Commercial Planning Director, EMEA
Company: New Balance
Role summary
Commercial Planning Director, EMEA is a full-time role at New Balance in Amsterdam, North Holland, Netherlands (hybrid). Posted 2026-09-08. Experience level: 10+.
- Job title
- Commercial Planning Director, EMEA
- Company
- New Balance
- Location
- Amsterdam, North Holland, Netherlands
- Work arrangement
- hybrid
- Employment type
- full-time
- Category
- Software Engineering
- Experience level
- 10+
- Date posted
- 2026-09-08
If you're a seasoned commercial leader with extensive experience in the EMEA region, this Director role at New Balance offers a fantastic opportunity to shape strategic direction and drive business growth across a diverse market. You'll have a significant impact on the company's future success, working with a globally recognized brand.
Job description
Who We Are:
Since 1906, New Balance has empowered people through sport and craftsmanship to create positive change in communities around the world. We innovate fearlessly, guided by our core values and driven by the belief that conventions were meant to be challenged. We foster a culture in which every associate feels welcomed and respected, where leaders and creatives are inspired to shape the world of tomorrow by taking bold action today.
JOB MISSION:
The Commercial Planning Director EMEA is responsible for building, leading and owning the Planning function across New Balance's EMEA commercial organisation . This is a defining leadership role — one that combines strategic vision, commercial rigour and transformational capability to create the planning engine that underpins our next phase of growth.
This role increases alignment across markets and builds the commercial intelligence infrastructure our ambition demands. The Commercial Planning Director will lead this transformation — developing the function and a high-performing team, and establishing the pan-EMEA planning standards, cadence and ways of working that will drive consistent, scalable growth across all markets and channels.
Sitting at the intersection of Sales, Category, Merchandising, Finance and Account leadership, this role demands an entrepreneurial mindset, enterprise thinking and the ability to translate commercial vision into data-driven action .
MAJOR ACCOUNTABILITIES:
Build and Lead the EMEA Planning Function
Lead the EMEA Commercial Planning function — establishing it as a centre of excellence and a competitive advantage for the business .
Develop a high-performing team of Sales, Category & Business Planners across markets and channels .
Define the EMEA planning operating model — governance, cadence, ways of working — ensuring clarity of accountability across the function, category, markets and account teams .
Serve as a key voice on the EMEA Commercial Leadership Team, contributing to strategic direction and representing Sales Planning at the highest level .
Drive a culture of accountability, enterprise thinking and continuous improvement within the team .
Own Pre-Season Planning and Commercial Strategy
Lead end-to-end pre-season planning for the full New Balance EMEA portfolio across our sales channels .
Partner with VP Sales EMEA, Merchandising and Finance to define pre-season assumptions, revenue targets and investment priorities .
Establish structured account planning frameworks that align channel strategies with brand priorities and our growth agenda .
Build and maintain a robust, integrated forecasting process that connects sell-in, sell-through and inventory across all EMEA markets .
Lead the governance and rhythm of the planning calendar — ensuring alignment across Europe and enabling agile in-season adjustments .
Drive Commercial Intelligence and Data-Driven Decision Making
Build and oversee the EMEA commercial reporting suite — sell-through, inventory, reorder trends, market share and competitor benchmarking .
Establish data standards, KPI frameworks and analytical toolkits that enable consistent insight generation across all EMEA markets, categories and channels .
Transform complex data into sharp, executive-ready insights and commercial recommendations that inform VP and leadership-level decision making .
Lead quantitative and qualitative analysis across products, consumers, categories and competitive landscape to identify growth opportunities and risks .
Build a Commercial Planning community of practice across EMEA — sharing best-in-class tools, analytical frameworks and playbooks .
Maximise In-Season Commercial Performance
Proactively identify and action in-season opportunities — re-orders, stock rebalancing, overstock mitigation — in partnership with sales and customer service teams .
Build commercial action plans at account, category and market level to maximise revenue realisation across the season .
Provide data-led recommendations to support strategic partners and market teams in distribution development and sell-out improvement .
Talent and Team Development
Develop, manage and recruit as needed a high-performing Sales Planning team across EMEA, building depth, capability and succession across the function .
Foster a culture of accountability, innovation and collaboration within the team and across cross-functional partners .
Champion cross-border collaboration with NB associates globally, ensuring EMEA planning is connected to global commercial frameworks .
Raise the analytical and commercial capability ceiling of the entire planning function over time .
Teams are based centrally and locally across several European markets .
REQUIREMENTS FOR SUCCESS :
Experience: Relevant number of years experience in Sales Planning, Commercial Operations or Business Planning within sport s, footw ear or fashion/FMCG, with significant EMEA or multi-market scope. Prov en track rec ord of building and developing a planning function.
Commercial Mindset: A process-oriented approach to managing commercial performance, with deep understanding of sell-in/sell-through dynamics, P&L drivers, inventory management and the commercial KPIs that matter in wholesale and key account environments.
Industry Knowledge: Preferably a strong understan