Private Brands Material Manager

About the Team

The Private Brands Team is committed to making client-loved private label brands. We are focused on making great style, fit & quality affordable through data-informed design, best-in-class fit, exceptional value, and responsibly made principles. This team includes cross functional teams in Brand Management, Trend, Technical Design, Quality, and Responsible Sourcing. We own the strategic and operational foundation of our Private Brands business, in close partnership with the broader Stitch Fix Merchandising organization.

About the Role

We are seeking a highly experienced and visionary Material Manager to lead the material sourcing, development, and in-season materials platforming strategy for our in-house brands. As the Private Brands Material Manager, you will have the extraordinary chance to work with all Private Brands functions in addition to our entire Buying team across the family, playing a pivotal role in evolving our Product Creation ways of working while elevating our materials to stay trend-relevant, quality-focused, and strategically-placed for scale.

The ideal candidate will have the unique opportunity to shape their role driving strategic initiatives end-to-end influencing our merchandising organization delivering client-right materials across Womens, Mens, and Kids in knits, wovens, sweaters across all end-uses from career, casual, social, active, and lounge. This position requires a quick-thinking professional who is product-obsessed, solutions-minded, and ready to roll up their sleeves. 

You're excited about this opportunity because you will…

Seasonal Development

• Work with cross functional teams to inform the sourcing strategy with Vendor Insights on product acumen to achieve the highest quality and margin with optimal lead times.
• Facilitate strategic vendor partnerships that enable mutually beneficial results, while continuing to strive for improvements to cost, speed to market, innovation and flexibility.
• Travel domestically and internationally to proactively source materials, giving and receiving feedback and encouraging strategic product opportunities.
• Work closely with Brand Management to strategically map materials by Brand aesthetic and end-use, identifying opportunities to consolidate for more supply chain efficiency and bringing whitespace opportunities in new materials.
• Stay in-sync with Trend, always keeping a pulse on “what’s coming next” and the macro materials market.
• Manage materials sourcing and development process direct with Vendor partners, negotiating strategic costs, minimums, and lead times.
• Influence and collaborate with Buying to select strategic, quality materials that drive value to our business and clients seasonally.
• Proactively communicate with Technical Design on material specifications that may impact best-in-class fit.
• Partner with Quality on material testing troubleshooting as needed, with specific focus on special claims.
• Work with Brand Management & Creative teams to land marketable material names & romance copy with extra focus on managing special claims.
• Leverage data and Merchant insights to continue enhancing the development and creation of products.

Material Platform Management

• Build and implement Material Platform Strategy to support in-season flexibility for chase and shifts.
• Regularly communicate with the cross-functional team to proactively identify opportunities to platform fabrics across the various categories.
• Manage key material lead times, negotiating with Vendors as needed to maintain maximum flexibility.
• Manage monthly trigger calendars in conjunction with Open-To-Buy cadence.
• Communicate closely with Buying and Vendors to manage available stock and liability mitigation as needed.
• Keep Finance informed of material liabilities and ownership.

We’re excited about you because…

• You have 7+ years of experience in material R&D, product development and/or production management.
• You have strong industry relationships with factories and mills.
• You are able to travel ~10% domestic and international.
• You are proficient in Google Workspace and Slack.
• You are the materials expert. You share your knowledge, elevate the Merch product acumen, and lead with your expertise.
• You are client-obsessed. You are able to pull-out of the technical weeds to adopt a client-first POV as a decision-making factor.
• You are passionate about product and problem-solving, and don’t hesitate to flex up and down within your role to support the needs of the team.
• You are skilled in project management and operational efficiency. You can get what needs to be done completed and can re-prioritize effectively with excellent multi-tasking skills.
• You can drive strategic initiatives and evolve ways of working by building on industry experience and best practices blended with innovation and technology.
• You are resourceful with the ability to leverage existing tools or seek out new options as needed.
• You are a skilled negotiator and obsessed with winning partnerships that give us the best price/value with our clients and vendors.
• You are skilled at risk-management and able to think through short and long term effects with risk-mitigation tactics in your back pocket.
• You excel at working through ambiguity, complex problems and nuanced approaches to solutions.
• You are a natural at partnership management and can identify and create valuable partnerships with new and existing vendors.
• You are an influential communicator and can effectively communicate and manage expectations with cross-functional teams.

Why you'll love working at Stitch Fix...

• We are a group of bright, kind people who are motivated by challenge. We value integrity, innovation and trust. You’ll bring these characteristics to life in everything you do at Stitch Fix.
• We cultivate a community of diverse perspectives— all voices are heard and valued.
• We are an innovative company and leverage our strengths in fashion and tech to disrupt the future of retail. 
• We win as a team, commit to our work, and celebrate grit together because we value strong relationships.
• We boldly create the future while keeping equity and sustainability at the center of all that we do. 
• We are the owners of our work and are energized by solving problems through a growth mindset lens. We think broadly and creatively through every situation to create meaningful impact.
• We offer comprehensive compensation packages and inclusive health and wellness benefits.