Apparel Factory Sourcing Manager

Lever Style is the world’s premier apparel production platform for premium labels such as Hugo Boss, Paul Smith, and Amie Leon Dore, outdoor/activewear brands such as Arc’teryx, Vuori and J Lindeberg, and e-commerce pioneers such as Bonobos, Stitch Fix and Mizzen + Main. Our innovative, high mix-low volume solution reduces excess inventory and stockouts, and offers unparalleled product expertise. Listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (stock code 1346), our versatile approach is rooted in decades of technical expertise gained from working with many of the world’s top brands.

Our one-stop shop solution allows our clients to focus on what they do best: branding, marketing, and distribution. Behind the scenes we deliver versatility on any product type that a designer can dream of. We enable our clients to consolidate their vendor base, reduce production complexity, overheads, and management headaches.

This role is based in Lever Style Shenzhen office, with daily commuting shuttle provided between Hong Kong and Shenzhen. 

RESPONSIBILITIES

1. Translate business and growth requirements into sourcing development. Lead the development of apparel category sourcing strategies by collaborating with other business partners and stakeholders to drive and execute global and regional factory sourcing initiatives.
2. Develop and manage regional factory supplier strategy (China, Vietnam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Turkey, Jordan, etc.) in order to deliver competitive advantage to the company. 
3. Identify new factory suppliers through factory evaluation (costing, garment technique, machinery, production capacity, quality assurance, compliance and audit, sustainability, etc.), and to provide market intelligence to internal departments. Assess performance of factory suppliers in conjunction with sales operations and product development teams. 
4. Identify opportunities to drive efficiency, synergy and savings within local and regional operations. Maximize business benefits by consolidating purchasing power to drive production cost savings.
5. Build and maintain strong relationships with apparel manufacturing suppliers, ensuring effective communication and alignment on expectations.
6. Enhance productivity with different apparel categories, and strike the right balance between production order quantities and production country-of-origin.
7. Coordinate with production team to onboard new factory suppliers, develop supplier training plan, ensuring process implementation with standard tools and consistent manner.

REQUIREMENTS

1. Minimum 10 years working experience in apparel manufacturer, trading office, buying office, or apparel brands. 
2. Extensive network of apparel factories in China, Southeast Asia, South Asia, Middle East, or South Europe. 
3. Good understanding of apparel categories including woven, knitwear, seamless & bonded apparel, etc. 
4. High level of motivation and quick learning. Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with a process-oriented thinking.
5. Strong interpersonal and communication skills.
6. Fluent in English & Chinese (or country local language).