Head of Development (all genders)

This is a unique leadership opportunity to step into the strategic core of our business unit, operating at the critical intersection of business strategy, technical enablement, and operational execution. As the Head of Development, you will not just manage teams; you will shape the very engine that translates our strategic goals into tangible reality.

Lead a Truly Cross-Functional Department: You will guide a diverse, multi-disciplinary department of experts across Engineering, Business Intelligence, Product Management, and Project Management, fostering a culture of shared ownership and impact.

Drive High-Stakes Strategic Initiatives: Take direct ownership of our Operational Plan and steer flagship projects, such as the final implementation and stabilization of a new POS solution across all our retail locations.

Shape the Future of the Team: This is a role with a clear mandate for organizational design. You will actively evolve team structures and develop career paths, including conceptualizing senior and principal-level roles to meet future business needs.

Act as a Strategic Bridge to Zalando Group: You will represent our business unit in key forums, deepen alignment with central Zalando teams (like SAP, Infrastructure, and Logistics), and expand your influence on cross-BU initiatives.

Solve Complex, Ambiguous Problems: Step beyond day-to-day management to act as a key sparring partner and problem-solver for complex, cross-functional challenges, influencing outcomes through strategic framing and strong relationships in a matrixed environment.

INCLUSIVE BY DESIGN

At Zalando, our vision is to be the leading pan-European ecosystem for fashion and lifestyle e-commerce – one that is inclusive by design. We only assess candidates based on qualifications, merit, and business needs. We welcome applications from people of all gender identities, sexual orientations, personal expressions, racial identities, ethnicities, religious beliefs, and disability statuses. We only want to know why you’re great for this role, so please avoid including your picture, age, and marital status in your CV as well.

We want to provide you with a great candidate experience. Please feel free to inform us of any accommodations you may need, so we can best support and assist you throughout the hiring process.

WHAT WE’D LOVE YOU TO DO (AND LOVE DOING)

Lead across disciplines – Guide and grow a high-performing team covering Product, Engineering, BI, Project, and IT. Ensure clarity of scope, purpose, and ownership across domains.

Translate strategy into action – Turn business objectives into actionable roadmaps and cross-functional initiatives – from enabling new integrations with Zalando-wide platforms to evolving internal systems and data capabilities.

Deliver through structure and pace – Strengthen our project and delivery setup, ensuring initiatives run with transparency, accountability, and strong stakeholder alignment.

Collaborate beyond your BU – Partner with teams across Zalando like Logistics, Partner Program, and Customer Platform teams to unlock shared capabilities and build future-proof solutions.

Balance short- and long-term priorities – Support your teams in handling urgent operational needs while keeping focus on scalable, sustainable outcomes.

Foster team growth and cohesion – Empower individuals with clear roles and development opportunities, while building a collaborative, impact-oriented team culture.

You bring broad leadership experience across several disciplines – such as Product, Engineering, Project Management, BI, or IT – ideally in a tech-enabled or retail context.

You’ve led cross-functional teams and delivered complex initiatives involving multiple stakeholder groups and system landscapes.

You’re a structured thinker and strong communicator , able to connect strategic goals with delivery plans and team execution.

You understand what it takes to scale operations and infrastructure , especially in fast-moving, evolving business environments.

You have experience building robust project and delivery structures that enable autonomy while ensuring coordination.

You’re excited by the challenge of connecting local execution with platform-level strategy in a large, distributed organization like Zalando.

You’re fluent in English. German is a plus, but not required.

OUR OFFER

Zalando provides a range of benefits, here’s an overview of what you can expect. Ask your Talent Acquisition Partner to learn more about what we offer.

Employee shares program

40% off fashion and beauty products sold and shipped by Zalando, 30% off Lounge by Zalando, discounts from external partners

2 paid volunteering days a year

Hybrid working model with up to 60% remote per week, actual practice is up to each team to best support their collaboration

Work from abroad for up to 30 working days a year

27 days of vacation a year to start for full-time employees

Relocation assistance available (subject to prior agreement)

Family services, including counseling and support

Health and wellbeing options (including Wellhub)

Mental health support and coaching available

Drive your development through our training platform and biannual peer-to-peer review

Please note that all applications from this job page must be completed using the online form – we do not accept applications via e-mail. Once reviewed, our recruiters will contact applicants via an official Zalando email address (@zalando.de).

In some cases we also work with a selection of headhunters and agencies to fill specific roles. Please note that neither Zalando nor our recruiting partners will ask for any kind of payment to apply for a job or attend an interview.

If you have any questions about our recruitment process, please take a look at our FAQ page .

About Zalando

It’s the perfect time to join Zalando on our journey to build the leading pan-European ecosystem for fashion and lifestyle e-commerce. Help us offer an inspiring and quality multi-brand shopping experience for fashion and lifestyle products to about 50 million active customers in 25 markets. Or be part of our logistic infrastructure, software or service capabilities to help brands and retailers run and scale their entire e-commerce business, on or off Zalando. Join our Zalando ecosystem, to enable positive change for the fashion and lifestyle industry.

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