Free People Production Manager - Footwear

Footwear Category Leader

Free People is looking for a footwear category leader that facilitates and executes our multi branded vision through the development and management of pre-production processes and production work flow. Expert troubleshooter with strong competencies in raw material, price/costing, and delivery issue resolution. Strong collaboration with partners in product development, design and merchandising. Required to provide training, development and support for team members and direct reports.

Role Responsibilities

SOURCING STRATEGY

• Manage brand initiatives and goals.
• Control operations calendar deadlines and monthly book to dates.
• Control final allocations.
• Develop and maintain relationships with vendors to ensure successful business partnerships
• Analyze industry trends to proactively identify supply base issues to reduce cost, minimize risk, protect continuity of supply, and exploit emerging opportunities that benefit the brand.

PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT BLUEPRINT

• Collaborate between stakeholders to create calendar and meet deadlines.
• Outline and communicate brand and category strategy based on Trend meeting.
• Improve adoption rates over specific time period and hit approved line plan style count measured by seasonal line plan actualization.
• Manage commitments and order placements.

PRODUCTION WORK IN PROCESS

• Calculate and manage rolling and final IMUs at order placement for variance IMU analysis.
• Strategize brand business opportunities including freight modes for distribution center receipt, flow, and margin opportunity.
• Manage product development and production process.
• Provide IMU targets and guidance to team to negotiate final costing with vendors ensuring margins are met or exceeded.

TEAM DEVELOPMENT/MANAGEMENT

• Assess and develop staff. Build the appropriate team to ensure effective day to day management of each business group and accurate and readily available records and reports.
• Coach staff to generate creative solutions.
• Ability to lead change, and coach team to respond to a rapidly changing business environment.
• Coordinate and facilitate team to deliver aesthetically correct samples that meet brand's vision.
• Facilitate team to maintain and manage the pre-production time and action and production work-in-process.

Role Qualifications

• Significant leadership experience managing teams working in a fast paced environment.
• Experience traveling overseas to evaluate vendors and to determine areas of improvement.
• Supervise subordinates' responsibilities to ensure accomplishment of department goals and deadlines.
• Promote the development of subordinates through supervision and training.
• Pro-actively approach problem solving.
• Implement operational efficiencies.
• Adapt quickly to changes.
• Driven by deadlines with a high sense of urgency.

The Perks

URBN offers comprehensive Perks & Benefits to employees. Availability and eligibility to specific benefits may be subject to your location and employment status. Benefits include medical, dental, vision, PTO, generous employee discounts, retirement savings and much more! For additional information visit

EEO Statement

URBN celebrates diversity and is committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees. We are proud to provide equal employment opportunities (EEO) to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, sex (including gender, pregnancy, sexual orientation, and gender identity or expression), religion, creed, age, physical or mental disability, national origin or ancestry, ethnicity, citizenship, service in the uniformed services, genetic information, or any other protected characteristic as established by law. We believe strongly in fostering a safe, fair and respectful work environment. To ensure compliance with our non-discrimination and anti-harassment policies, we offer anti-harassment training to managers and employees.