Description:

About the job:

About The Opportunity:

Operating in the Apparel & Innerwear manufacturing and retail sector, this leadership role drives end-to-end sourcing strategy across fabrics, trims and finished-goods for fast-moving collections and seasonal lines. The role is based in India and requires hands-on, on-site leadership to secure cost-effective, compliant, and high-quality supplier networks that enable margin improvement and on-time delivery.

Primary Title: Head of Strategic Sourcing (Apparel & Innerwear) On-site, India

Role & Responsibilities:

- Define and execute a category-based strategic sourcing roadmap for fabrics, elastics, trims and packaging to meet cost, quality and lead-time targets.

- Lead supplier selection, qualification and performance management; drive vendor development and consolidation to strengthen capacity and reliability.

- Negotiate commercial terms, long-term agreements and cost-down initiatives using cost modelling and bill-of-material (BOM) analysis.

- Partner with design, production and quality teams to embed sourcing inputs into PLM/ERP workflows and accelerate speed-to-market.

- Establish and enforce supplier compliance, quality assurance and audit programs (social, environmental and technical standards).

- Build and coach a high-performing sourcing team; manage stakeholder communication with procurement, logistics and senior leadership.

Skills & Qualifications:

Must-Have:

- Proven track record in strategic sourcing for apparel or innerwear categories, including fabrics, trims and accessories.

- Demonstrable success delivering cost savings and margin improvements through negotiation and supplier optimisation.

- Experience integrating sourcing with PLM and ERP systems and using BOM-driven sourcing processes.

- Strong capability in supplier selection, development and conducting vendor audits for quality & compliance.

- Hands-on commercial negotiation skills and experience creating supplier contracts and long-term purchase agreements.

- Comfortable with frequent on-site supplier visits and cross-functional collaboration across design, production and logistics.

Preferred:

- Experience in innerwear/knitwear manufacturing hubs and knowledge of global sourcing markets (e.g., Bangladesh, China, India).

- Familiarity with sustainable sourcing standards and certifications (e.g., GOTS, OEKO-TEX, Sedex).

- Exposure to Ariba, SAP MM or Oracle Procurement Cloud and data-driven procurement (Power BI/Tableau).

Benefits & Culture Highlights:

- Leadership role with direct impact on product margins and supply chain resilience in a growth-focused apparel business.

- Opportunity to build and scale supplier networks, own strategic initiatives and partner with senior leadership.

- Fast-paced manufacturing environment with frequent hands-on supplier engagement and travel across sourcing regions.

Location: India (On-site). Interested candidates with deep apparel/innerwear sourcing experience are encouraged to apply.