Head of Merchandising

My client, an established successful supplier are looking for an experienced, commercially focused Head of Merchandising with previous supplier experience.

Based in London, this newly created role will take ownership of production planning, critical path management, and Buyer communication, whilst leading and developing an overseas merchandising team.

They are looking for someone who can drive greater visibility, accountability and control across the production process. The successful candidate will bring significant experience working with manufacturing partners across Bangladesh, India and other key sourcing regions, with the confidence and credibility to challenge where necessary while creating collaborative, process-driven ways of working.

Main Responsibilities Will Include:

• Lead and develop the merchandising function, creating clear processes, structure and accountability across the production lifecyclelifecycle.
• Take ownership of production planning, ensuring orders are progressing in line with customer critical paths and delivery commitments.
• Manage end-to-end critical path activity, proactively identifying risks, escalating issues and implementing solutions before they impact delivery.
• Build strong working relationships with overseas factories and production offices, particularly Bangladesh and India, ensuring clear communication and accountability.
• Act as the production contact for Buying teams, providing accurate updates, managing expectations and driving timely decision making.
• Chair regular production and critical path meetings with suppliers and internal teams.
• Challenge factory performance where necessary, driving urgency and holding suppliers accountable for commitments.
• Work closely with Design, Technical, Buying and Quality teams to ensure smooth handover from development into production.
• Develop and implement best practice merchandising processes to improve efficiency, communication and delivery performance.

Person Specification:

• Significant senior merchandising or production merchandising experience within the apparel industry. Strong knowledge of knitted garments is highly advantageous.
• Strong understanding of end-to-end garment production, sourcing and supply chain management.
• Experience managing production across Bangladesh, India and other offshore manufacturing bases.
• Proven experience managing critical paths across multiple customer accounts.
• Excellent understanding of production planning and capacity management.
• Confident communicator with experience influencing both internal stakeholders and overseas suppliers.
• Able to challenge constructively, hold people accountable and drive results.
• Highly organised with exceptional attention to detail.
• Comfortable managing multiple priorities within a fast-moving environment.