Production Manager in Portsmouth

Thrivin is a premium women’s activewear brand built around a simple belief: when you look good, you feel powerful. Founded in 2023, we design sculpting, body-confidence-boosting gymwear, seamless leggings, sports bras, flares, and shorts, crafted from performance fabrics that move with you through every workout and every errand. We’ve grown fast, our community is fiercely loyal, and we’re just getting started. We’re scaling our operations team and looking for a Production Manager who can bring the same precision and care to our supply chain that our customers expect from our product.

THE ROLE

The Production Manager is the operational backbone of Thrivin’s supply chain. Reporting directly to the COO, this person owns everything that happens after design is approved: PO issuance, factory coordination, inbound logistics, and the hand-off to our warehouse. Our Tech Design team handles tech packs and specs. Your job is to take that baton and make sure every unit lands on time, on cost, and exactly to standard. This is a hands-on, execution-focused role, built for someone who thrives in the details, stays ten steps ahead of problems, and takes real pride in a clean, on-time delivery.

WHAT YOU’LL OWN

• Issue, track, and close all purchase orders across domestic and international factories.
• Allocate styles to vendors based on capability, category fit, capacity, and cost, particularly for performance knits, seamless, and compression fabrications.
• Maintain real-time WIP reports across all open production; surface risks to the COO before they become problems.
• Own T&A calendars from bulk fabric approval through final delivery; enforce milestone accountability across the factory base.
• Coordinate pre-production and TOP (Top of Production) approvals in lockstep with the Tech Design team.
• Negotiate seasonal pricing with factories to protect margin targets without compromising quality.
• Own end-to-end inbound logistics: coordinate freight forwarders on routing, booking, and import documentation.
• Manage shipping schedules to hit committed in-warehouse dates; build contingency plans when disruptions hit.
• Track all inbound shipments and deliver weekly delivery status updates to internal stakeholders.
• Ensure all customs documentation, HTS classifications, and compliance requirements are accurate and complete.
• Serve as the primary point of contact between production and the warehouse/3PL team.
• Communicate inbound shipment details ahead of receiving: style breakdowns, colorways, carton counts, pack configs, and labeling requirements.
• Submit accurate ASNs and advance shipping documentation on time, every time.
• Partner with warehouse on discrepancy resolution, short ships, overages, damage claims.
• Share ongoing production ETAs and status updates to support inventory planning and replenishment ops.
• Partner with accounting to reconcile all open POs; ensure factory invoices are verified and payouts processed accurately.
• Maintain a seasonal cost tracker and report margin performance against targets to the COO.
• Maintain active relationships with existing factory partners; hold them accountable to quality, lead time, and communication standards.
• Source and vet new manufacturing partners as Thrivin’s product range expands, with particular focus on performance and seamless knit specialists.
• Maintain vendor scorecards tracking on-time delivery rate, quality performance, and cost trends.

WHAT WE’RE LOOKING FOR

• 6+ years in apparel production operations, with clear ownership of POs, T&As, and factory management.
• Experience with performance, activewear, or athleisure fabrications - seamless, compression knits, and moisture-wicking materials strongly preferred.
• Hands-on freight and logistics experience: you’ve worked with forwarders, managed inbound timelines, and handled import docs.
• Direct experience coordinating with a 3PL or warehouse team on inbound receiving, ASN submissions, and inventory discrepancies.
• Background with DTC-first or fast-scaling brands is a strong plus.
• Organization - your WIP reports are airtight and your inbox is under control.
• A clear, proactive communicator with factories, logistics partners, and internal teams.
• Strong negotiator who pushes back on vendors without burning bridges.
• Proficient in Excel / Google Sheets; comfortable with ERP, PLM, or production tracking systems.
• Experience with ApparelMagic or who is familiar with the system is a plus.
• Solutions-first mindset: you don’t surface problems without a plan to fix them.
• Passionate about product quality and brand integrity, you care as much about the final garment as we do.
• Bachelor’s or Associate’s degree in Supply Chain, Apparel Manufacturing, Business, or a related field, or equivalent professional experience.