeholders, able to bring people with you and to drive alignment.

OUR OFFER

Zalando provides a range of benefits, here’s an overview of what you can expect. Ask your Talent Acquisition Partner to learn more about what we offer. Learn all about Zalando and our values here: https://jobs.zalando.com/en/?gh_src=22377bdd1us
 

INCLUSIVE BY DESIGN

At Zalando, our vision is to be inclusive by design. This vision starts with our hiring - we do not discriminate on the basis of gender identity, sexual orientation, personal expression, ethnicity, religious belief, or disability status. You are welcome to leave out your picture, age, or marital status from your application. We only assess candidates on their qualifications and merit. 

We want to provide you with a great candidate experience. Feel free to inform us of any accommodations you may need, so we can best support you throughout the hiring process. 

• do.BETTER - Our Diversity & Inclusion strategy: https://corporate.zalando.com/en/our-impact/dobetter-our-diversity-and-inclusion-strategy

• Our Employee Resource Groups: https://corporate.zalando.com/en/our-impact/our-employee-resource-groups