Sr. Insights & Engagement Manager - Performance & Run

Job Summary

The Sr. Insights & Engagement Manager leads seasonal category strategy development and insight synthesis in support of KEEN’s Integrated Go-to-Market (GTM) process. This role translates enterprise priorities, consumer insights, and market data into clear strategic direction that informs cross-functional planning across Product, Merchandising, Brand Communications, Regional teams, and GTM partners. The position partners with senior strategy leadership to ensure seasonal direction reflects KEEN’s Strategic House, long range plan, and consumer target commitment. The Senior Manager ensures insights are translated into action, cross functional teams work from the same strategic foundation, and Integrated GTM receives structured inputs that enable consistent execution across global and regional markets.

Essential Functions

Description

• Strategies Development & Alignment
  • Develops seasonal category strategies for a business category (run, performance, kids, etc.), translating enterprise priorities and long-range plans into actionable direction.
  • Defines strategic problem statements, consumer priorities, and category opportunities to guide Product, Merchandising, Brand Communications, Regional, and Go-to-Market (GTM) teams.
  • Aligns cross functional teams on the seasonal strategic narrative and ensures strategic clarity before downstream GTM planning begins.
  • Partners with leadership to refine, validate, and finalize strategies in alignment with brand and business objectives.

• Insight Leadership & Analysis
  • Synthesizes multiple data sources—including consumer insights, market trends, brand health, category performance, and competitive intelligence—into actionable strategic recommendations.
  • Partners with Insights teams to support development and continuous improvement of reporting and insight frameworks.
  • Identifies emerging risks and opportunities and translates findings into clear strategic actions.
  • Creates clear, digestible storytelling that translates data into strategic actions for partners across the business.

• Cross Functional Engagement & Alignment
  • Leads strategic workshops, insight immersions, and alignment sessions with Product, Merchandising, Brand Communications, and Regional teams.
  • Ensures teams understand and adopt the seasonal strategy before brief development, concepting, or activation planning begins.
  • Acts as a strategic partner to Brand Communications to build narrative foundations prior to creative development.
  • Provides continuing insight and strategic interpretation throughout the season cycle.

• Sell in Strategic Toolkit & Sales Team Enablement
  • Develops and delivers strategic sell-in materials to support global and regional Sales teams in communicating category strategy to retail partners.
  • Supplies consumer (fan) narrative grounded in the Expressive Explorer target, including key mindsets, motivations, behaviors, and unmet needs.
  • Provides seasonal Merchandising Architecture and Key Story Priorities including hero drivers, volume drivers, icon builders, innovation leaders, and retailer tier story guidance.
  • Defines and communicates key product knowledge (in partnership with PLMs) such as key benefits, tech guides, KEENparison charts, testing results, and proof point summaries.
  • Defines directional strategies for in-season support to reinforce retailer confidence and sustain consumer demand through sell-through.
  • Partners with Creative to develop seasonal category concepts that establish the early creative foundation which will mature into full sell thru campaigns in later stage gates.
  • Provides Sales teams with clear, concise strategic narratives and ready to use materials that ensure consistent storytelling across global and regional retailers.

• Integrated GTM Partnership & Handoff
  • Serves as the primary strategic partner to Integrated GTM teams, providing clear and actionable seasonal strategy inputs.
  • Leads formal handoff of strategy, including consumer insights, opportunity framing, product intent, and narrative direction.
  • Supports GTM teams throughout execution to ensure alignment with strategic priorities.
  • Provides data-informed rationale to support channel prioritization, pathway development, and investment decisions.
  • Partners with Integrated GTM to ensure continuity from strategy through activation, but does not own activation planning or execution.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's Degree in Business, Marketing, Design Strategy, Insights, or related field required.
• Minimum seven (7) years experience in strategy, insights, brand planning, category strategy, consumer research, or related strategic fields.
• Experience working in or with an Integrated GTM or cross functional planning model 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 thinking, synthesis, and structured problem solving.
• Ability to translate insights into clear, compelling strategic direction.
• Strong communication, storytelling, and facilitation skills.
• Ability to influence without authority across global and regional teams.
• Experience working with qualitative and quantitative research sources.
• Skilled at building frameworks and strategic narratives that guide decision making.
• Thrives in a lean, fast paced environment.
• Ability to partner with senior leaders and cross functional partners with clarity and confidence.

Travel Required: Yes, up to 15% of the time

Base Salary: $127,500 - $134,600

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.