Design Room Manager

**Introduction**:
Aje was created in 2008 to translate the effortless Australian lifestyle into fashion.

Designed for an elegance grounded in ease, our garments empower our customers to feel relaxed, assured and beautiful.

Our company strives to invite freedom of self-expression in each architectural store environment, bringing our customers a confidence and beauty that elevates their every day to an occasion.

**Description**:
The Design Room Manager will be responsible for ensuring each Aje collection meets the creative and commercial goals of the business, through their leadership and close management of the Design and Development teams to achieve their targets. The Design Room Manager represents the Design team to the wider business and acts as the gatekeeper and conduit of information through to the product teams.

Key Responsibilities

Performance & Strategy
- Create, execute, and monitor the design department calendar, ensuring alignment with the company Critical Path.
- Establish competitive pricing with suppliers and maintain cost benchmarks.
- Deliver collections per cost and pricing benchmarks, analyzing costs, implementing new processes, and negotiating with suppliers for margin growth.
- Manage department roadmap, prioritizing internal and external design team tasks, and reporting achievements to the Head of Design and Development.

People Management
- Collaborate with the Head of Design and Development to efficiently organize Design Room workflow to meet deadlines.
- Set priorities dynamically for the design team across multiple collections, ensuring goals are met according to the critical path.
- Mentor and oversee the design team to enhance performance, productivity, innovation, and commerciality.
- Manage inter-departmental communications between Design, Production, Commercial, Merchandising, Press, and Marketing.

Design & Development
- Approve pre-production samples and hand over to Tech and Production departments as per the critical path.
- Expand supplier knowledge by researching and introducing new suppliers, attending international trade shows.
- Build and maintain relationships with suppliers, ensuring trust and best business practices.
- Conduct competitor analysis to stay informed on pricing structures and market trends.
- Ensure all developments align with Aje's aesthetic and quality standards, focusing on sustainable design practices according to Aje Aware commandments and business Code of Conduct.

**Skills and Experiences**:
Minimum 7+ years’ experience as a Design Room Manager and extended knowledge of all Design & Production functions.
Proven stakeholder engagement both at a senior level, from your direct team and any external teams.
Knowledge and understanding of garment construction and pattern making
Existing network of suppliers and sourcing methods (both domestic and offshore). Proven experience developing new suppliers in line with Aje production guidelines
Computer skilled, particularly in Microsoft Office, internet research and sourcing, Photoshop and Illustrator
Strong technical knowledge coupled with an understanding of industry approved quality control standards and procedures
Experience in luxury/Australian Designer will be highly regarded
A highly organised individual with the organisational skills to plan for a large team with many moving parts and competing priorities. With strong forward planning, they foresee potential issues/roadblocks and organise workflow, accordingly, implementing new processes and strategies if necessary to continue meeting deadlines.
Impeccable follow-up and precise attention to detail are key to the success of this role.
Ability to manage competing priorities and timelines and ensure priorities are met and managed based on the critical path and department plan.
A deep and thorough understanding of all aspects of the development process along with high aesthetic and production standards.
Strong understanding of aesthetic and quality standards of designer level products, as well as personal awareness and understanding of trends and taste adaptable to the Aje creative handwriting.
Customer-centric mentality for all decision making