Product & Manufacturing Operations Manager

Job description / Role

Job Purpose:
The purpose of the role is to bring products to market. The responsibility is the full product life cycle - design, raw material procurement, production, quality control and retail delivery.

This is accomplished by managing each of these departments to maximize internal controls, processes and efficiency, and to minimize cost, wastage, inventory holding and lead-time.

Collaboration:
The Senior Manager of Product Manufacturing & Operations will be part of the Senior Management team, along with the Marketing Manager, Sales Manager and Business Advisor, all reporting to the CEO and driving the business through strategic focus, team leadership and organized management of their business units. Collaboration will be with this team, as well as the significant outsourced suppliers, being the manufacturers, fabric suppliers, fabric AOP printers and warehouse. This is a senior management role; training and support will be provided, however the expectation is that the successful candidate has the experience, education and ability to run the areas of responsibility independently.

The business units the Product & Manufacturing Operations Manager is responsible for are:

General
• Strategic resource allocation within your areas of responsibility to ensure effective use, minimizing cost, yet reducing risk
• For each business unit ensure existing Policies and Procedures for that work flow are being followed, adjust those Policies and Procedures for improvements, create Policies and Procedures for new work flows and maintain this documentation
• Responsible for completion of the New Line Checklist (Critical Path for Collections) within the timeframe needed to bring the Collection to market.
• This allocates the critical steps to the responsible parties
• Negotiate and maintain contracts with significant suppliers
• Ensure effective workflows of the PLM (Product Life Cycle Management) and ERP systems.
• Use technology to improve data and data masters control and processes.
• There is an in-house Business Advisor who is knowledgeable in these systems and will be involved in implementations and support

Design
• Lead and Manage the Design Manager and their team operationally while they create new styles and collections in line with market demand (not a creative function)
• Ensure the fabric consumption markers prepared by the Design team are the most effective use of layout to reduce consumption and are prepared in the most accurate, efficient and systematic manner
• Ensure the production of styles and collections are attainable within the cost required
• Set Recommended Retail Prices (RRP) for products

Planning and Procurement
• Lead and Manage the Procurement Executive to accurately organize raw material purchases (fabric and trims) to ensure delivery from suppliers as per the requirement of Production
• Lead the Finished Good Forecast Meetings (BAS) with Sales to establish the forecasted sell-out in-order to determine the required raw materials
• Plan and prepare the raw material order requirements.
• As for finished goods not produced in-house, use forecasts from Sales, consumptions, and Stock on Hand.
• Minimize overstocking and optimize just-in-time delivery, at the same time reducing risk of delayed supply
• Source new suppliers for raw materials or finished goods, which are not manufactured in-house

Inventory Control
• Lead and Manage the Inventory Controller to accurately and effectively maintain all raw materials physically, allowing for efficient picks of materials for Production
• Ensure the team has adequate controls and processes in place for the safe guarding and accuracy of quantities compared to the ERP system
• Maintain a strong relationship with the outsourced warehouse and ensure inventory is accurate compared to the ERP system and stored appropriately
• Manage physical stock counts and reconciliations for finished goods at the outsourced warehouse and raw materials held by the internal team

Production and Quality Control
• Lead and Manage the Production and QC Manager and their team to meet on time production and to maintain the quality standards of the company
• Work with the Production and QC Manager to maintain a strong relationship with all outsourced manufacturers and orders are strategically distributed considering maximum weekly quantity from the factory, experience in style, cost of style, etc
• Source additional manufacturers if required
• Work with the Production and QC Manager to ensure his team has effective processes in place to ensure quality among raw materials and at all stages of the Production line for Finished Goods production

Logistics to Retail Customers
• Lead and Manage the Logistics Executive to coordinate delivery to Retail customers in collaboration with Sales
• Ensure the specifics of documentation is prepared efficiently and accurately as well as the specifics of product sorting between sub-retail locations
• Ensure the order preparation done by the outsourced warehouse is accurate and timely

Requirements

Qualifications
• Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration or Commerce.
• Masters of Business Administration would be beneficial. .
• With a major, or additional industry experience, in Production

Experience
• Minimum five years’ experience managing a team of a least 3 reports
• Prior experience within the manufacturing industry at a management level, 5 years.
• Apparel is ideal, however not required
• At least 5 years’ experience at a management level with production planning, raw materials planning and inventory control
• Prior experience within the Product Design Dept and Logistics is beneficial, however not required
• At least two years’ experience with a +15 million AED turnover company
• Previous UAE experience beneficial, however not required

Skills
• Leadership and Team Management – an understanding and usage of the key aptitudes for leading a team, motivating and delegating
• Decision making – ability to gather information, assess the risks and benefits and determine a course of action in a reasonable period of time
• Data Analytics – the ability to organize and analyse large amount of data
• Planning – Desire for planning resources to their maximum efficiency, yet adapting for changing conditions
• Time Management – strong ability to prioritize tasks and organize
• Systematic and Logical – in approach to solving problems and re-prioritizing
• IT Systems competent - familiarity with IT software to assist in operations such as PLM, ERP and Excel
• Excel – A strong knowledge of excel (high level), VLOOKUP, pivot tables, HLOOKUP, sumif.
• This skill will be tested at the interview stage and will be used frequently by the candidate and those within their team

About the Company

Established in 2004, COEGA Sunwear was launched with the COEGA Pool Shoes when our founder Maureen Hall noticed a need for Sunwear for the family in the Dubai market. Loving to sew, Maureen took it upon herself to create swimwear for herself and her children.

We started with selling to just one retail outlet and now COEGA is available in more than 75 leading and reputed retailers and 13 E-commerce platforms across the GCC. It all began with the unique pool shoe and has grown into protective sun wear for the whole family.

Our swimwear provides UV protection but also serves a niche market by offering higher coverage items for those customers who choose to wear more modest swimwear. COEGA Sunwear is home-grown in the UAE and all design, manufacturing and distribution is based in Jebel Ali, Dubai. Manufacturing in Dubai allows for short lead times and flexible logistics, owing to its strategic geographic positioning between the Middle East, Asia, Africa and Europe.