R&D Manager

Business units	Corporate/Product Development
Locations	Italy/Bologna

Established in Pennsylvania in 1830, we call ourselves the “Original Outdoor Clothing Company”, having produced quality garments for outdoor enthusiasts for over 190 years. At Woolrich we continue the legacy of our heritage into our present and future by empowering life in the elements and bringing long lasting authenticity to new generations of consumers.
We now embrace an #OutdoorHeart style with a contemporary European design that speaks to the #UrbanSpirit, showing our customers that the test of all outdoor environments can be met with products built to last.

Your role:

As our R&D Manager you will join the Global Product Creation Team at our Woolrich HQ in Bologna. Reporting to our Global Head of Product Development and R&D, you will represent a key function in supporting brand vision on Apparel and enable Design and Development teams to elevate product relevance through materials and trims toolkit.

Your day to day in the team:

Ongoing consolidation and development of seasonal material palettes and mill matrix to leverage volume, manage team’s workload and reduce complexity
Build effective tools to support material adoption with accessible reference material
Ownership of all material development records and maintenance of related data in PLM
Continuous interaction with mills to develop material strategies for Woolrich’s
Define all material test requirements and standards
Analyse brand’s material quality requirements against regional import regulations to ensure product relevance while maintaining the highest possible brand standard
Responsible for the Sustainable Materials Roadmap tool to guide future developments and sustainability impacts for forward looking metrics & reporting.
Lead seasonal presentation of relevant and recommended materials to Design and Merchandising teams to influence and sync creative concepts

Where needed, provide a hands-on approach to support the team in daily tasks
Facilitate and plan team’s schedule/traveling and workload to be sustainable

Attend trade fairs and conferences to keep up-to-date with the latest material technologies, performance attributes and industry standards for sustainability
Enhance mill communication tools that reinforce Woolrich’s requirements on material quality, sampling timelines and minimums
Liaise with regional offices to review supplier score cards to ensure seasonal supplier matrix is vetted and approved before material development begins

Be an engaged and committed team-mate, Be a facilitator in negotiations

Your added value to the team:

Bachelor’s degree in Textile Design, Textile Technology or equivalent combination of education and experience
5-7 years leadership experience in Material Development for a medium or large sized apparel company
7-10 years practical experience in fabric development, innovation, and trend research
Extensive knowledge of textile testing, textile processing and the textile supply chain (knitting, weaving, printing, dyeing, finishing, coatings and laminations)
Superior knowledge of sustainability in textiles
Excellent multitasking and negotiation skills
Aptitude for identifying relevant material technologies and trends
Excellent communication skills (oral and written)
Strong interpersonal and leadership skills
Decision making and “can do” attitude
Forward thinking approach
Strong knowledge with PLM systems
Proficiency in Excel, Word and Power Point
Fluency in English both written and verbal

If this sounds like you and you would like to join a collaborative and challenging environment where working means loving what you do, going the extra-mile, and learning from others, then please apply with a CV in English: we’re looking forward to reviewing your application!

Woolrich is an equal opportunity employer, we encourage people with a diverse range of backgrounds to apply. We welcome and will consider all applications regardless of race and nationality, religion, color, sex, pregnancy or related medical conditions, parental status, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, status as an individual with a disability, or any other legally protected characteristics.

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Business units	Corporate/Product Development
Locations	Italy/Bologna