Patagonia, Inc.:
Material Production Manager Job in Ventura, VT

Position: Material Production Manager
Report to: Sourcing Director
Location: Ventura, CA

General Summary

Patagonia’s Material Production Managers are responsible for building and maintaining vendor relationships, negotiating materials (fabric and trim) costs/minimum/lead-time/capacity, and ensuring sufficient materials are reserved to support Patagonia’s seasonal and monthly make-plans. In conjunction with Material Planners, Supply Planners, Sourcing Managers and Production Managers, they will set up seasonal capacity plans and production schedules with material suppliers to support Patagonia’s seasonal delivery goals. The Material Production Managers work closely with Category Finance and Material Development to develop most effective costing strategies for raw materials each season. They will lead the efforts in material consolidations, monitoring capacity planning, and delivery and quality performance of the assigned material suppliers. They will work closely with Material Development and SER in the on-boarding process and training new suppliers, as well as in the exiting process of existing suppliers.

Essential Job Functions

Actively work with Category Finance and Material Development to develop costing strategies for materials with assigned suppliers every season.
Negotiate costs, minimums, lead-times, and capacity with assigned suppliers.
Partner with Material Planning to build and maintain seasonal and monthly forecast make-plans.
Actively work with Sourcing and Production Managers to develop seasonal production planning for materials.
Work with Sourcing Managers and Production Managers to ensure monthly material order deadlines are met to help suppliers deliver materials within confirmed lead-time.
Upon BOM completion and initial forecasting deadline each season, take the lead in identifying items and/or suppliers that may have capacity limitations to support forecast volume for finished goods.
Actively work with Product Line Directors, Material and Product Development, and Sourcing Managers to develop alternative plans for specific material item(s) and/or supplier(s) that have insufficient capacity to support the season’s forecast and anticipated growth.
Prior to Sales Samples and the first buy of each season, actively work with the Material Development to ensure there are no RM’s pending development status that may affect production schedule.
Work with Product Development to ensure known yield errors are corrected on BOM’s.
Work with Material Planning to build and maintain seasonal greige planning to support finished goods’ forecast, staying within the known constraints of specific materials and/or suppliers.
Work with assigned suppliers to secure capacity needed to support garment forecast and delivery goals, and communicate with Sourcing/Production Managers when there are issues with capacity and/or delivery schedule.
Monitor suppliers’ delivery performance to ensure agreed lead-time is adhered to in sales sample and bulk production.
Act as a liaison between material suppliers and garment factories when there are disputes over issues that fall outside of the normal scope outlined in the MOQ.
Monitor, mediate, and direct communication between Patagonia’s QA and Production, garment factory, and material supplier when quality issues are discovered after fabrics already arrived at garment factories to ensure problems are resolved promptly and replacement materials are delivered to minimize the delay in garment delivery.
Maintain open and frequent communication with Patagonia’s Product Line Management, Material/Supply Planning, Material Development, Textile Design, Color, Material Quality, Product Development, and Production on all issues related to material costing, quality, capacity, delivery, and suppliers’ performance issues.

Physical Requirements
Ability to lift and carry boxed and rolls of fabric weighing 30 pounds, for up to 50 feet.
Must be able to sit for extended periods of time.
Must be able to stand for extended periods of time.
Ability to look at a computer screen for extended periods of time.
Must be able to travel globally utilizing various transportation methods.

Minimum Job Qualifications
B.A. or B.S. degree in textiles preferred.
5 years’ experience in Material Development, Material Testing, Material Sourcing, or Material Production Management role.
Thorough working knowledge and understanding of textiles.
Proven experience traveling to and working in or with the mills and factories worldwide.
Strong verbal and written communication with a wide variety of people across different cultures.
Working knowledge of personal computers with experience in Word, Excel, Outlook, Power Point and database systems.
Ability to work well under pressure and deadlines with extreme attention to detail
Comfortable with team-based work structure; ability to remain flexible to change within the work environment and scope of responsibility while maintaining a composed and professional demeanor.
Demonstrates initiative, is conscientious and provides complete follow-through on areas of responsibility.



Employee Conduct:
It is the responsibility of every employee to contribute to a positive work environment through cooperative and professional interactions with co-workers, customers and vendors.


Equal Employment Opportunity
All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, protected veteran status, disability, or any other factors prohibited by law.