Business Leader​/Marketing Director Pickleball

Babolat is a proud family-owned company whose history with racquet sports began in 1875, accompanying the birth of tennis and badminton. The Lyon-based brand built its expertise on a raw material, natural gut, from which the first racquet strings were made and proceeded to become a leading equipment supplier for racquet sports lovers.

Today, tradition and innovation are combined to serve players and the game. The brand is carried to the highest level by champions in the most prestigious tennis, padel and badminton competitions.

Today, the Babolat is made up of almost 450 employees around the world.

Reporting to the Deputy Managing Director/Client Relations, the Business Leader/Marketing Director Pickleball position, based in a strong Pickleball community/East Coast US preferred, is primarily responsible for creating and driving the global Pickleball category strategy to improve market share and profitable growth through the design and implementation of an Operational Strategic Plan.

This sentence should be preserved as text only, but remove emphasis.
This job posting highlights the most critical responsibilities and requirements of the job. It s not all-inclusive. There will be additional duties, responsibilities and requirements assigned for this position.

• Lead the overall implementation of Babolat's strategy for the global rollout of Pickleball, with a focus on the US market, the native and mature market for Pickleball.
• Lead the organization and structure of Babolat in the sport of Pickleball, in connection with the American base camp, the headquarters in Lyon, France, and other international bases.
• Lead for positioning the Babolat brand in Pickleball, in direct line with the Company's and brand's ambitions for this sport and consistent with its strategy for other racquet sports.
• Define, manage and direct the team to ensure high performance and efficiency.
• Develop the vision and category strategy by analyzing marketing trends, competitor landscape and gaining deep insights into consumer profiles, needs and expectations.
• Lead product innovation and category strategy, working closely with the Innovation and Development Director and the Sales Leadership.
• Develop and execute pricing strategies in partnership with the Sales Leadership.
• Oversee communication strategies, ensuring alignment with category and brand values, in collaboration with the Brand Activation team.
• Identify and recommend new market opportunities, product ideas and service enhancements.
• Define the product range and pricing strategy in collaboration with key markets and the Sales Director.
• Lead product and service innovation in close partnership with the Innovation & Development team.
• Create and execute a comprehensive activation and communication plan to boost brand awareness within the category, ensuring alignment with the overall brand positioning and values.
• Manage the category's P&L, driving financial performance in line with company strategy and key performance indicators.

• Develop the annual category budget and KPI's in collaboration with key countries, the Sales Leadership and the Executive Leadership Team.
• Play an active role in the S&OP process to ensure clear and accurate marketing demand planning.
• Create and execute the marketing plan, including defining the product range structure, marketing mix and launch strategy to ensure on-time launches and achievement of KPI's.
• Collaborate with the sales team to ensure the right product ranges are sold with optimal margins, aligned with the category strategy.
• Develop and manage marketing operating budgets in coordination with the sales team, ensuring alignment with the overall category strategy.
• Monitor, analyze and report on brand and product range performance, evaluating the ROI of marketing initiatives.
• Make data-driven adjustments to plans based on performance results and evolving market conditions.

• Oversee the profitability of the category by managing the P&L, ensuring goals for revenue and profit margins are met or exceeded.
• Define, develop and lead a diverse team both locally and internationally, working closely with the leadership team to drive performance and collaboration.

• Manage relationships with external agencies and partners to ensure effective collaboration and delivery of marketing initiatives that support business goals.

• Bachelor's Degree from four-year college or university with a concentration in Business/Marketing is required (MBA is a plus); and a minimum of seven years related experience and/or training; or equivalent combination of education and experience is required.
• Experience working in the pickleball/sporting goods industry is required.
• Strong understanding of on-and-offline distribution is required.
• Experience working internationally is required.
• Proven experience across multiple marketing disciplines, including product development, operational marketing, category management, pricing strategy, brand strategy…