Activewear Senior Strategist (12-month FTC)

The role

We are looking to hire an Activewear Senior Strategist to join our Fashion Content team in London on a fixed term basis for 12-months starting from July to cover the maternity leave of a current employee.

Working at WGSN

Together, we create tomorrow

A career with WGSN is fast-paced, exciting and full of opportunities to grow and develop. We're a team of consumer and design trend forecasters, content creators, designers, data analysts, advisory consultants and much more, united by a common goal: to create tomorrow.

WGSN's trusted consumer and design forecasts power outstanding product design, enabling our customers to create a better future. Our services cover consumer insights, beauty, consumer tech, fashion, interiors, lifestyle, food and drink forecasting, data analytics and expert advisory. If you are an expert in your field, we want to hear from you.

Role overview

In this role you will be implementing WGSN’s content strategy, translating it into actionable, informed and inspirational directions for new products and strategies within the activewear market. You'll be an inspiring thought leader, creating and presenting your own world-class content while leading and supporting the output of the Active and broader teams.

You will have proven experience within the activewear industry with the ability to research, track and forecast macro and micro shifts within product innovation and aesthetics across global sports. Your forecasts will need to identify the value in those ideas across all market levels for men’s and women’s. You are an enthusiastic and efficient collaborator with strengths in workshopping in both small and large groups and are confident in a client-facing consultancy setting. You strive to empower the industry to move faster on lower-impact solutions.

The team

Our vision is for WGSN to welcome all people of all identities - as our customers and team members. We believe that welcoming a range of diverse backgrounds and perspectives is both the right thing to do as well as helping us to create a more inclusive - and a better - business, for our clients and the people who work with and for us.

You will join a dynamic, high-performing team made up of very talented people who have one goal in common - to be the proudest WGSN brand ambassadors.

Key accountabilities

• Direct, oversee, research and create solution-driven content, showing a clear understanding of client needs across the active category. This includes the seasonal active forecast themes, colour, materials, key items and print and graphics for men and women, across sports-specific and mass-market levels. Ensure forecast reports are at a world-class standard, delivering information in a concise, informative and inspirational manner, in either written, visual or video format.

• Deliver actionable content to a variety of sports, from niche to mass that empowers clients across all market levels, to make product decisions to ensure they maximise the opportunities of how people will want to exercise in the future.

• Identify key influences, drivers and innovations, in line with the WGSN STEPIC methodology, that will impact and shape the future of the activewear industry. Looking at society, technology, environment, politics, industry and creativity. Communicate these findings with an understanding of their future impacts within content, internal presentations, workshops, and client-facing briefings.

• Collaborating beyond the fashion department. Working with the consumer Insight team and the new Sports and Outdoors team. Collaborate with the team to further shape and understand the impact of these shifts.

• Mentor and lead immediate team members as well as the broader team. Set best practice examples within the content team and collaborate with colleagues to ensure a high standard is achieved. Give constructive feedback and guidance through clear communication in person, on screen and in written form.

• Deliver client-facing presentations that are informative, engaging and empathetic to the client's needs. Be able to demonstrate a thorough understanding of the active content, shifts within the industry as well as challenges the active industry could be facing. Confidently advocate for WGSN’s work, methodology and products. Collaborate with the client services team to ensure the client’s needs and expectations are met.

• Keeping abreast of sustainability innovations, industry challenges and current and future legislations that will impact the fashion industry. Gaining information through research, collaboration, industry events and industry contacts.

• Ensuring diversity and inclusivity is represented across all active content. Researching and self-educating on product innovations and topics within Active that relate to diversity and inclusivity.

• Able to hypothesise scenarios within activewear and consumer behaviour in order to brief and work with the data team to design and deliver meaningful and indicative data sets, graphs and visuals.

• Share knowledge and insights on the active sector on WGSN podcasts, videos and webinars and other public and industry-facing events when required.

• Travel nationally and internationally to cover industry trade shows, conferences and other events when required.

• Sourcing and briefing freelancers and providing feedback on their content.

• Provide quotes for press and broadcast media as required.

This list is not exhaustive and there may be other activities you are required to deliver.

Skills, experience & qualifications required

• Proven career experience within the active market with a background in trend forecasting, design or buying, demonstrating an understanding of the apparel industry across design, buying, textile and material innovation and lifestyle drivers.

• Solid knowledge of the global active market from directional to commercial trends across fashion, lifestyle and performance product areas, and the ability to pin-point trends that will impact the market.

• Expert level of experience in writing, editing and reporting through an extensive career path within design, buying or content creation.

• Excellent standard of written English. Ability to convey complex ideas in concise and digestible formats written in the WGSN house style.

• Good understanding of how macro and micro trends within society, technology, the environment, politics, industry and creativity will impact innovation within the active industry.

• An understanding of the role data and analytics plays in commercial success.

• An ability to present and explain trend concepts to internal and external audiences.

• Ability to take ownership of personal assignments, prioritise workload and support other members of the team.

• Ability to manage your own time effectively to meet exacting content deadlines.

• Excellent organisation, communication and collaboration skills with the ability to work within an international team to ensure production standards, reports or outputs are of a consistently high standard and submitted on time.

• Willing to invest time to build strong working relationships with the wider Content Team, as well as Sales, Client Services and Marketing.

• Technical skills: Adobe Creative Suite, Microsoft Office, Google Workspace.

What we offer

Our benefits and wellbeing package offers flexible benefits you can tailor to your own personal needs, including:

• 25 days of holiday per year - with an option to buy/ sell up to 5 days

• Pension, Life Assurance and Income Protection

• Flexible benefits platform with options including Private Medical, Dental Insurance & Critical Illness

• Employee assistance programme, season ticket loans and cycle to work scheme

• Volunteering opportunities and charitable giving options

• Great learning and development opportunities