THE PURPOSE:
As the Director of Sourcing, you will drives global strategies that deliver the right product at the right cost, with the right quality, on time—every time. This role leads sourcing with a focus on speed, agility, and commercial results, owning cost negotiations, vendor performance, and risk management across a diversified supply base. The Director is responsible for identifying and onboarding new vendors that can deliver product at a lower cost without compromising quality or speed. A key cross-functional leader, this role ensures full calendar alignment to keep development and production on track. Additionally, the Director is accountable for building, developing, and training a best-in-class sourcing team, creating a culture of performance, accountability, and continuous improvement. This role translates brand vision into sourcing execution that fuels growth, protects margin, and elevates product value.
THE ROLE is Fearless and Focused
- Drive significant cost reductions by aggressively negotiating and onboarding new vendors that lower product costs without sacrificing quality or speed.
- Ensure 100% on-time product delivery by owning and enforcing calendar alignment across cross-functional teams, eliminating bottlenecks and delays.
- Elevate product quality and vendor performance through rigorous monitoring, continuous improvement, and enforcement of compliance standards.
- Build, train, and lead a high-performing sourcing team that consistently meets or exceeds cost, quality, and timing targets.
- Assess individual team member capabilities and provide targeted development to elevate performance
- Recruit and onboard best-in-class talent aligned with evolving business needs
- Mitigate supply chain risk by diversifying and optimizing the vendor base, ensuring agility and resilience in sourcing operations.
- Collaborate cross-functionally to align sourcing strategies with business goals, driving growth, margin expansion, and operational excellence.
- Deep understanding and consistent implementation of sourcing and operational processes
- Drive continuous improvement and optimization of tools, including SharePoint, FC systems, and tracking platforms
- Serve as a critical liaison bridging communication and workflow between factories and internal teams
- Communicate effectively and transparently with leadership to align on priorities and progress
- Analyze reporting data to identify trends, gaps, and opportunities for enhanced decision-making
- Understand and anticipate seasonal workload fluctuations to prepare teams accordingly
- Foster strong internal and external relationships to enhance collaboration, trust, and shared success
- Ability to work in a fast paced environment is a must
Managing & Operations:
- Oversee day-to-day sourcing operations, including supplier onboarding, order execution, and procurement process compliance.
- Manage operational sourcing KPIs (on-time delivery, quality, cost, inventory impact) and ensure alignment with supply chain and business goals.
- Continuously review and lead team progress to identify opportunities to improve speed to market, product execution, and efficiency.
- Research new sources of manufacturing and industry best practices to ensure continual process improvement and long term vision.
Strategy:
- Define and execute a comprehensive global sourcing strategy that aligns with business growth objectives, product quality standards, and aggressive cost management goals—placing a strong emphasis on cost negotiation and value optimization with key suppliers.
- Lead high-impact supplier negotiations to secure favorable terms, reduce total cost of ownership, and establish long-term agreements that balance cost, risk, and performance.
- Identify and develop new sourcing markets, supplier partnerships, and category capabilities to strengthen the global supply base, reduce dependency, and enhance competitiveness.
- Collaborate with executive leadership to enable product innovation, business expansion, and market entry through sourcing plans that are proactive, scalable, and aligned with product roadmaps.
Financial:
- Own sourcing and procurement budgets across categories and regions, ensuring alignment with overall company financial targets and operational forecasts.
- Lead cost modeling, benchmarking, and total cost of ownership (TCO) analysis to support data-driven sourcing decisions and long-term savings strategies.
- Drive measurable cost reduction initiatives through strategic negotiations, supplier consolidation, volume leverage, and contract optimization.
- Monitor supplier financial health and risk, incorporating financial stability assessments into sourcing decisions to avoid business disruption.
- Establish and report on cost KPIs, including savings realized vs. target, purchase price variance, and year-over-year cost performance across categories.
Leadership:
- Lead, mentor, and scale a high-performing global sourcing team, setting clear goals, developing talent, and fostering a culture of accountability, collaboration, and continuous improvement.
- Inspire and influence cross-functional stakeholders — including operations, product, design, merch, and executive teams — to align sourcing strategies with broader business objectives.
- Establish sourcing as a strategic function within the organization by driving transparency, elevating performance metrics, and embedding sourcing into early-stage business planning.
- Champion operational excellence and leadership by example, modeling a hands-on, results-oriented management style that drives execution, clarity, and urgency.
- Act as a key member of the supply chain leadership team, contributing to cross-functional strategy, enterprise planning, and executive-level decision-making.
- Foster a values-driven, ethical sourcing culture, ensuring compliance with company policies, governance standards, and socially responsible procurement practices.
REQUIRED MINIMUM EXPERIENCE
- 12-15 years of experience in Production/Sourcing and/or Supply Chain roles of increasing scope, complexity and leadership responsibility.
- Knowledge of apparel and non-apparel industry businesses, strategies and how the competition operates in the marketplace. Ability to use this knowledge to inform and influence strategies.
- Knowledge of Production trade regulations, testing protocol, product integrity, production cycle timeline, fabric and garment construction.
- Apparel and fabric manufacturing economics and operations management (i.e., lead-times, transit times, garment and fabric construction and apparel manufacturing operations)
- Analytical and possesses computer skills and knowledge; ability to obtain information from systems.
- Ability to influence across multiple functions/areas/geographies.
- Effective problem-solving and negotiation skills.
- Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
- Ability to develop & implement strategies according to plans, monitor progress, and make the necessary adjustments to achieve objectives.
- Ability to anticipate and articulate future trends and consequences and respond with competitive and creative business solutions.
- Be aware of the impact and implications of decisions on other aspects of business.
- Ability to negotiate skillfully and resolve conflict in tough situations; win concessions without damaging relationships.
- Experience creating and maintaining a positive environment that promotes high performance standards and attainment of goals.
- Must have experience with sourcing and producing over 1000 SKUs per year
