Developer Materials Apparel, Creation Center Tokyo

Purpose & Overall Relevance for the Organisation:

Ensure the availability of materials, which support the strategic marketing & design direction to enable commercial success. Finds or develops the right materials according to calendar timelines, target prices, sourcing policy, and quality standards.

Key Responsibilities:

• Under the guidance of the Team Leader or a Manager Materials Development be the key contact and consultant for all material related questions for all internal interfaces
• Contribute to all cross-functional discussions related to materials topics, actively participate in the material selection process and support material consolidation to improve material efficiency

• Build and maintain a close relationship with interfaces such as Design, Creation Center Product Development, Material Sourcing, Quality and Suppliers
• Ensure availability of correct materials data in FlexPLM (technical data, cost, toolbox, lifecycle)
• Give input for suitable sources for new material developments (aligned with material sourcing strategy) and guide suppliers to translate the design vision into new, innovative material which meet commercial needs of the brand
• Under the guidance of the Team Leader or a Manager Materials Development, kick-off and monitor all material developments (work together with suppliers, Sourcing, Quality and Creation Center Development) and be responsible for initial material price negotiations with suppliers (direct development) during development stage
• Ensure that all selected materials are tested and approved by Materials Quality in accordance with applicable calendar timelines
• Cooperate with cross-functional team to create a focused material toolbox and coach the cross-functional team on how to improve material efficiencies
• Set up and maintain the materials library and work on continuously improving the setup and tools for the product creation teams 
• Provide latest information on material trends to the respective Business Units/ categories also by gathering innovative input from relevant fairs, supplier meetings, apparel material show etc

Key Relationships:

• Marketing

• Design
• Sourcing
• BOPS (Creation Center Development, Costing)
• Suppliers  T2

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:

• Good communication skills, especially when interacting with different levels of business
• Ability to anticipate problems, offers solutions, and address issues with materials in order to meet the Design team’s aesthetic goals and financial targets
• Ability to cope with change
• Ability to accept and meet critical deadlines with good planning and organization skills
• Fluent English (verbal and written)
• Strong IT skills (e-mail, MS office)

Requisite Education and Experience / Minimum Qualifications:

• Four year college or university degree in textile engineering or comparable degree/education
• 5 years of relevant work experience in the fabric production industry (knowledge of manufacturing process, fabrics, mechanical and chemical treatments)