Global Projects & Strategy Director

Job title: Global Projects & Strategy Director

Job Summary

The Global Projects & Strategy Director leads KEEN’s enterprise project-management and strategic-execution function, translating strategic priorities into a disciplined portfolio of cross-functional initiatives that deliver measurable business results. Partnering with Global leaders, this role combines internal performance and financial data with external market intelligence, consumer insights, industry trends, and competitive benchmarking to inform strategic decisions, strengthen portfolio governance, and identify opportunities and risks. The Director drives initiatives that improve growth, margin, service, operating effectiveness, and organizational readiness across markets and channels, while building the standards, capabilities, and accountability required to deliver KEEN’s long-term strategy.

Essential Functions

Description

• Leads the planning, execution, and successful delivery of strategic 10% initiatives, translating priorities into structured programs with clear objectives, governance, milestones, owners, dependencies, resource requirements, success measures, and executive visibility.
• Partners with Global leadership to prioritize initiatives, develop strategic plans and business cases, and create implementation roadmaps that support sustainable growth, margin improvement, high service levels, and efficient cost structures.
• Establishes and continuously improves PMO standards, methodologies, tools, templates, and reporting practices, applying Agile, Waterfall, or hybrid delivery approaches as appropriate to the initiative.
• Builds and maintains integrated project and portfolio plans; proactively manages scope, schedules, budgets, risks, issues, interdependencies, capacity constraints, and change impacts across Global teams.
• Leads cross-functional initiatives spanning commercial strategy, operating-model design, supply chain, direct shipments, network design, systems, process improvement, organizational change, and other strategic priorities.
• Develops financially sound business cases, project budgets, resource plans, and benefits-tracking models; monitors delivery, commercial, operational, and financial outcomes and recommends course corrections when needed.
• Leads, mentors, and develops project and program-management resources, establishing clear expectations, development plans, and a collaborative, accountable, growth-oriented delivery culture.
• Facilitates executive decision-making through clear portfolio health updates, risks, options, trade-offs, and recommendations; aligns stakeholders and resolves competing priorities without direct authority.
• Leads project risk and change-management practices, removes delivery barriers, manages external partners as required, and embeds successful outcomes into scalable processes, controls, and operating mechanisms.
• Integrate external insights with KEEN’s internal business, financial, operational, and portfolio data to identify opportunities, risks, performance gaps, and emerging implications for growth, margin, service, and operating effectiveness.
• Translate relevant external insights into actionable performance measures, strategic scenarios, project priorities, and improvement opportunities; monitor outcomes and adjust recommendations as conditions evolve.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's Degree in Business, Finance, Supply Chain, Operations, Strategy, or related field required.

• MBA, PMP, PRINCE2, Lean, Scrum, or equivalent program-management certification preferred.

• Ten (10) years progressive experience leading complex, cross-functional strategy, transformation, operations, consulting, or program-management work within a multinational consumer products, retail, manufacturing, technology, or global organization. Demonstrated success leading enterprise-scale initiatives, project portfolios, executive reporting, and project-management teams across multiple markets is strongly preferred.

• Any equivalent combination of experience and education which clearly indicates the ability to perform the essential functions of the position may substitute on a year for year basis.

• Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• Advanced strategic, commercial, and financial acumen, with the ability to translate complex business issues into clear choices, compelling business cases, executable plans, and measurable outcomes.

• Demonstrated expertise in portfolio, program, and project management, including PMO governance, project lifecycle management, and delivery across multiple functions, countries, and stakeholder groups.

• Strong financial literacy and analytical capability, including project budgeting, forecasting, resource planning, investment cases, trade-offs, margin impact, operating cost, and benefits realization.

• Executive-level written and verbal communication, facilitation, negotiation, and presentation skills; able to create clear narratives and influence decisions among senior leaders.

• Exceptional project-management discipline, including governance design, methodology selection, roadmap development, risk management, dependency management, stakeholder management, and delivery tracking.

• Practical problem-solving skills and sound judgment in ambiguous, fast-moving environments; able to resolve escalated issues and simplify complex matters without losing critical detail.

• Proven ability to build trusted relationships through diplomacy, credibility, dependability, coaching, and cross-functional collaboration.

• Ability to lead without direct authority, develop project-management capability, challenge constructively, and maintain momentum across diverse international teams.

• Experience with project-management platforms such as Jira, Asana, Microsoft Project, Smartsheet, Monday.com, or similar; experience with SAP and planning tools preferred.

• Advanced Excel, PowerPoint, and project-management tool experience required.

• Fluent English required; additional language skills are a bonus.

• Travel Required: Yes, up to 25% of the time.

• Base Salary: $165,000 - $175,000

• The salary range posted for this position represents the anticipated hiring range for this role. Offers are made within this range based on factors such as relevant experience, skills, education, internal equity, and market considerations. This is the hiring range for the position; compensation above the posted maximum is not typically available at the time of offer.

• Work

Location

Hybrid

• This role is based in the Portland, OR area and follows a hybrid work model. Employees are expected to reside within a reasonable commuting distance of our Portland office and generally work on-site four days per week, with flexibility based on business and team needs.

• Why Work at KEEN: Driven by a passion for life outside, KEEN is a values-led, independently owned brand from Portland, Oregon, that’s on a mission to create original and versatile products, improve lives, and inspire outside adventure. Founded in 2003, KEEN launched a revolution in the footwear industry with the introduction of the Newport adventure sandal and has donated more than $18 million to non-profit organizations and causes around the world to promote responsible outdoor recreation, including conservation efforts to protect open spaces. KEEN strives to show the world through its products and its actions that a business for good can actually be good for business. By giving back, reducing impact, and activating communities and individuals to protect the places where we work and play, KEEN puts its values in motion and takes action to leave the world a better place.

• At KEEN, we believe in a more just and equitable future for all people. As a global brand, we acknowledge that our business, buildings, and daily lives exist within the traditional territories of indigenous peoples. We strive for a future that recognizes the knowledge, rights, and resilience of these peoples.

• Fuerst Group, KEEN, and Chrome are equal opportunity employers. We value an inclusive and diverse community. Qualified candidates of all backgrounds are encouraged to apply and will be considered without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, veteran status, or disability.