Soft Good Sourcing Chapter Member

Company Description

The Warehouse Group looks after some of Aotearoa’s most well-known and beloved retail brands, including The Warehouse, Warehouse Stationery, Noel Leeming, Torpedo7, and TheMarket. Retail is dynamic and rapidly changing. Our focus is on delivering value to our customers, doing good for the community and keeping sustainability top of mind in everything we do. Working purposefully toward “Helping Kiwis live better every day”.

**Job Description**:
This dynamic role is with the Apparel Sourcing team at The Warehouse.

Our Sourcing teams are paramount to the final product customers see in store. As a Sourcing Soft Goods Chapter Member, you’ll work collaboratively with our Buying and wider Sourcing and Merchandise teams, to source, develop and deliver sustainable, quality, well-priced, well-loved products that will excite our customers. This role is pivotal commercially in developing and delivering our sourcing strategies.

The Role:

- Pivotal link between our Apparel product teams in NZ and our network of suppliers in China and Bangladesh.
- Responsible for product costings and proactive product sourcing, working alongside our overseas sourcing offices and with our Sourcing team here in NZ.
- Interpret product specifications to effectively brief suppliers and offshore sourcing teams to achieve the right price, functionality and performance for our products. Ensuring we deliver value to our customers
- Ensure our supplier base is strong and future proofed, constantly seek ways to improve current processes and actively work to improve efficiencies across teams.
- Manage sourcing and factory deliverables to achieve critical path deadlines.
- Input into strategy and delivery of sustainability goals
- Negotiation capability with strong numerical skills.
- Ability to manage competing deadlines across time zones.
- Based in our Auckland Support Office. Travel to our sourcing offices and suppliers in China and Bangladesh may be required in the future.

**Qualifications**:
The world of retail is exciting and extremely fast-paced with many tight deadlines and risk factors, and we love it The solutions we can bring to our customers are a priority for us. We’re also very passionate about the future and our journey toward Sustainability.

The scope of projects and product to work on will be like no other As NZs largest retailer, we have the opportunity to really make a difference and we are committed to making that change.

To be successful in this role, you will have strong sourcing capabilities, be confident to problem solve and mitigate potential challenges, and be passionate about product, people and the planet. In this fast moving environment you will need to be curious and open to change and able to respond quickly to manage competing deadlines.

A self-starter and highly collaborative in your approach, communication, influencing, and stakeholder management are your fortes as you manage the everyday working relationships between the Buying, Design and Quality Assurance teams and will translate this through to our sourcing and supplier networks offshore.

Our wish list includes:

- Extensive direct sourcing background within Apparel.
- An expert in understanding seasonal and continuity product strategy.
- Familiar with in-depth product development, product manufacturing and knowledge of trends and technology.
- Flexible, yet process driven and focused on providing results and value to our customers.
- Decisiveness in our fast-paced, dynamic retail world.
- Outstanding negotiation skills.
- An understanding of Sustainability in a retail context.

Additional Information

We offer a dynamic, flexible and supportive team environment working with like-minded people within a business that cares about and recognises individuals.

We also offer a range of benefits that work for you, your lifestyle and your career which include flexible working arrangements, team member discounts, wellbeing support, leave benefits and more.