Director of Production- Apparel Manufacturer

About the company

Founded in 2018 by Ohad Seroya and Aviad Klin, Retrofête is a womenswear collection marked by its bold character, intricate detail, and sparkling embellishments. The New York-based label, which takes its name from a melding of synonyms for ‘vintage’ and ‘party’, channels disco-era after-hours through tastefully provocative, day-and-night silhouettes.

Job Overview

We are seeking a talented and creative Director of Production- Apparel Manufacturer to join our team. The ideal candidate is responsible for managing a team of Product developers, Production Coordinators in order to support the department’s initiatives of quality, cost control, and on-time delivery for the Managers’ assigned brands. Among other objectives, major emphasis is placed on reducing lead times, reducing costs through cost engineering and local component sourcing, and keeping abreast of trade agreements.

Responsibilities

• Oversee all product-related queries and support the VP in delivering maximum cost efficiencies
• Create company production calendar to ensure internal schedules and milestones are met for Development and Pre-Production through weekly follow-up meetings
• Maintain alignment with business milestones by partnering cross-functionally with Sales, Merchandising, Technical Design, and Trim Teams for the weekly T&A meetings; ensure communication is clear and confirm closure at the milestone meetings
• Take ownership of WIP tracking and factory performance to ensure on-time deliveries
• Ensure quality standards are met at the factory level through proactive development steps
• Take ownership of the invoice approval process
• Communicate daily with the factories to identify and resolve production and delivery issues
• Provide production updates to Sales / Web merchandisers on exceptions
• Partner cross-functionally with Forecasting, Planning, and Design Teams to ensure capacity allowances by factory are met and/or revised as needed
• Take ownership of Style Matrix Maintenance with correct pricing and material
• Maintain solid factory relationships for each factory’s brand
• Monitor published arrival dates in the Distribution Center for the Logistics and Sales Team, Web team
• Carry out trim approval process follow-up with Product development team
• Manage and elevate late WIP issues by communicating reasons for the delay, impact of the delay, and proposed solutions
• Oversee the fabric consumption process and provide solution to use up liability material with merchandising team and sales team
• Monitor garment air shipment requests, elevate for approval by the VP of logistics and quote delivery dates for air product
• Monitor material transfers between factories with prior approval of the VP of design
• Prepare quotations for projected delivery dates for late add’s or off-calendar requests (i.e. special orders and direct shipments)
• Travel periodically to the factories to address production issues, monitor new line launches, and discuss / train for new processes as needed
• Drive projects and provide accurate status updates to stakeholders and leadership team

REQUIREMENTS

• Bachelor’s Degree in Supply Chain, Production Management, or equivalent experience 8 yrs
• Strong knowledge of garment development, global production, and factory WIP follow-up
• Able to travel internationally (10%)
• Excellent communication, delegation, and team-building skills
• Strong planning, organizational, and problem-solving skills
• Ability to multitask and meet multiple deadlines
• Strong working knowledge of MS Office tools, PLM, and SCM

Rate $120 upon experience