Barbour South Shields, England, United Kingdom
Head of Menswear Clothing
Barbour South Shields, England, United Kingdom
Company Description:
The Barbour story began in 1894 in South Shields in the North East of England. Founder John Barbour began supplying oilskins and other garments to protect the growing community of sailors, fishermen and dockers. Still family owned and now fifth generation, Barbour HQ remains in South Shields. Under the leadership of Chairman Dame Margaret Barbour, Barbour has grown into a lifestyle brand sold in over 55 countries worldwide including Europe, the US and Asia offering a wardrobe of stylish functional clothing, footwear and accessories inspired by the unique values of the British countryside. The iconic Barbour Bedale and Barbour Beaufort wax jackets continue to be made by hand in the factory in South Shields. In 2020, Barbour launched Wax for Life, an overarching name for all of Barbour’s wax services designed to encourage customers to extend the life of their wax garments.
Position Overview:
We currently have a rare opportunity for a Head of Clothing to join our Menswear team based at Barbour House, South Shields. You will be responsible for the management & direction of the Men’s Clothing business in line with agreed objectives. Driving the business forward across brands & categories in relation to sales, margin & strategic direction with adherence to agreed timelines. A key directive for this role will be aligning the Clothing range with the market opportunity, (Global) on Price, on product direction and range structure and on relevance. You will be responsible for driving development to align to the retailers and their needs, in reference to our competitor set and the comparative ranges available to the market, while ensuring all men’s clothing meets the company’s high standards for quality, durability and craftmanship. You will be a key and valued member of the Men’s Senior Team and will be pivotal in driving our 5yr strategy in product and sourcing plans. The ideal candidate will have expertise in Men’s Jersey, Knitwear and shirting.
Essential Duties and Responsibilities:
* In partnership with the Senior Head of Menswear (and wider senior team) deliver outstanding market leading product ranges that capitalise on the global market opportunities and needs, ensuring we deliver the agreed 5yr plan.
* Drive Men’s Clothing forward balancing authenticity and relevance.
* Lead and manage the Design Managers, ensuring alignment with our standards and business objectives.
* With support from the Senior Head of Menswear, ensure team are engaged and focus on all aspects of product design & development and deliver season on season product excellence.
* Ensure that Design Managers planning is a joined-up approach for a menswear POV in our approach to integrating our necessary timelines with Sales / Marketing/ Supply chain.
* Ownership and proactive maintenance of the agreed timelines to research, plan, design and develop the range. Working through issues and pro-actively trying to solve issues and work cross department to find the best business solution.
* Manage and mentor the team in design to deliver against the workload requirements.
* Become the heart of the design and development process for clothing. Driving newness and excellence in Jersey- Polo’s, Knitwear and our shirt collection.
* Build on established cross department relationships, with excellent communication, across Sales, Marketing, Product, Supply Chain & Forecasting.
* Supporting cross department communication: SALES. Helping Engage and build relationships with the international sales teams to understand their needs, customers and timings is central to the role.
* Supporting cross department communication: MARKETING: The communication of story concepts, drops and collection structure is an essential part of the WHT process with the marketing teams.
* Supporting cross department communication: SUPPLY CHAIN: Encourage design teams to have strong links and a joined-up approach with technical, suppliers and supply chain teams.
* Suppliers - Understanding Factories, suppliers and the production process and requirements.
* Understand the main partners/ the process of development/ the costing process for Jersey, Knitwear, Shirts, liaise with Technical teams and Supply Chain to support in evaluate and strategically plan development.
Skills and Experience:
* Preferred - Degree in Fashion Design or related equivalent.
* Experience in a similar equivalent level role.
* Outstanding understanding of Menswear apparel and what makes a great product (fabrics, detail, fit and competitors etc).
* Extensive experience of Design & Development especially in Men’s clothing. Covering all aspects: costs/margin/RRP’s, seasonal drops and collections.
* Previous use of PLM system/s or similar an advantage.
* Long established experience of working with overseas suppliers.
* Extensive experience and knowledge of brand and retailers in the UK.
* Experience working with global markets – Europe / USA / ASIA very desirable.
* Outstanding, effective problem solving and decision-making skills.
* Proactive, assertive, organised, capable of prioritising workload and able to deliver to given timelines.
* Strong people management skills – ability to lead a management team is a most.
* Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
* All-round IT skills.
* Demonstrate an understanding of the Barbour brand positioning, it’s heritage and competitor brands.
Additional Information:
* This role will require a extensive amount of travel both in the Uk and Internationally.
* Discretionary Company bonus scheme
* Staff shop
* 25 days holiday as standard increasing with length of service plus bank holidays
* Free onsite parking
* Subsidised canteen
Note: In the event that a sufficient volume of suitable applications are received, the post may close prior to the specified closing date. Please apply as soon as possible if interested.
Seniority level
* Not Applicable
Employment type
* Full-time
Job function
* Design
* Industries
* Retail Apparel and Fashion
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