Senior Specialist - Material Buyer AA

In short

The Apparel Materials Buyer is a critical logistics and procurement role responsible for the efficient, on-time, and cost-effective acquisition of all material yardages required for the product creation lifecycle, from initial wear testing through to salesman samples (SMS). This role requires a blend of keen negotiation skills, precise tracking, and strategic inventory management to consolidate purchasing and maximise the utilisation of all raw materials across multiple business units.

Your Mission

• Source and procure all necessary fabric and trim yardages specifically for critical product creation phases, including concept phases, key internal review meeting dates, wear testing and salesman samples (SMS).
• Collaborate closely with Material Developers to gain an in-depth understanding of materials under consideration and build the material yardage tracker at the start of each season to align purchasing strategy with development needs.
• Negotiate optimal sample yardage lead times with Tier 2 (T2) suppliers, balancing speed, quality, and cost constraints to meet demanding product calendar milestones.
• Drive material buying consolidation by identifying and implementing opportunities to combine procurement across different product categories and various internal business units, achieving economies of scale.
• Manage material buffer inventory by strategically arranging material reserves to support multi-season use, mitigating risk of shortage and ensuring continuity.
• Own the end-to-end tracking and arrangement of sample yardages, ensuring materials are allocated, shipped, and received by the designated allocated factories (T1s) precisely when needed.
• Actively manage all leftover and excess material yardages, tracking inventory levels and driving internal allocation for repurposing in future development or sampling needs, minimising waste.
• Develop and maintain a robust tracking system for all in-house and factory-held sample materials.
• Manage the dedicated budget for all material sample buying, ensuring all purchases remain within forecast and seeking cost efficiencies without compromising material quality or timeline integrity.
• Provide regular reporting on material usage, spend vs. budget, and leftover material value.

Your story

• 5+ years of experience in apparel materials procurement, logistics, or fabric buying, specifically handling sample yardage purchasing.
• Proven expertise in negotiating lead times and managing supplier relationships (T2 partners).
• Demonstrated ability to consolidate purchasing across multiple product categories or business units.
• Exceptional organisational skills and proven ability to track and manage material inventories, budgets, and complex logistics movements globally.
• Strong understanding of apparel product creation calendars and the urgency associated with sample phase deliverables.
• Proficiency in PLM or ERP systems for tracking material allocation and usage.
• Fluent in English; additional languages are a plus.

What to expect

We want to set everyone up for success, so here’s the lowdown on how we hire. Our process is a two-way street – bringing you into our culture, while helping us learn how you think.

Our full process can last about eight weeks from application to offer, because we care about getting it right. These steps explain how we usually do things.

Before you get started, feel free to consider if you want to work with us. Strange question? Well, we give people a lot of space to navigate their day-to-day and that style isn't for everyone. We want you to be passionate about what you do and be sure this is the right fit. Because when skills and passion combine – it creates that 'Wow' moment.

• Step One

  It starts with you...

  You'll start by submitting your application to a specific role. We try to keep this step as simple as possible. We do get a lot of applications, but we review them all. If you're a good fit to the role, a recruiter will follow up with you directly. If you didn't receive a reply, or were unsuccessful this time around, we encourage you to look for other possible matches at On.

• Step Two

  Interview with a recruiter

  What ignites your spirit? This is where we’ll start getting to know all about you and what makes you tick – and it’s your first chance to get a feel for our culture. Chatting with a member of our talent team, you’ll learn more about On and how we work. We’ll learn about what motivates you and what you could bring to the team.

• Step Three

  Interview with a hiring manager

  Ready to dig into the details? This second interview will be held with your future manager and will focus on the specifics of the job. Together you’ll delve into your unique skills and experiences and how they could be relevant at On. It's also a time to assess how you might feel working side-by-side. Bring any questions you have about the job, the team or anything else you might like to know – this is an open forum.

• Step Four

  The Case Study

  What's your style? This task will help us understand how you think, face a challenge and give insight into your novel ideas. Designed to give everyone their best shot, your case study is based on something you might typically experience on the job. This is your chance to show us what you’ve got. So express yourself. Be you.

• Step Five

  The Experience Day

  Your first taste of the Oniverse. This is a time to meet some of the people you'll be working closest with. In person or virtually, you'll get a feel for the day-to-day at On and the people who make it happen. You'll chat with a few potential teammates - the conversations will be as equally driven by the role and your experience as by our values. We believe how you do things is just as important as what you do.

• Step Six

  The Result

  Are we a good fit? We’ll get together internally to share our feedback and decide if we’re a match. We know that job searching is a big time investment, so it’s not a decision we take lightly. It’s also time for you to reflect on the experience – are we the right place for you? No matter the outcome, we’ll give you meaningful feedback.

Step One:

It starts with you...

You'll start by submitting your application to a specific role.

We try to keep this step as simple as possible. We do get a lot of applications, but we review them all. If you're a good fit to the role, a recruiter will follow up with you directly. If you didn't receive a reply, or were unsuccessful this time around, we encourage you to look for other possible matches at On.