Lead Merchant, Football Footwear

WHO YOU WILL WORK WITH

Youll team up with fellow merchants in Womens & Kids and cross-functional partners across Global and Geo Merchandising Planning Allocation and Brand Marketing. Youll also collaborate with Finance Operations and Insights & Analyticsleveraging powerful data to fuel your decisions and drive impact in the football footwear space.

WHO WE ARE LOOKING FOR

Our Football Footwear Merchandising team lives and breathes the game. We understand the athlete the fan and the culturetranslating insights into game-changing assortments. We blend art and science to bring Nikes football vision to life across Nike Direct and wholesale channels with a laser focus on key cities and communities. Were looking for a dynamic leader who can spot trends spark innovation and deliver the right product at the right time and place.

Were on the lookout for a passionate football fanatic with a sharp eye for product and a pulse on the game. If you thrive in the fast-paced world of sport retail and bring energy agility and a consumer-first mindset to every decision this is your field to play! As a Lead Merchant youll help shape the future of football footwear with bold ideas and relentless drive.

This role is primarily focused on performance on-pitch footwear serving athletes at all levels of play. A smaller but important part of the role also includes off-pitch product referred to as small sided which supports the broader football lifestyle and community engagement.

Requirements:

• Well-rounded professional experience in merchandising product creation or retail in footwear or sport categories are a must-have

• Proven experience in the football footwear industry with a strong track record of driving product success

• Deep expertise in football footwear products including performance innovation and athlete needs

• Robust marketplace knowledge to identify opportunities and optimize product placement across channels

• Sharp consumer awareness with the ability to anticipate and respond to football consumer trends

• Deep understanding of football culture athlete needs and product performance

• Strategic thinking with a track record of shaping business direction

• Experienced in building strong connections to global counterparts to ensure alignment and leverage global insights

• Strong grasp of retail KPIs and profit-based metrics

• Excellent communicator and collaborator

• Experience mentoring and guiding teammates

• Proven ability to balance data-driven decisions with creative intuition

• Comfortable leading in complex fast-moving environments

WHAT YOU WILL WORK ON

As Lead Merchant for Football Footwear youll harness marketplace data consumer insights and seasonal hindsight to shape bold product strategies and assortments. Youll influence Product Creation and Global Merchandising teams to ensure football footwear meets the needs of athletes and fans across all levels of play. Youll own merchandising KPIs through sharp analysis of retail performance and consumer engagement. Youll build strong relationships with Nike One Marketplace Merchants Marketing Consumer Planning and Territory Merchants to deliver assortments that elevate the football experience and differentiate Nike in key football cities. Youll also help balance push and pull market dynamics to optimize product flow and consumer demand.

This role is open for applications until 6th October 2025