Design Operations Manager

Overview

As an international leader in bridal fashion, Essense of Australia has been making bridal dreams come true for more than 20 years. With offices in Lenexa, Kansas; Perth, Australia; and Zug, Switzerland, our designs are sold in over 1,500 retail stores across the globe, including our network of company-owned and franchise stores, True Society. Located in the US and Europe, True Society is a collective of premier bridal shops that exclusively offers our designs and delivers the ultimate wedding dress shopping experience to brides of all styles, shapes, and sizes. Together, we are a dynamic and rapidly growing company focused on innovation, excellence, drive, and collaboration.

The Role

We are currently seeking a Design Operations Manager to lead and supervise the Design Operations team in our Lenexa, KS office. This role will be responsible for effectively overseeing and contributing to processing and communicating all factory communications that will result in the creation new styles for our seasonal collections. The individual in this role will work in liaison with the Design Development Manager and Designer Team, as well as partnering with Sampling Coordinators in our Australian Office to successfully deliver new designs for seasonal collections.

*This position will work onsite Mon – Fri.*

Responsibilities

What You Will Do: 

• Manage design operations department and ensure department responsibilities are completed to standard.
• Mentor, coach and consult department specialist and coordinators on performance expectations.
• Coordinate and lead training and onboarding initiatives for direct reports.
• Participate and support others in thoroughly checking, assessing, and communicating of design process items to ensure workability for our manufacturing partners.
• Thoroughly check over toile WIP report weekly to track progress, delays, and work to solve any issues that arise.
• Monitor the factory to ensure samples are produced on time,
• Ensure reporting and deliverables leading into, during and following all international trips are met.
• Liaise with factories and team members/coordinators to ensure will checklist items are covered and meet deadlines.
• Create, update, maintain and monitor the styles and stages in PLM software processes as well as updates.
• Utilise PLM software, and other reporting mechanisms to create and deliver reports as per the reporting schedule.

Qualifications

What We Are Looking For: 

• Bachelor’s degree in Fashion Design or related degree is preferred; equivalent relevant experience may be considered in lieu of a degree.
• Minimum of 6 years previous experience in clothing design or clothing manufacturing, or equivalent preferred.
• Relevant 3 years of experience in people leadership and performance management.
• Experience working alongside design and other business teams/stakeholders.
• Excellent communication skills (vocabulary, diction, and the ability to express thoughts clearly and concisely).
• Strong customer service orientation & demeanor.
• Ability to manage multiple tasks in a fast-paced environment under minimal supervision with a high attention to detail.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, and Outlook).
• Experience working with PLM based software programs highly regarded.
• Flexibility to occasionally assist with tasks outside of standard work hours.
• Willing and able to travel to international manufacturing locations.

What We Offer

We look forward to welcoming the successful candidate to our fast-growing global team! In return for your skills, we offer you the opportunity to join an international industry leader and be part of a creative and collaborative culture that empowers its people and promotes teamwork. We recognize and reward excellence, innovation, and loyalty. Our goal is to offer an inspirational and modern workplace that allows for talented individuals to thrive. As such, we provide competitive salaries and a comprehensive benefits package, with significant opportunity for exceptional team members to grow with us as we continue to expand.