ABOUT CONSUELA

In 2005, Consuela’s, Founder, CEO Conni Reed found herself unfulfilled working in the corporate world. She set out on a quest to bring joy into her life and positively impact the world, honoring the artisans and culture that shaped her fondest memories of being captivated by the vibrant contrast of colors, textures and human connection she enjoyed during childhood trips to Mexico with her father.

Conni set three goals; 1.) Make Art. 2.) Work in Mexico. 3.) Support & Uplift Women. Today, twenty years later, what started as a one-woman entrepreneurial venture out of her garage in Dripping Springs, TX, Consuela, is a beloved, vibrantly colored, textural, meticulously handcrafted handbag and accessories brand headquartered out of Austin, TX and Leon, Guanajuato, Mexico. It now has a presence in over 1,200 independent accounts, a thriving e-commerce platform, 30+ Dillard’s stores and three Consuela-

owned corporate stores — and it’s still growing.

The name Consuela is derived from the verb ‘consolar’, meaning to console, comfort and uplift. This spirit is reflected in Consuela’s simple yet powerful mission: ‘Make Today Ridiculously Awesome!’ Our mission shapes everything we do from designing with purpose to blending artistry with functionality to celebrating resilience and embracing all the twists and turns of life’s journey.

The ‘Art of the Unmatched’ is Consuela’s trademarked design philosophy and it’s the basis, foundation and inspiration for each collection. Consuela is representative of life’s journey, a collage of sights, sounds, emotions, and travels. Unexpected colors, textures, and patterns, that are purposefully “unmatched” rather than mismatched as if by mistake.

ABOUT THE ROLE

The VP Product Sourcing, Development & Production is responsible for building a short and long-term sourcing, development and production strategy that aligns with Consuela’s mid-range and long-range growth plans and requirements.  The strategy must include plans for establishing sufficient and diversified production capacity and design & development processes that support on-time delivery with quality. This position is also responsible for building a product team culture around continuous improvement, shared accountability and the company mission to Make Today Ridiculously Awesome!

ROLE RESPONSIBILITIES

• Align the Austin corporate product & design teams with the Mexico teams to define objectives, strategies, roles, responsibilities and opportunities for process improvement.
  • Facilitate the completion of department objectives, strategies, and tactics that align with company objectives and integrate through each group and across all individuals.
  • Evaluate roles and responsibilities across the Design, Production and Product Development team to build effective and efficient roles with individual, actionable goals and measurements of performance. 
  • Evaluate cross functional and departmental meetings for effectiveness and relevance to achieving objectives and departmental alignment.
  • Evolve meetings to maximize clarity and effectiveness.
• Lead short and long-term capacity and production strategy for sku components (bill of materials) along with finished production.  Evaluate opportunities to increase capacity with existing vendors and/or addition of new partners based upon needs and variances to future forecasts.
  • Work with finance and merchandising on developing long range plans for revenue, finished skus and components requirements against production capacity.
  • Use the delta between needs and capacity to build long range plans.
  • Work closely with finance to identify opex vs capex requirements for capacity needs. 
• Lead the development of a costing program and tools for components, materials, finished product and production to include
  • Capturing and monitoring known costs
  • Negotiating costs to improve margins without compromising quality. 
  • Negotiate contracts and pricing to ensure cost-effectiveness and quality.
  • Forecasting costs to anticipate fluctuations in key materials 
  • Identify and regularly report on costs, potential savings and potential risks
• Identify and help solve for process improvements in speed, quality, cost and efficiency in US operations, Mexico operations and with vendors.
  • Develop and implement the use of scorecards with actionable goals to measure the results and goals of each team.
  • Develop a scorecard to evaluate vendor performance and a communication schedule to share results in a timely manner.
  • Develop a cadence for reporting scorecard results to the Executive Team and company as needed.
  • Facilitate identification of improvements required for better vendor performance along with resource needs, investment needs and timelines including measurable deliverables.
• Support future innovation, improved quality and quicker supply chain.
  • Identify, evaluate, and manage suppliers for raw materials, components, and finished goods. 
  • Develop a pipeline of future vendors along with onboarding protocol and processes that support a quick transition and mitigates risk.
• Focus on continuing to evolve quality while simultaneously identifying opportunities for product margin improvements.
• Lead product performance management process with an emphasis on long-range succession planning and identifying high performing and high potential individuals along with plans for supporting their personal and career growth. 
  • Formalize a succession planning process
  • Develop short-term and long-term organizational needs and adjustments that support long-range departmental objectives and deliverables.
  • Remove role, responsibility overlap and redundancies that block efficiency and accountability.
• Extensive travel to Mexico

Education & Experience

• 12+ Years Experience in Sourcing, Development and Production ideally with experience in fashion, retail or consumer goods environment.
• Deep understanding of product design, development processes, and product lifecycle management.
• Expertise in sourcing strategies, supplier selection, negotiation, and contract management with proven ability to develop and implement strategic plans for sourcing and development expansion.
• Proven experience in developing and managing supplier relationships, including performance metrics, goals, and improvement initiatives.
• Knowledge of manufacturing processes, quality control, and production planning
• Strong ability to negotiate costs, lead-times, and minimums to achieve business goals.
• Experience in managing complex projects, from concept to production, ensuring timely and cost-effective execution. 
• Ability to analyze data, identify trends, and create reports to track performance and make informed decisions.
• Excellent team leadership skills with proven ability to motivate and align individuals to achieve company goals through collaboration. 
• Excellent communication, negotiation and interpersonal skills and proven ability to build strong relationships with suppliers and internal teams.

Knowledge & Skills

• Handbag experience preferred with experience in and ability to expand into other categories
• Fluency in English and Spanish preferred

Competencies

• Ability to act and think strategically while also executing tactical plans effectively
• Balance long term vision and short term action
• Leadership maturity
• Approaches challenges with an entrepreneurial mind set and embraces new ideas
• Ability to both identify and help solve problems