WHO YOU'LL WORK WITHYou'll join a high-performing global Procurement team that moves with the pace and ambition of the brand. This role partners with senior leaders and cross-functional experts across Global Brand Marketing, Finance, Legal, Technology, and Risk. Reporting to a Category Director, Marketing and Places, you will serve as a strategic advisor across Nike's Brand and Marketing ecosystem, connecting enterprise priorities to category strategies, commercial models, and supplier partnerships that strengthen brand impact and business performance.
WHO WE ARE LOOKING FORThis role is focused on building deep stakeholder engagement and strategic category development, not execution of sourcing work. Working knowledge of sourcing is important, but the strongest candidate will be distinguished by the ability to connect business requirements with external supplier and market capabilities to develop and implement strategies that deliver value to the enterprise.
Nike is looking for a Principal with deep marketing procurement expertise, enterprise perspective, and a track record of leading through influence. This person thrives in ambiguity, frames complex business challenges, and translates long-term strategy into scalable solutions. They combine commercial judgment, category expertise, and data-driven insight to shape senior-level decisions, challenge established models and unlock value beyond cost. They anticipate market shifts, balance brand ambition with risk and operational rigor, and build alignment across diverse global stakeholders. As a senior individual contributor, they raise the capability of the broader team through thought leadership, coaching, and repeatable best practices. Above all, they operate with integrity, curiosity, courage, and accountability for enterprise-level outcomes.
The candidate will bring:
- 8+ years of procurement, agency, media, creative, production, or equivalent industry experience, including leadership of complex global categories
- Deep expertise in marketing procurement in particular across creative, production and Media ecosystems, including agency operating models, media investment, production, technology, data, intellectual property, and emerging artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled capabilities
- Demonstrated ability to influence senior leaders, navigate ambiguity, and align cross-functional teams without direct authority
- Proven expertise using spend, performance, market, and financial data to shape enterprise category strategies and executive decisions
- Bachelor's degree in Business, Supply Chain, Marketing, Finance, or a related field. Will accept any suitable combination of education, experience, and training; advanced degree or relevant procurement certification preferred
- Advanced degree or relevant procurement certification preferred
WHAT YOU'LL WORK ONThrough collaboration with senior stakeholders, you'll develop category strategies that set the strategic direction for Nike's Creative & Media sourcing landscape, shaping how the company structures agency partnerships, invests in capabilities, manages risk, and unlocks enterprise value. You will lead the most complex and visible initiatives across the category, advise senior stakeholders on consequential commercial decisions, and establish scalable strategies, governance, and operating models that support Nike's evolving brand and business priorities.
- Own and evolve multi-year global Creative and Media category strategies, translating enterprise and brand priorities into sourcing roadmaps, investment choices, and measurable outcomes.
- Partner with senior leaders to shape agency models, supplier portfolios, commercial structures, and make-versus-buy decisions, bringing an independent point of view grounded in market intelligence and business data.
- Structure and negotiate strategic agreements across fees, media economics, incentives, intellectual property, technology, data use, artificial intelligence (AI), payment terms, audit rights, risk allocation, and performance commitments.
- Establish category governance, decision frameworks, and performance measures that strengthen transparency, accountability, compliance, and speed across global and geographic teams.
- Anticipate shifts in media, creative technology, production, data, privacy, and artificial intelligence (AI), translating disruption into actionable opportunities and risk-mitigation strategies.
- Lead executive-level supplier relationships and SRM programs for critical partners, driving innovation, continuous improvement, resilience, and resolution of complex performance or commercial issues
- Build organizational capability by coaching peers and category leads, codifying best practices, and creating reusable tools and insights that raise Procurement effectiveness across Marketing
- Define value broadly and track outcomes across savings, cost avoidance, cash flow, growth enablement, innovation, risk reduction, supplier diversity, and operational efficiency
We offer a number of accommodations to complete our interview process including screen readers, sign language interpreters, accessible and single location for in-person interviews, closed captioning, and other reasonable modifications as needed. If you discover, as you navigate our application process, that you need assistance or an accommodation due to a disability, please complete the Candidate Accommodation Request Form.
