Product Developer, Knitwear

Product Developer, Knitwear

Department: PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT

Location: IT

INTRODUCTION

At Burberry, we believe creativity opens spaces. Our purpose is to unlock the power of imagination to push boundaries and open new possibilities for our people, our customers and our communities. This is the core belief that has guided Burberry since it was founded in 1856 and is central to how we operate as a company today.

We aim to provide an environment for creative minds from different backgrounds to thrive, bringing a wide range of skills and experiences to everything we do. As a purposeful, values-driven brand, we are committed to being a force for good in the world as well, creating the next generation of sustainable luxury for customers, driving industry change and championing our communities.

JOB PURPOSE

This position will deliver the end to end product development process for Knitwear Product. This position will work within Burberry’s Product Development function. Acting as an ambassador for Burberry, fostering a culture of accountability, innovation and collaboration and operate as true technical specialists with internal teams and vendors.

RESPONSIBILITIES

• Building and maintaining a close working partnership with the Designer. Acting as the technical partner for design, attending fittings and providing feedback on technical feasibility on Knitwear Brainstorming ideas and solutions to ensure the design vision is translated into product, meets the target margin and maintains the quality and integrity of Burberry.
• Understanding each category in depth from a development and technical point of view, providing expertise on construction, yarns and raw materials, and fit/silhouette for each category, to provide as much support as you can throughout the development process. This includes technical knowledge across knitwear.
• Responsible for delivering prototypes and samples on time, to the quality standard, and within cost price range, to achieve target margin.
• Implementing and managing the critical path from concept to pre-production with design and manufacturers. Ensuring deadlines are adhered to and follow up on all prototype/sample issues to resolve and drive to completion. Identifying, calling out and making recommendations to mitigate any risks/challenges identified at all stages.
• Accountable for ensuring systems are kept updated with 100% accuracy at all times. If systems need updating where production is effected, ensuring all team x-functionally are aware of the updates instantly to help avoid any delays on delivery, and to prevent any excess RM.
• Responsible for building and maintaining effective working relationships with all relevant vendors, across the EU and Asia, developing a strong working knowledge of vendor capability and availability to meet demands. This includes negotiating on costs as well as aesthetic changes to ensure design vision is maintained.
• Responsible for ensuring all Raw Material selections from design are meeting the cost requirements, and brainstorming ideas with all teams cross functionally to improve product quality, longevity and functionality, while understanding production lead times for raw material and ensuring we meet all delivery dates.
• Responsible for ensuring functionality (including consistency and standardisation) and ensuring products that are developed are fit for purpose for the customer, brand and business. This includes ongoing risk assessment during the development process and proactivity in taking actions as a result.
• Responsible for collaborating with all Product Engineering, while developing the collections for product testing to relevant standards, leveraging their technical knowledge and negotiating any aesthetic changes to protect the design vision.
• Managing the Raw Material Excess development and critical path to ensure all targets are achieved. This includes the management of fabric transportation to vendors, answering vendor queries and suggestions to improve costs, and ensuring protos and samples arrive in time to meet all deadlines and margin targets.
• Support production meetings follow ups at vendors, technical requirements of all proto and samples in preparation for production.
• Supporting, coaching and developing the PD Assistants. This includes delegating the workload successfully to help achieve all deadlines, assisting in any queries they have, coaching on new categories to help expand their industry knowledge and grow their experience, and helping overcome any challenges they may face.
• Working efficiently and effectively to manage time appropriately through all stages of development, to ensure deadlines are achieved. This includes understanding the critical deadlines for all relevant teams, and working collaboratively to ensure no delays in production.

PERSONAL PROFILE

• Ability to work in partnership with Senior Designers, understanding and interpreting their creative aesthetic and design vision and translating this to teams and vendors
• Strong knowledge of Apparel and product development across Menswear and Womenswear, in all categories.
• Technical capability and product knowledge with ability to confidently influence the Design team and provide on the spot solutions in garment and knitwear construction
• Experience managing vendor relationships, delivering clear briefs and leveraging relationships to meet demands
• Critical path management ensuring collections are delivered on time, identifying, calling out and making recommendations to mitigate any risks/challenges identified
• Able to manage within a budget with commercial awareness and understanding of product cost, achieving a balance between creativity and commercial implications throughout the product development process
• Demonstrated experience working on site with vendors and operational knowledge of factories, delivering clear briefs and leveraging relationships and availability to meet demands
• Excellent communication skills, with the ability to negotiate with credibility, share information effectively, and work confidently with cross functional teams
• In depth knowledge of fashion and products in relevant category –‘fashion sensibility’ - knowledge of trends, the market, the luxury consumer and peer awareness

FOOTER

Burberry is an Equal Opportunities Employer and as such, treats all applications equally and recruits purely on the basis of skills and experience.

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