Zalando’s mission is to become the world’s leading platform for connecting fashion with people. We re-imagine Fashion for the good of all and see technology as the key driver to getting there. We’re constantly reinventing our products, our services and ourselves.
In Retail Core, we are building the most advanced and automated procure-to-pay product solution in the Fashion industry. The team at Retail Core is responsible for the suite of products which enables our 800+ Buyers/Planners and 1500+ suppliers conduct the process steps most efficiently. The products that we own processes EUR 2bn+ worth of merchandise (the entire procure to pay lifecycle), manages the underlying article data and enables our supply chain teams handle movement of articles from suppliers to our warehouses. We are also building the next generation supplier portal for our retail suppliers.
THE OPPORTUNITY
Managing the purchase order lifecycle is at the core of our fashion business and Retail Core. The product area around purchase order management seeks to answer key questions like a) how to enable seamless collaboration between suppliers and buyers during the pre-season buying process b) how to enable our internal users (buyers and planners) manage the purchase orders and track deliveries most efficiently c) how to make the in-season buying process touchless and d) how to drive digital integration with our suppliers to facilitate the procure to pay process steps.
As Product Lead – Purchase Order Management, you will be responsible for owning and driving the vision of the purchase order lifecycle. You and your team of Product Managers would be responsible for developing a deeper understanding of our business challenges around pre season and in season PO management, identifying and prioritizing business opportunities of improvement and work very closely with our stakeholder teams and suppliers to implement the process and product changes. In an agile development process, you and your team of Product Managers will assess what has been built, collect feedback from the stakeholder teams and suppliers, solve roadblocks and regularly re-prioritise development.
As the key interface between the Internal teams/ Suppliers and Engineering teams, your decisions will have a huge impact on the overall value generated in this product area.
YOU ARE SETTING STANDARDS
Vision. You develop and execute the mid- & long-term product vision with your team while fostering close collaboration with other Engineering Managers to be in line with our overall tech strategy.
User focus. You are relentless in your pursuit to make the lives of your users better. Along with UX and engineering team, you and your team will deliver innovative solutions which will deliver business impact while at the same time delivering great user experience.
Impact. You drive team’s mastery in world-class product management methodologies to deliver products which enable our business to scale efficiently and profitably.
Collaboration. You define OKRs with your team to achieve a high-level alignment on a half-year basis and facilitate collaboration, communication, and decision-making between product/engineering teams and stakeholders.
Development. You develop your team members, help them solve product challenges and enable them to discover their full potential. You develop tomorrow’s bar raisers.
Growth. You attract, assemble and retain the right product talent while cultivating a culture of ownership, mastery, innovation, and purpose. You proudly represent Zalando at conferences and meetups and give talks on product topics.
YOU ARE SKILLED
Experience. You have 5 years+ of professional experience in product management and are familiar with agile product development.You have a strong business sense and a passion for solving problems that improve processes and driving innovation.
Taking ownership. You have owned the long and medium term vision and development roadmap for products. You have driven products which have a multi year horizon for realisation of the vision. You can work closely together with product managers, developers, and engineers to provide scalable solutions for an ever-growing user base.
Excellent communication. You can bridge the gap between business and technology. You can moderate workshops and user groups. In addition to outstanding verbal communication, you are used to writing vision documents, concise decision documents and know when to use a whiteboard to bring your point across.
Analytical thinking. You can structure any problem and explain it to anyone. Getting up to speed on complex processes is a piece of cake for you. You break them down to their components and do not get lost in the details. You find the biggest opportunities and best solutions fast and reliably. You know how to measure the success of your product and continuously iterate to make your product better.
Leadership. You excel at developing and mentoring product managers. You can also work cross-functionally and manage complex product initiatives with various stakeholders throughout the company.
Passion. You want to have an impact by effectively managing conflicts and priorities, in thinking creatively and being solution-oriented. You enjoy driving continuous improvement and innovation.
YOU ARE OFFERED
Culture. Culture of trust, empowerment, and feedback; Regular Product Show & Tell where we share our knowledge and foster the open exchange of information.
Package. Very competitive salary (base and equity) and many perks, such as great shopping discount on a wide range of products on zalando.com; discounts from external partners; public transport discounts; relocation assistance for internationals; municipality services; family service and parent & child rooms*; additional holidays & volunteering time off; diverse sports and health offerings.
Development. Extensive onboarding; personal branding support focused on leadership; opportunity to attend and speak at conferences.
Peers. Internationals from over 80 countries, accomplished experts and great self-organized teams.