Production & Qa Manager

Product Development, Production & QA Manager 

Minihaha is one of Australia's leading childrenswear clothing brands, designing the popular brands Bébé, Fox & Finch and Minihaha.

We are looking for an experienced Apparel Manager responsible for leading the Product Development team as well as the Production and Quality Assurance Management of our Brands. Based at our Head Office in Glen Iris, you will work in a close team environment to ensure that the management of these departments runs smoothly.

The ideal candidate must be experienced in managing other staff, have a thorough understanding of production processes, technical garment knowledge and an excellent eye for attention to detail and garment quality. This person must also be exceedingly well organized, can multitask many competing priorities and can work in a fast-paced environment to deliver successful results. 

Main Job Tasks

• Work closely with the Garment Technicians to oversee the Product Development process from proto samples to bulk production.
• Work closely with the production and QA co-ordinator in tracking progress of manufacturers samples & submissions to ensure critical path deadlines are met.
• Liase with the Design department to communicate and co-ordinate progress within each department.
• Allocate ranges to Manufacturers based on review of costs, quality & performance.
• Work alongside the Managing Director on garment costings.
• Liase regularly with offshore manufacturers on all production and quality concerns.
• Responsible for the sourcing and onboarding of new suppliers
• Oversee the implementation and data management of the Production Schedule.
• Approve all style product information and create spreadsheets of the data for upload into the central stock system.
• Management of all Brands labelling and packaging requirements and monthly reporting on stock levels.
• Approve all bulk fabric submissions, maintain records and resolve issues as they arise.
• Oversee the testing and reporting requirements of fabrics and trims, ensuring up to date knowledge of all relevant industry standards.
• Liaise with the Operations Manager on offshore suppliers’ production timing and target shipment delivery dates.
• Oversee the approval process of all bulk production received into the warehouse to ensure high quality standards are maintained.
• Raise any claims with Manufacturers on bulk styles found with defects. Liaising with Accounts department on such issues.
• Report all areas of concern to the Managing Director as well as keep management up to date on the tracking of multiple current seasons to the critical path deadlines.
• Maintain Company manuals and implementation of changes carried out to keep all teams and off-shore suppliers up to date and following required processes.

Requirements

• Strong working knowledge of Microsoft Office, especially Excel
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills - within the team and with offshore suppliers
• Solid organizational time management and prioritisation skills.
• Exceptional problem-solving, to solve production or quality related issues.
• Solid critically thinking and analytical skills. 
• Excellent attention to detail and multitasking skills.
• Ability to manage workloads within the team effectively. 
• Ability to train and mentor other staff.
• Be a strong communicator with the ability to build positive relationships.