Manager, Materials – Women’s Footwear & Handbags

Cole Haan•New York, NY

About The Position

The Materials Manager – Women’s Footwear & Handbags will manage the development of raw materials used in women’s footwear and handbags. This role partners cross functionally with design, product development, and overseas teams to develop and source seasonal materials that support product excellence and on-time delivery while meeting design intent, quality, cost, and testing requirements. The ideal candidate brings expertise in leather, textiles, and synthetics and has experience managing material development from concepts through pre-production.

Requirements

Bachelors Degree in textile engineering, product development, supply chain management or a related field
5+ years prior experience in raw materials sourcing and development within footwear or handbags
Strong understanding of leathers, textiles and synthetics is required
Experience in working and communicating with Asia based offices and suppliers
Strong organizational, analytical, and problem-solving skills
Ability to multi-task in a fast-paced environment
Excellent communication skills and collaborative team player
Proficiency in Microsoft Excel

Nice To Haves

Knowledge of footwear development and manufacturing processes strongly preferred
Experience with Adobe Illustrator and/or PLM systems preferred

Responsibilities

Source and develop raw materials for women’s footwear and handbags that support Cole Haan’s brand positioning and product performance
Partner with the design, materials and product development teams to establish seasonal color and materials direction and manage strike offs and development
Drive material innovation by identifying emerging trends, technologies and sustainable alternatives.
Collaborate with the design, materials, and product development teams to create and drive materials development calendar that aligns with the product creation calendar
Liaise with product development and overseas materials teams to ensure cost targets are achieved
Communicate with overseas materials team and vendor partners to obtain material specs and prices to build seasonal materials library for sales sample BOMs
Create and organize seasonal swatches, materials specs and testing data, maintaining them throughout the product creation milestones, from concept through sales samples
Attend local material fairs to spot new trends and source seasonal materials
Problem solve potential high-risk materials as it pertains to price, usage and production quality prior to sales sampling
Oversee material approvals, including lab dips and bulk submissions to ensure quality craftsmanship, and execution in line with Cole Haan's quality positioning