Packing manager (Permanent) in London

Fella & Jones are partnering with a beautiful luxury brand to appoint a Sourcing Manager to take a leading role across its leathergood and accessories offering. They are looking for someone who really understands how product gets made, from materials, costing and supplier negotiations through to production capacity, critical paths and final delivery.

This is a broad role with plenty of ownership, working with an established international supplier network, leading a team whilst working closely with colleagues across Design, Planning and Technical to ensure collections are commercially viable, production-ready and delivered on time.

What you will be doing:

• A major part of the role will be building strong relationships with manufacturing and material partners.
• You’ll understand where the pressure points are, challenge when necessary and find solutions when production doesn’t go according to plan.
• You’ll have oversight of sourcing and production across a varied portfolio of accessories and lifestyle products, alongside responsibility for the materials required to support manufacturing.
• Lead supplier negotiations across materials, pricing and commercial terms.
• Work with manufacturing partners on capacity, forecasts and forward production requirements.
• Keep production moving against key launch and delivery dates.
• Identify supply, capacity or production risks early and put solutions in place.
• Manage material commitments to give the business greater flexibility around seasonal and repeat demand.
• Review supplier performance and challenge partners to improve cost, quality, service and delivery.
• Support smarter sourcing decisions through accurate data, forecasting and commercial analysis.
• Oversee purchasing requirements across product-related materials and packaging.
• Partner closely with Product Development, Planning and Quality throughout the product lifecycle.

What we’re looking for:

• You’ll already be operating at Sourcing Manager, or a comparable level and will have developed your experience preferably within leathergoods and accessories.
• More importantly, you will understand both sides of sourcing: the commercial side of negotiating cost and protecting margin, and the operational reality of getting product manufactured and delivered.
• You should be comfortable dealing directly with international factories and suppliers, managing production challenges and making decisions when timelines are under pressure.
• We’d also expect strong supplier negotiation and relationship management experience.
• Strong ethical and sustainability credentials, with a solid understanding of responsible materials, production processes and product costing.
• Experience managing critical paths across multiple products or categories.
• Confidence with forecasts, capacity planning and ERP/MRP systems.
• Experience of developing and leading a team.
• A proactive approach, someone who spots potential issues rather than waiting for them to become problems.

The role will be based in London, with regular travel to another UK location as well as international supplier and factory visits.

For more information, apply through Fella & Jones for a confidential conversation.