Apparel Compliance Manager

Job Description

Job Description

About the Role

We are seeking an experienced Compliance Manager to lead social, ethical, labor, safety, and trade compliance across our overseas manufacturing and sourcing network. This is a manager-level role for someone who has managed vendor compliance programs across multiple overseas production countries, led factory audits abroad, and can independently own the compliance function for a portfolio of international suppliers — balancing risk mitigation with production and delivery realities.

Key Responsibilities

• Own and manage the end-to-end social and ethical compliance program across the company's overseas factory and vendor network (Asia, Central America, and/or other key sourcing regions)

• Plan and conduct overseas factory audits and on-site production assessments, including announced and unannounced visits, in partnership with regional compliance staff or third-party auditors

• Manage the full lifecycle of vendor onboarding compliance approvals, ongoing risk-tiering, and re-certification for overseas factories

• Lead root-cause investigations and negotiate Corrective Action Plans (CAPs) with overseas factory management; track CAP closure and escalate unresolved risks to leadership

• Partner closely with Sourcing, Production, and Quality teams overseas and domestically to ensure compliance requirements are built into production timelines without disrupting delivery

• Manage relationships with third-party audit firms and certification bodies (e.g., WRAP, SMETA/Sedex, BSCI/amfori, Fair Trade, Higg Index) across the vendor base

• Monitor and ensure adherence to import/export trade compliance requirements, including UFLPA (forced labor/Xinjiang cotton risk), CPSIA, customs documentation, and country-specific labor law

• Build and maintain factory risk assessments, compliance scorecards, and KPI reporting for leadership and, where applicable, retail partners/customers

• Manage or mentor junior compliance staff and/or regional compliance coordinators based near key sourcing hubs

• Train overseas factory management and internal sourcing/production teams on code of conduct, labor standards, and audit expectations

• Stay current on evolving international labor law, ESG/sustainability reporting requirements, and geopolitical/trade developments affecting overseas sourcing regions

Required Qualifications

• 6–9+ years of experience in social/ethical compliance, quality, or production management within apparel or textile manufacturing, with direct exposure to overseas factory operations

• Experience managing retailer owned brand programs. Target experience a plus.

• Prior hands-on production or factory-floor experience — this role requires the ability to read a production floor and production data, not just a compliance office background

• Demonstrated experience managing compliance across multiple overseas sourcing countries (e.g., China, Vietnam, Bangladesh)

• Strong working knowledge of social compliance audit frameworks (WRAP, SMETA/Sedex, BSCI/amfori) and how to interpret and act on audit findings

• Solid understanding of international trade/import compliance issues affecting apparel, including UFLPA and forced-labor risk, CPSIA, and customs documentation

• Proven ability to lead CAP negotiations and drive resolution with overseas factory ownership/management, including in culturally and linguistically diverse settings

• Willingness and ability to travel internationally on a regular basis (typically 25–50%, varying by sourcing calendar)

• Excellent cross-cultural communication, negotiation, and stakeholder management skills

• Experience managing or building out a regional compliance team of local auditors/coordinators

• Foreign language proficiency relevant to key sourcing regions (e.g., English, Mandarin, Cantonese

Kids/Missy Garment Manufacturer

Company Description

Kids/Missy Garment Manufacturer