Raw Materials Sampling Manager

INTRODUCTION

At Burberry, we believe creativity opens spaces. Our purpose is to unlock the power of imagination to push boundaries and open new possibilities for our people, our customers and our communities. This is the core belief that has guided Burberry since it was founded in 1856 and is central to how we operate as a company today.

We aim to provide an environment for creative minds from different backgrounds to thrive, bringing a wide range of skills and experiences to everything we do. As a purposeful, values-driven brand, we are committed to being a force for good in the world as well, creating the next generation of sustainable luxury for customers, driving industry change and championing our communities. 

JOB PURPOSE

The role is responsible for the negotiation, acquisition, orders follow-up and excess declarations of sampling raw materials (both fabrics and trims) for the RTW collection. The role covers the management of the inbound/outbound of sampling RMs to and from warehouse, as well as approving PO and invoices, and declaring seasonal sampling leftover.

The Raw Materials Sampling Manager will manage a team of coordinators and administrators, liaising with raw material development, design, product development, product engineering and finance functions to ensure optimisation of raw materials and contribution to company profit.

This role includes outlining and managing the seasonal critical path and spend, and working across all seasonal collections, capsules and special projects, including press and client engagement.

The manager will also lead pre-buy meetings and the transition to bulk production, including the adoption of core raw materials.

RESPONSIBILITIES

Procurement & Supplier Management

• Develop, in partnership with the team, a robust sampling procurement strategy & approach with commitment of all relevant internal stakeholders.
• Partner with the business and maintain continuous dialogue to understand ongoing business needs & future aspirations.
• Lead the development of procurement policies and procedures.
• Build and establish collaborative partnerships with suppliers, including timely two-way communications, feedback on performance, risk/opportunity mitigation/creation.
• Own the end-to-end management activities of the supplier base (including selecting & onboarding, negotiation, matrix & risk management, capacity management, performance & exit) in partnership with internal stakeholders.
• Approve POs and invoices for sampling materials.
• Ensure the effective execution of sampling RM activities in line with the seasonal critical path.
• Manage inbound/outbound of sampling materials from third-party warehouses.
• Manage & monitor budget provisioning activity in line with hindsight analytics & RM development strategy.

Feedback & Reporting

• Manage the seasonal/annual review of sampling excess.
• Review supplier performance management feedback and agree appropriate response mechanisms.
• Ensure effective use of systems and accuracy of data in FlexPLM.

Decision Making

• Supplier selection, performance management & exit.
• RM – Fabric and Trim cost sampling negotiations.
• Negotiate sampling lead times.
• Initiate and launch counter-source during development.

Team Management

• Manage and develop a team of Coordinators and Administrators.
• Talent planning and development

PERSONAL PROFILE

• 5–10 years’ experience in a similar luxury company in managing raw materials & sampling 
• University Degree
• Textile engineering education or equivalent
• Systems Management knowledge and skills, including: Microsoft Office, Flex PLM, pre-order management tool, Delivery tracking
• Strong influencing/negotiation skills
• Strong industry knowledge

FOOTER

Burberry is an Equal Opportunities Employer and as such, treats all applications equally and recruits purely on the basis of skills and experience.

Posting Notes: United Kingdom || Not Applicable || London || PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT || FABRICS AND TRIMS DEVELOPMENT || n/a ||