Tory Burch Director, Product Development, FTW

About the role

Anchored in the casual elegance of American sportswear, Tory’s design philosophy is defined by effortless silhouettes, innovative materials, eclectic juxtapositions of color, and the tension of past and present. The collections include ready-to-wear, handbags, footwear, accessories, jewelry, home and beauty. Empowering women is the company’s guiding principle, expressed through Tory’s collections and reflected in the company culture as well as the work of the Tory Burch Foundation. Established in 2009, the Foundation provides women entrepreneurs in the United States with access to capital, education and community.

Responsibilities

DEVELOPMENT / PRE-PRODUCTION

• Lead all product development activities partnering with Design, Materials Team, Merchandising, Tech, and Global Sourcing.
• Partner with Technical team to assess and approve the engineering of all new constructions.
• Identify and understand technical issues and drive them to closure; escalate to Sr Director as needed.
• Review and oversee issuance of all specs (BOMs/tech packs) for accuracy, completeness, quality, affordability, and compliance prior to release.
• Recommend enhancements, construction, and material options to elevate brand, aligning with financial goals.
• Resolve engineering that does not meet design, merchandising, production, or department IMU targets.
• Manage the pass-off of clean specs to manufacturing partners on behalf of design; communicate daily with overseas offices and direct suppliers on questions and changes to specs and standards; assist in interpreting design intent.
• Ensure critical fields are populated in PLM in support of KPI reporting and data integrity.
• Review all prototypes and market samples to ensure accuracy in execution to spec.
• Report on sample status throughout the development process.
• Oversee the maintenance of all standards issued for brand consistency.
• Supervise confirmation samples to ensure exact execution of final design; review and approve all colors and materials, addressing variances with vendors and Merch team.
• Formalize and escalate issues to Sr. Director and Vice President, ensuring timely and accurate communication of critical matters for efficient resolution.

SOURCING

• Participate in ongoing factory-based performance reviews and recommend improvements to factories, vendor base, and geography.
• Make recommendations on factory allocation in alignment with department sourcing strategies.
• Collaborate cross-functionally on seasonal offering needs to provide options in materials, suppliers, techniques, and costs that are on brand.
• Work closely with merchandising, design, and production to identify and address delivery and material issues affecting production schedule.
• Partner with design, merchandising, and production to manage liability inventories via special cuts and/or liquidation.

COSTING

• Lead seasonal costing strategy across multiple footwear categories and product lines.
• Follow cost targets and deliver margin expectations in partnership with merchandising and sourcing.
• Drive year-on-year cost savings through supplier negotiations, material optimization and manufacturing efficiencies.
• Benchmark factory and supplier pricing across different countries, constructions and production methods.
• Develop costing strategies for new footwear technologies, materials and construction techniques.
• Present cost, margin and savings analysis to senior management and cross-functional teams.

PRODUCT INTEGRITY

• Aim to instill quality in the product from onset of development through final production.
• Review all components with an eye for quality and performance.
• Ensure all components and constructions used are compliant for performance and restricted substances prior to production.
• Work in tandem with quality, technical, and compliance to achieve these ends.
• Ensure testing of questionable materials and components for performance and compliance to prevent a lapse in production.
• Work across various footwear design teams to ensure logo usage compliance.

CALENDAR

• Manage and flex calendar, supervise milestone completion, and mitigate risk.
• Monitor calendar daily to promote flow of development; review and resolve calendar variances with team and management.

PEOPLE MANAGEMENT

• Assist with new employee onboarding and training.
• Maintain consistency with process execution and raise concerns to Vice President.
• Drive process improvement and effectively communicate/manage changes to direct reports.
• Allocate work according to skills and knowledge level of direct reports.
• Identify and address development needs of direct reports.
• Provide effective feedback and coaching to direct reports.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree required.
• Minimum 12 years of experience in footwear product development, sourcing, and/or production.
• Experience working with PLM or other product lifecycle management systems.
• Strong organizational, interpersonal, negotiation, and communication skills.
• Strong analytical, problem-solving, and collaboration skills.
• Ability to work in a fluid, fast-paced, multi-channel environment.
• Ability to travel as needed.

Compensation

The compensation range for this position is $180,000.00 – $225,000.00 USD. Our offer will be based on your relevant experience and work location.

Benefits

• Generous benefits to help take care of mental and physical health, create financial security, and achieve wellness in all areas of life.
• Employee discount on Tory Burch collections and access to exclusive sample sales.
• Free executive coaching on-demand.
• Opportunities to give back through the Tory Burch Foundation and paid volunteer days.