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- Tasks: Be the go-to expert for fabric sourcing and trend direction at River Island.
- Company: Join River Island, a beloved brand with a bright future and diverse team.
- Benefits: Enjoy 50% staff discount, flexible working, and a free onsite gym.
- Why this job: Make an impact on sustainability while working in a creative and collaborative environment.
- Qualifications: Experience in fabric purchasing, sustainability knowledge, and strong negotiation skills required.
- Other info: Based in West London, with opportunities for career progression and personal development.
The predicted salary is between 36000 - 60000 £ per year.
The Responsible Materials Partner will be a central point of contact within River Island for material expertise. Playing a key role in providing new sourcing, development and trend direction across fabric & yarn to our Design and Buying teams across home production and brought in suppliers. This role will provide value through optimising material sourcing, scaling up consolidation and negotiation on core fabrics and seasonal volumes. This is achieved by working closely with Buying, Design, Fabric Tech, Sustainability and the Home Production teams. The role is instrumental in ensuring that we offer on-trend, new fabrics that support in achieving our sustainable material targets as well as quality & best priced offer.
What You\’ll Do
- Drive the delivery of River Island key fabric trends to the BMD teams alongside the design trend presentations seasonally outlining newness on materials, yarn, print, washes and finishes.
- Deliver regular fabric trend reports through social media, catwalk, fabric trade show, comp-shops as well as weekly fabric newness meetings.
- Lead speed to market fabric sourcing strategy to deliver fast track production focus via HP. Join weekly trade meetings to sign off fabric trading opportunities at speed.
- Work with the buying teams to structure sustainable fabric strategies to deliver sustainability commitments with biggest impact, robust certification and minimal margin impact.
- Identify core volume fabric pots, seasonal volumes and speed to market fabric trends. Suggest new pot moves on to ensure core lines offer the newest fabric updates.
- Build fabric price architecture with buying teams to deliver margin and quality.
- Support bulk fabric negotiation & cross costing core fabrics & HP orders to contribute to the delivery of departments margin targets.
- Maintain an affective in-house Fabric Library & action sampling for development samples.
About You
- Significant experience of woven and jersey fabric purchasing & production, as well as fabric printing process\’.
- Strong understanding of new sustainability legislation and sustainable fibre switching implementation.
- Experience in building fabric strategy working across multiple departments, regions and critical paths.
- In depth knowledge of fashion trends, interpreting market intel, and comp shops.
- Knowledge of product critical paths and open/cross costings.
- Confidence in reading fabric technical reports & specs.
- Global material supply chain knowledge and contacts essential with robust relationships.
- Collaborative, highly organised, able to prioritise.
- Agility and ability to absorb change in line with business priorities.
- Strong negotiation skills.
- Confident presentation skills and excellent communication skills.
About Us
We\’re a much-loved brand with an exciting future. Our Islanders are a diverse bunch of bright, talented people who love working together – and are proud of the work they do. Progression here can take you in all kinds of directions. This is what a career at River Island is like. And this is where yours starts.
This role is based at our Head Office in West London. Check us out here on a map.
What we can offer you:
Generous 50% staff discount so you can treat yourself to the latest products, and a bargain staff shop on site!
Reducing Islanders everyday expenses through discounts, benefits, financial advice, wellbeing solutions and more through Reward Gateway!
A free onsite gym, subsidised restaurant & café to fill you needs. Various social events to socialise throughout the year.
Every family is unique, we support Islanders with all different family setups enhanced maternity, paternity, adoption & fertility treatment. We also work closely with the Retail Trust to create dedicated support for all our Islanders!
Flexible working is a given, on top of payday and summer early finish Fridays.
Give as you earn scheme, a \’Giver Island\’ day each year and receive matched funding.
Support with upskilling through on the job training and qualifications. A succession plan if you want to progress.
A generous bonus scheme & private pension plan.
The choice to opt in for healthcare through our provider AXA.
25 days paid holiday, exclusive of Bank Holidays. With the added option to purchase additional holiday twice a year for whatever the need!
Keeping You Safe
At River Island we are committed to the safeguarding of all of our employees regardless of age or job role. We will fulfil our obligation under the Prevent duty which seeks to stop extremism and extremist views from materialising in our business. We promote and encourage the belief in British Values- including democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty and mutual respect and tolerance of different faiths and beliefs. To find out more, please visit Island is made up of a diverse community, where we all belong and feel part of something bigger. We are committed to equality of opportunity and welcome applications from individuals, regardless of age, gender, ethnicity, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, socio-economic background, religion and/or belief. We will consider flexible working requests for all roles unless operational requirements prevent otherwise. To find out more about this interview process, check out our hiring process below. #J-18808-Ljbffr
Responsible Materials Partner employer: River Island
Contact Detail:
River Island Recruiting Team
StudySmarter Expert Advice 🤫
We think this is how you could land Responsible Materials Partner
✨Tip Number 1
Familiarise yourself with the latest trends in fabrics and sustainable materials. Follow industry leaders on social media and attend fabric trade shows to stay updated. This knowledge will help you engage confidently during interviews.
✨Tip Number 2
Network with professionals in the fashion and textile industry. Join relevant groups on LinkedIn or attend local events to build connections. These relationships can provide valuable insights and potentially lead to job referrals.
✨Tip Number 3
Prepare to discuss your experience with fabric purchasing and production in detail. Be ready to share specific examples of how you've successfully implemented sustainable practices in previous roles, as this aligns with River Island's values.
✨Tip Number 4
Practice your presentation skills, as you'll need to communicate fabric trends effectively. Consider creating mock presentations based on current market trends to showcase your ability to convey information clearly and engagingly.
We think you need these skills to ace Responsible Materials Partner
Some tips for your application 🫡
Tailor Your CV: Make sure your CV highlights relevant experience in fabric purchasing, production, and sustainability. Use specific examples that demonstrate your expertise in woven and jersey fabrics, as well as your understanding of sustainable practices.
Craft a Compelling Cover Letter: In your cover letter, express your passion for sustainable materials and how your background aligns with River Island's goals. Mention your ability to collaborate across departments and your experience in building fabric strategies.
Showcase Your Knowledge of Trends: Include insights about current fabric trends and sustainability legislation in your application. This will show that you are not only knowledgeable but also proactive in staying updated with industry changes.
Highlight Communication Skills: Since the role requires strong presentation and communication skills, provide examples of how you've effectively communicated complex information in previous roles. This could include leading meetings or presenting trend reports.
How to prepare for a job interview at River Island
✨Showcase Your Fabric Knowledge
Make sure to demonstrate your expertise in woven and jersey fabrics during the interview. Be prepared to discuss specific examples of fabric sourcing and production processes you've managed, as well as any innovative strategies you've implemented.
✨Understand Sustainability Trends
Given the emphasis on sustainable materials, brush up on current sustainability legislation and practices. Be ready to share how you've successfully integrated sustainable fibre switching into your previous roles and how you can contribute to River Island's sustainability goals.
✨Prepare for Collaborative Scenarios
This role requires working closely with various teams. Think of examples where you've successfully collaborated across departments to achieve a common goal. Highlight your communication skills and ability to build relationships, as these will be key in this position.
✨Demonstrate Your Trend Awareness
Stay updated on the latest fashion trends and be prepared to discuss how you interpret market intel. Bring insights from recent fabric trade shows or comp shops that could be relevant to River Island's upcoming collections.
