Will you enjoy being part of H&M Group and Production? We surely hope so, but only if you’re comfortable in an environment with high levels of ambiguity and constant change. It is a place where your opinions matter right from day one, so you better have them and not be afraid to speak up; a place where “questioning what you’re told” is more often than “doing what you’re told”; a place where you can make mistakes, learn from those mistakes and develop through them.

What is H&M Divided? H&M Divided - being a more dynamic assortment of H&M pioneering sustainable fashion - targets fashion-conscious young women and offers up-to-the minute clothing that expresses the ultimate fashion, covering the spectrum from relaxed basics with sporty influences to eye-catching party outfits.

What do you do?

As a Global Development Lead, you focus on customers. You always work with the customer in mind, teach/train the production team members and suppliers about the customers, and observe how customers react to trends and contemporary life to be prepared to communicate with the division designer.

You set the goal: trend and fashion. You lead the team to interpret trends in regard to new materials & products with suitable suppliers. You identify trend sourcing gaps for the material team, innovation team regarding new materials or seasonal materials, etc. You secure material newness and sell actively to the Buying Office. You make sure that trends and concepts are clear to all internal and external stakeholders. You work with suppliers to secure material quality and product quality based on H&M’s standards. You secure material copyright.

You plan and develop. You identify and develop new material (includes fabric, yarn, components)/treatment/trims. You ensure that material suppliers’ capability is aligned with the long-term strategic plan. You drive top-quality bookings and initiate potential business opportunities by coordinating with the Buying Office and merchandising team. You ensure that the best component deals are given to our customer. You establish working methods to reach the best component deals.

You lead the communication and cooperation. You work closely with your manager to secure a strategic plan. You supervise communication with buyers/designers and suppliers. You work closely with the merchandising team, Quality team, Material team and Innovation team to ensure the best product.

You lead and develop your team. You are a good role model/an H&M leader and work on building the team into a top performing team. You set and coordinate team goals in accordance with company goals. You make sure that the whole team is working with the same tools and methods. You have a general overview of your team’s work performance, workload and their need for education and support. You encourage the team to be proactive, take more initiatives, and solve and share problems. Your responsibility is to lead your team by example, always driven by our values and the ambition to make people and business grow. As an H&M leader, you focus on inspiration, delegation, feedback and motivation (other elements of leadership are further described in the competencies relevant to your role). You work actively with talent identification, staff development and succession planning. You identify capability gaps (current and future) and work towards bridging these gaps through performance management, staff development, strategic recruitment, etc.

Who are you?

As the Global Development Lead, you are pro-active. You have good material and product knowledge and fashion sense as well as price, quality, capacity, and lead time conscious, capable of solving problems and generating new ideas. You can coordinate among multiple teams. You have deep understanding of sustainable standards and component attributes such as wash, print etc.

You are business minded with strong negotiation skills and a vast understanding of pricing from a global perspective. You have good global market knowledge and the ability to seek out and implement further opportunities that could strengthen our customer offer.

Important as well to have a proactive and problem-solving approach to both identify and apply solutions to challenges connected to components and production.

You communicate and collaborate closely with global teams as well as directly with T1 & T2 suppliers. Have a good understanding of the global T2 base and support in keeping it relevant and updated to match the global strategies within the BU and H&M.

Collaborative teamwork and communication are key in everything we do. You work hand in hand with all stakeholders to co-execute the strategies and activities set from Assortment and Production.

Experience as leader or good understanding of leadership is also important for this leading-others role.

It is preferred that you have education in textiles or fashion, and 5-8 years’ relevant experience in a brand as designer/product developer, but most important is good knowledge about customers, concepts and fashion trends.

Thinking about applying?

If all of this sounds like it might be your kind of thing then you should definitely get in touch. We’re more about personality and competence than qualifications, so don’t worry if your skills aren’t a perfect match.

 If your CV is selected then our talent acquisition team in Shanghai/Guangzhou will invite you for a phone call, followed by a couple of interviews at one or more of our offices.