Specialist - Air Category Manager

Specialist - Air Category Manager

At a Glance:

Available today in over 50 countries and cited as “the fastest growing sports company in the world”, On's success comes down to two reasons: incredible products - and incredible people. It has one simple mission: Ignite the Human Spirit Through Movement. As our Specialist Air Category Manager, you will be responsible for the strategic sourcing and execution of On’s global air freight portfolio. You will be tasked with managing a high-velocity category that ensures our performance gear reaches athletes and enthusiasts with speed and precision.

Your Team:

You are part of the Global Supply Chain team, reporting into the Lead - Ocean Procurement Category Manager. In this role, you will work and collaborate with various functions, including Inbound/Outbound Logistics, Finance, IT, and Legal. You will be actively collaborating with team members across both regional and global teams, as well as our global air carriers and freight forwarding partners.

Responsibilities:

• Air Category Strategy: Develop and implement global air freight strategies that balance speed, cost, and reliability to meet the changing needs of the business.

• Sourcing & Tender Management: Lead regular air freight RFIs/RFPs, managing the full procurement lifecycle from market analysis to carrier award.

• Rate & Surcharge Management: Drive negotiations for spot and contract rates, including fuel surcharges (FSC) and security fees, ensuring competitive Total Cost of Ownership (TCO).

• Carrier Performance (SRM): Partner with the business to Establish robust Supplier Relationship Management frameworks to drive accountability and service excellence with air freight forwarders and integrators.

• Capacity Planning: Partner with the business and logistics teams to secure critical air uplift capacity during peak seasons and product launches to support multi-channel operations.

• Market Intelligence: Maintain up-to-date knowledge of global air cargo trends, geopolitical situation and jet fuel market volatility to provide operational visibility to leadership.

• Continuous Improvement: Proactively identify value-engineering opportunities, such as air-to-sea conversion programs or lane optimization, to drive cost savings.

• Operational Reporting: Create and maintain standardized reporting to track air spend, weight-break utilization, and carrier performance against SLAs.

• Emergency & Charter Management: Provide ad-hoc procurement support and analysis for critical path shipments or emergency charter requirements when necessary.

The Successful Candidate Will Demonstrate:

• Air Freight Expertise: Strong knowledge of air cargo operations, IATA regulations, and air freight pricing structures.

• Commercial Credibility: Skill to quickly build credibility and trust with external carriers and internal stakeholders through data-driven recommendations.

• Analytical Precision: Ability to manage data-intensive projects and provide root cause analysis for budget variances or service disruptions.

• Resilience: Capacity to act as a change agent, demonstrating persistence when navigating the fast-paced and volatile air freight environment.

• Strategic Influence: Ability to understand cross-functional impact and interconnected dependencies to drive consensus across global teams.

Basic Qualifications:

• A Bachelor’s degree; however, a combination of college education and related work experience may be used as a substitute.

• Minimum 5 years of experience in strategic procurement, category management, or air freight forwarding in a fast-paced environment.

• Proven track record in Air Freight Experience (AF), working directly within air cargo operations, freight forwarding, or managing air transportation procurement.

• Expert knowledge and proficiency with MS Office applications.

• Proficiency with modern sourcing and procurement tools (e.g., Ariba, Coupa, or similar platforms).

Additional Skills:

• Strong demonstrated ability to work independently, manage data-intensive projects, and engage remote teams.

• Excellent discretion, judgment, tact, and diplomacy when dealing with sensitive commercial negotiations.

• Solid business judgment, including the ability to anticipate the impact of procurement decisions on the global supply chain.

• Must demonstrate an energetic, positive, helpful demeanor and a passion and interest in On Running.

• Experience leveraging AI and automation to streamline processes within a complex, global environment.

What We Offer:

We offer a dynamic, challenging and sportive environment that has been ranked as the ‘fastest growing sports company’ of its time. With offices across the globe, we are an international team who is hungry to innovate and build something incredible. We foster an active environment where each individual thrives for excellence and can achieve their full potential. This is where your work matters, you’re hands-on and your team members are amongst the very best in their respective disciplines and fields. If you are driven to bring On to the next level, curious about the opportunity and want to be part of our growing team send us your application, and join the ONiverse!

On is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We are committed to creating a work environment that is fair and inclusive, where all decisions related to recruitment, advancement, and retention are free of discrimination.