Director, Business Development Sport Specialty NA Full Time NEW

You will join Nike’s North America Sales organization and play a critical leadership role within the Sport Specialty Integrated Portfolio Team. In this role, you will partner closely with Sales leadership, Account Executives, Merchandising, Planning, Finance, Marketplace Operations, Supply Chain, Marketing, and Insights/Analytics to drive strategic alignment and enable sustainable, profitable growth across the Sport Specialty portfolio.

This role will lead one direct report and support broader capability-building across the team.

Who We Are Looking For

We are looking for a strategic, commercially sharp, and highly collaborative leader who can help shape the future of Nike’s Sport Specialty business in North America. This person brings strong marketplace and wholesale acumen, a deep understanding of retail and consumer dynamics, and the ability to simplify complexity into clear action.

The ideal candidate thrives in a fast-paced, matrixed environment and is energized by building strong partnerships, improving how work gets done, and influencing decisions through a combination of data, storytelling, and business judgment. They are equally comfortable operating at the strategic level with senior leaders and rolling up their sleeves to solve operational challenges that unlock growth.

What You’ll Work On

As Director, Business Development, you will help lead the strategic and operational agenda for Nike’s NA Sport Specialty Integrated Portfolio Team. Key responsibilities include:

• Lead business development strategy for the NA Sport Specialty business, identifying opportunities to accelerate growth, improve marketplace health, and strengthen strategic account performance.
• Translate marketplace, consumer, financial, and account insights into actionable strategies that improve sell-in, sell-through, profitability, and brand impact.
• Drive commercial planning discipline across long-range account plans, internal and external business reviews, KPI management, and key seasonal planning moments.
• Manage performance across key commercial metrics, including revenue, margin, sell-through, inventory productivity, and marketplace health.
• Shape account and portfolio strategies that strengthen strategic partnerships, improve marketplace health, and support sustainable growth.
• Connect cross-functional teams across Sales, Merchandising, Marketing, Finance, Planning, Supply Chain, Operations, and Insights/Analytics to improve alignment, accountability, execution, and business-critical decision-making.
• Build effective operating rhythms and executive-ready communication that create clarity, simplify trade-offs, and help teams align around the right path forward.
• Lead, coach, and develop talent, creating clarity, accountability, and growth opportunities while building capability in strategic thinking, planning rigor, and executive communication.

What You Bring

• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Finance, Marketing, Economics, or related field. Will accept any suitable combination of education and experience, and training.
• 10+ years of experience in business development, sales, strategy, marketplace management, commercial planning, or related functions.
• Experience in wholesale, sporting goods, athletic footwear/apparel, or specialty retail strongly preferred.
• Proven success leading cross-functional initiatives and influencing senior stakeholders in a matrixed organization.
• Strong understanding of retail and marketplace metrics, including revenue, margin, sell-through, inventory, forecasting, and productivity drivers.
• Experience building business cases, account plans, performance scorecards, and executive presentations.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with the ability to turn complex information into clear insights and actions.
• Excellent communication skills with strength in both written storytelling and live executive presentations.
• Experience leading and developing teams preferred.
• Proficiency in Excel and presentation tools such as PowerPoint or Keynote; experience with Tableau, Airtable, or similar business tools is a plus.

WHY NIKE

At Nike, we believe sport has the power to move the world forward. We are looking for leaders ready to bring energy, clarity, and ambition to shaping the future of the North America marketplace through strong partnerships, thoughtful strategy, and relentless focus on serving athletes.

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.