Head of Sourcing and Production

Head of Sourcing and Production

Orlebar Brown, a brand within the Chanel group, launched in March 2007 with a tailored approach to men’s beach and swim shorts. Building on the traditional pattern of tailored trousers with distinctive side fasteners, they are recognized as the original and best shorts you can swim in. Today, the collections have expanded into broader lifestyles centered around Beach, Resort, Coast, and Sport, with multiple product releases throughout the year to maintain customer excitement and interest.

Since 2007, the brand has grown to achieve its purpose: to encourage, excite, and inspire everyone to ‘Holiday Better’. Orlebar Brown has gained rapid global recognition, sold online, through over 30 O.B. stores, and the best retailers and hoteliers worldwide. The customer base is truly international, reflecting diverse travel experiences from St Barth’s to Miami, Dubai, St Tropez, Puerto Rico, and Cornwall. The business thrives on relationships with these customers, striving to provide world-class service wherever they are, and is committed to welcoming new customers to the ever-growing O.B. community.

The Position

As the Head of Sourcing and Production, you will take ownership of the entire end-to-end supply chain journey, from SMS handover all the way through to on-time delivery into the warehouse. This is a critical leadership role responsible for ensuring that Orlebar Brown consistently meets seasonal launch deadlines, delivers impeccable product quality, and maintains a resilient, commercially agile, and sustainable sourcing strategy.

Reporting directly to the CEO, you will lead and empower the Production team. Additionally, you will partner closely with the Design, Product Development, Merchandising, and Logistics teams to successfully bring collections to life.

General Responsibilities

• Manage the sourcing and production process, with a strong focus on driving quality, optimizing margins, and fostering innovation.
• Support the business in creating and executing a successful sourcing strategy and developing a robust supplier portfolio.
• Collaborate closely and negotiate effectively with factories, primarily in Portugal and Italy, to ensure Orlebar Brown has adequate capacity with each supplier.
• Manage counter sourcing and costing opportunities, working in close collaboration with product development and design.
• Partner extensively with design, development, merchandising, and logistics to ensure a seamless handover of the critical path and that all key dates are met.
• Collaborate with the Production and Sustainability Manager to review seasonal production critical path dates from suppliers in advance of the final range review, communicating any early buy requirements to internal stakeholders.
• Review and analyze seasonal collections for margin performance, suggesting improvements for products not meeting target margins to internal stakeholders.
• Plan dates for forecasting and pre-booking key fabrics and trims. Understand associated costs and ensure sign-off for annual fabric bookings, making certain all stakeholders comprehend potential fabric liability.
• Plan production dates with factories to achieve target delivery dates, aiming for 95%+ on-time production delivery, with an additional goal of 75% US sea shipment from Portugal and Italy.
• Support the production team in resolving any production issues, ensuring they are well-equipped to handle problems promptly and identify when escalation is needed.
• Ensure timely creation and accuracy of production administration (style setup, PO creation, and closure) by conducting checks with the Production and Sustainability Manager.
• Manage EU preferential origin by ensuring data accuracy on ERP (Netsuite) and completing seasonal checks with the Production and Sustainability Manager.
• Manage and update all commodity codes for products on ERP, maintaining a commodity code bible with new HS codes and duty rates for required regions. Perform seasonal checks for finance team accuracy.
• Review SMS, image rights, and team travel budgets, ensuring they are within company-set spend and that expenditures are analyzed and correct.
• Review and analyze supplier spend, checking for volume or cash growth with suppliers.
• Oversee the annual operational carbon footprint project, working with third-party and internal stakeholders to manage its successful execution.
• Manage product carbon footprint initiatives, collaborating closely with the Production and Sustainability Manager and third parties to achieve results within launch timeframes.
• Lead all compliance projects, ensuring the Orlebar Brown brand is protected, and collaborate internally with stakeholders for project success.
• Manage consumables by forecasting usage and placing timely top-up orders. Collaborate with the creative team on branding projects, managing new consumables supplier bases and setup, including POs.
• Gather and analyze data needed for Extender Producer Responsibility (EPR) submissions every six months.
• Work closely with internal stakeholders on exclusive projects to ensure critical path achievability, costs, and supplier quantities.
• Oversee Image rights renewals, maintaining a robust calendar of renewal dates.
• Lead, train, coach, and inspire a team to deliver the brand's purpose through sourcing and production excellence.

Candidate Profile

• Demonstrable experience and competencies to fulfill the responsibilities listed above, particularly a shared passion for the Orlebar Brown brand's aspirations.
• Possess a natural openness, honesty, and enthusiasm in your work approach. Understand how to motivate colleagues positively and proactively.
• Exhibit brand thinking and the ability to engage in dialogue to assist in bringing the brand to life through supplier development and production.
• Ability to work effectively as a team member, fostering productive interactions within your team and with peers in the ‘heads of’ group to develop your business area. Willingness to take personal accountability for performance, with well-developed feedback skills.
• Capable of presenting succinctly to all organizational levels, including the Board, as required.
• Possess demonstrable analytical and financial (including negotiation) skills essential for the role.
• Ability to work across borders and cultures; language skills would be an advantage.

What We Offer

• Being part of a diverse working environment where continuous learning is encouraged.
• The opportunity to train and develop your skills in a fast-paced environment.
• A competitive benefits package, including:
• Physical wellbeing: Private medical insurance (covering pre-existing conditions and family members), an online GP app with 24/7 appointments, and cycle scheme participation.
• Financial wellbeing: Company pension scheme.
• Lifestyle: Orlebar Brown and CHANEL product discounts, plus employee-only sales.
• Employee Recognition: Service award incentives, and a 1-week office closure in August (paid leave, separate from 25 days annual leave plus UK public holidays).

At Orlebar Brown, it’s never just a job; it’s a way of life. We embody our brand values – Tailored, Vibrant, and Brave. Our team defines who we are and how we achieve our goals. We are focused on creating an inclusive culture that nurtures personal growth, contributing to collective progress. We believe the uniqueness of each individual increases the diversity, complementarity, and effectiveness of our teams. We strongly encourage your application, as we value the perspective, experience, and potential you could bring to Orlebar Brown.

Key skills/competency

• Sourcing Strategy Development
• Production Management
• Supply Chain Optimization
• Supplier Negotiation
• Critical Path Management
• Product Quality Control
• Margin Analysis
• Sustainability Initiatives
• Team Leadership & Coaching
• ERP Systems (Netsuite)