Senior Lead - Footwear Materials / Senior Lead - Footwear Materials

Join Our Dynamic Sportswear Brand and Shape the Future of Performance Footwear

Are you looking to be part of a team that's redefining footwear materials in an industry ripe for innovation? We’re seeking a passionate Materials Leader to lead our Inline Materials Team.

As our Materials Lead PAD (Lifestyle) Footwear, you will transform footwear dreams into reality, pushing the boundaries of materials to new heights. You’ll set and accomplish short-to-medium-term goals while aligning your work with our long-term vision. In this pivotal role, you will execute our global materials strategy across various verticals, including Performance All Day, Special Projects, and Collaborations. You’ll spearhead groundbreaking developments and lead a team of specialists in building the future of footwear materials, collaborating closely with the Head of Materials and maintaining synergy with the Design, Development, and Product Management teams.

Your Mission

• Material Mastery: Source exceptional materials that inspire product creation, ensuring they align with our timelines, sourcing policies, and sustainability goals. Focus on performance and elevate our products to new levels of technology and innovation.
• Team Leadership and Collaboration: Guide and nurture the Footwear Material Specialists through collaboration, trust, and mentorship, fostering growth and excellence while building a talent pipeline for the future.
• Sustainability and Performance Goals: Align material-specific targets with our sustainability roadmap, identifying opportunities to enhance material performance, sustainability, and efficiency across all product categories.
• Data Analytics and Process Optimization: Utilize data analytics to enhance material selection and supply chain processes, continuously evaluating and optimizing workflows to increase efficiency, reduce costs, and improve material quality and sustainability.
• Innovation and Research: Stay ahead by researching business trends, attending trade shows, and scouting new technologies, seamlessly integrating these new ideas into product innovations.
• Material Library Management: Develop and enhance our material library and tools, ensuring strategic partnerships with key suppliers while maintaining agility in handling short lead times, with a focused vision on the digital future of material management.
• Quality Assurance and Improvement: Ensure all materials pass our stringent QA tests, leveraging your deep understanding of yarns, material structures, and polymers to implement improvements. Share feedback between suppliers and our Quality team to refine and enhance our testing protocols.
• Relationship Building: Cultivate strong, communicative relationships with material suppliers and external vendors, collaborating with various teams to navigate material goals that align with overall product objectives.

Your Story

• Educational Foundations: A Bachelor’s Degree (minimum) in Footwear Textile Sciences, Textile Engineering/Technology, or a related field from an internationally recognized university.
• Professional/Industry Experience: At least 7 years of global experience in Performance Footwear material development, including essential Asia supplier/factory involvement.
• Team Leadership: A proven track record of at least 3 years in leading and mentoring teams.
• Driving Innovation: A demonstrated ability to lead innovation through performance materials, with strategic thinking and execution capabilities.
• Global Perspective: Extensive global travel experience to T1s, material suppliers, and external partners for sourcing and development.
• Project Management Excellence: A robust background in managing projects from creative inception to production, showcasing your ability to turn visions into reality.
• Design and Technology Affinity: A deep appreciation for footwear design and technology, particularly within the technical performance category, with a keen eye for aesthetics and trend awareness.
• Detail Orientation and Presentation Skills: Exceptional attention to detail and the ability to build, organize, and present effective strategies and presentations.
• Communication and Collaboration: Superior communication skills (in both verbal and written English) that enhance collaboration with diverse stakeholders.
• Creativity and Discipline Balance: The unique ability to blend creativity with organization and discipline in a fast-paced environment.
• Adaptability and Entrepreneurial Spirit: The ability to navigate change effectively and bring an entrepreneurial mindset when facing unexpected challenges.

About the Team

We are a small team with big responsibilities. In our Footwear Materials team, we implement and execute the sustainability strategy for the entire company through our footwear materials, helping to shape the future of the organization. We conduct research, create strategies, implement projects, and innovate products and processes through the lens of sustainable materials and footwear. One of our main objectives is to drive strategic material sustainability priorities into reality in collaboration with other departments, focusing on consistent and effective communication around these topics. As the Senior Lead, you will have the vital task of leading and influencing the current team, fostering effective collaboration across our global footwear creation team.

Apply online using the form below.

Only applications matching the job profile will be considered.