The Director of Sourcing & Quality is the primary point of contact between First Lite Product & Operations teams and our manufacturing factory partners worldwide. This role is responsible for the ongoing development & management of a world class factory and vendor network that delivers best in class apparel & gear that meets/exceeds the quality standards of the First Lite brand as well as delivers on-time and in-full support of a financial purchasing plan. This role is crucial in ensuring that the Supply Chain Pipeline is delivering in a way that supports revenue targets for all channels of First Lite’s business.

Additionally, the Director of Global Supply Chain & Quality is responsible for establishing, updating, and enforcing First Lite’s Quality Standards for Manufacturing Partners via both in-person factory visits and 3rd party quality control audits.

• Act as the Supply Chain factory liaison/primary point of contact between First Lite’s 3rd party vendors & the Product, Operations and Purchasing teams.
• Working in conjunction with the Product Development team, facilitate the flow of information in the form of product specs, bills of materials, cost break down details.
• Working in conjunction with the Materials Team, champion the Sustainability execution of vendor supplied raw materials across all fabrics, fabric finishes, trims and packaging solutions used in final product execution that are sourced at the factory nominated supplier level.
• Utilizing Product Line Manager future product roadmap direction to identify a sourcing strategy that supports the evolution of First Lite’s Product Line expansions and aligns a factory sourcing strategy with MSRP, costing and technical execution standards across all product lines.
• Leading all daily communications with factory partners
• Other duties as beneficial to First Lite & MeatEater

Education/Training

• Degree in Business, Economics, or an equivalent tenured industry experience. MBA Preferred.

Experience

• 15 + years working in Sourcing, Supply Chain, Product Management, Product Development, or Operations at either Technical Outdoor or Hunt/Fish Brands.

Specialized Knowledge/Skills

• Deep understanding of the global supply chain and factory landscape for Technical Apparel Garments, Footwear and Bags/Packs.
• Ability to negotiate FOB pricing, factory capacity timing and payment terms with vendors.
• Ability to lead counter-sourcing exercises, working cross functionally with the Product Development and Operations teams to evaluate quality, costing and on-board new vendors.
• Proficient use of a PLM system with the ability to coordinate communication of the Product Development team’s specs and BOMs with factory merchandising teams.
• Excellent organizational skills
• Working knowledge of design and development process from inception through to final adoption