Lead Strategic Programs

Mastermind key product & tech initiatives at bol

How do you make our customers happy?

As the Lead Strategic Programs, you’ll spearhead complex, high-priority projects within Product, Tech and Data. You’ll develop visions, create roadmaps, and ensure successful execution of strategic initiatives. Navigating multiple stakeholders and managing director-level relationships, you’ll balance short-term wins with long-term goals. You’ll be the driving force behind initiatives that will fundamentally shape how we serve our 13 million customers and 49,000 partner sellers. Your work will have far-reaching impacts on our platform’s capabilities, elevating the shopping experience across our catalog of 37 million products to new and dizzying heights.

The biggest challenge

You’ll be tasked with developing the vision for strategic projects of the highest complexity and priority, formulating comprehensive roadmaps and strategies to achieve project goals. The path isn’t predefined. You’ll need to bring an entrepreneurial mindset, build alignment, influence senior leaders to prioritize the most critical challenges for maximizing the impact of our Product & Tech teams, and turn strategic vision into actionable steps on the ground.

You’ll need to navigate a landscape of multiple stakeholders, often at C-suite or director level, and balance short-term wins with long-term goals. Your ability to get to the core of problems quickly and propose effective solutions that resonate with senior leadership will be crucial. Additionally, you’ll be responsible for coaching less experienced Strategic Programs Leads, further amplifying your impact across the organization.

What you'll do as Lead Strategic Programs

Reporting to the Head of Strategic Programs for Product, Tech & Data, you’ll be the cornerstone of bol’s most critical strategic initiatives. You’ll collaborate closely with the Portfolio & Operations team and Product, Tech & Data teams to identify strategic priorities and work with multiple senior stakeholders across the Product and Tech departments. You’ll independently lead one or more high-complexity projects, taking full ownership of program KPIs and NPS. Your deep understanding of the Product & Technology department, including its ambitions and challenges, will enable you to cooperate effectively and influence at the director level. As an independent thinker, you’ll use strong, data-driven argumentation to convince managers and shape the strategic direction of projects.

Key responsibilities include:

• Develop and execute the vision and strategy for high-priority strategic projects.
• Set priorities, processes, and milestones to ensure successful project outcomes.
• Oversee the day-to-day operations related to strategic programs.
• Identify and address operational issues to improve efficiency.
• Stay abreast of external trends and share relevant insights with key stakeholders.
• Prepare briefing materials, reports, and presentations for internal and external meetings.
• Coordinate and facilitate leadership meetings, ensuring agendas are set and follow-ups are tracked.

Examples of projects:

• Lead and coordinate the AI strategy and program at bol.
• Drive and oversee the rollout of our cross-functional Way of Working to innovate and deliver customer value.
• Program Management to ensure P&T teams focus on the most impactful initiatives.

Key qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree in business administration, Technology, or a related field; MBA or advanced degree preferred.
• Minimum of 8-10 years of experience in a strategic consulting role, preferably within a technology-driven organization.
• Proven track record of managing complex projects and driving strategic initiatives.
• Strong analytical, problem-solving, and decision-making skills.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to influence and build relationships at all levels.
• Highly organized, with the ability to manage multiple priorities and work under pressure.
• Experience in the e-commerce or technology sector is highly desirable.

3 reasons why this is (not) for you

• - Short-term thinker: If you struggle with long-term planning and prefer to focus on immediate tasks.
• - Cautious navigator: If you are uncomfortable with fast-paced, high-pressure environments and prefer a slower-paced role.
• - Unpersuasive leader: If you find it challenging to influence and communicate effectively across diverse teams.

Strategic Visionary: You excel at seeing the big picture and aligning detailed execution with strategic goals.

Effective Communicator: Your interpersonal skills are exceptional, allowing you to navigate complex relationships with ease.

Pressure Manager: You thrive under pressure and can juggle multiple high-stakes priorities without breaking a sweat.

This is where you'll land

You’ll be at the epicenter of bol’s mission-critical product & tech innovations, leading projects that will define the future of e-commerce in the Netherlands and Belgium. You’ll join a team of innovators passionate about pushing the boundaries of what’s possible in online retail. We’ve been reinventing retail since 1999, and with your strategic acumen, we’re ready to take on our most ambitious challenges yet. If you’re eager to drive high-impact initiatives and consider stakeholder management your forte, we can’t wait to meet you!

We take pride in our B Corp certification and strive for continuous improvement every day. Our annual bonus is tied to sustainability goals.

Perks of having a blue heart

Our colleagues work hard to make the daily lives of our customers easier and more fun. But of course, we do this in an inspiring and creative environment!

At bol we understand like no other that you have to take care of yourself first, then your environment and then bol. In that order. Therefore, everyone at bol receives 29 days of vacation.

We bring the best of both worlds together by working 50% at the office and 50% at home. This way, we find a balance between organisational and individual needs.