Lead, Footwear Costing Data & Operations

It collaborates with Materials Buy/Sell, Sourcing, Supplier Management, Materials Development, Chemicals, Costing teams across Asia, factory partners, Margin Planning, Finance, and Product to connect costing insights with procurement strategies and supplier commercial discussions. The position supports effective decision-making and operational excellence across the footwear value chain.

• Lead materials costing operations and drive alignment across the end-to-end materials costing ecosystem.
• Establish and execute a new operating model for materials cost management in support of the new materials integration strategy, incorporating procurement insights, supplier economics, and market benchmarks.
• Develop reliable data pipelines and intelligent analytics solutions to enable materials cost and commodity price monitoring, analysis, and business reporting, including visibility into supplier pricing trends and cost drivers.
• Monitor global commodity markets to identify trends, risks, and opportunities, and develop tools and capabilities that support sourcing decisions, assess supplier quotations, and strengthen fact-based materials cost negotiations.
• Manage seasonal deliverables and leadership-level reporting, providing accurate analysis and data-driven recommendations to improve profitability and achieve target margins.
• Develop a material supplier costing performance framework to drive business results and operational excellence.
• Lead engagement with regional and global Materials teams—including Costing, Supplier Management, and Manufacturing—and other cross-functional partners on strategic priorities.
• Lead supplier communications and resolve operational issues by bringing together the right partners to maintain progress.
• Support sustainability initiatives and the execution of selected seasonal and long-term projects.

• Bachelor's degree in chemical or materials science, engineering, business, finance, supply chain, or a related field.
• Minimum 7 years of relevant experience in one or more of the following areas: footwear materials management, product cost management, materials manufacturing, materials or chemical engineering, supplier or materials vendor management, materials sourcing or procurement, manufacturing finance
• Supply chain operations, or a related discipline.
• Strong business acumen and experience in materials cost management, procurement, or manufacturing finance.
• Good understanding of commodity market pricing, supplier behaviour, and sourcing and negotiation levers that influence materials costs.
• Ability to translate supplier cost structures, market benchmarks, and commercial terms into actionable insights to support sourcing decisions and fact-based negotiations.
• Strong analytical, communication, and stakeholder-management skills.
• Comfort navigating ambiguity, building new processes and capabilities, and leading initiatives across global and regional teams, suppliers, and manufacturing partners.
• Continuous-improvement mindset and commitment to operational excellence.
• Experience establishing new operating processes, strengthening data governance, and driving continuous improvement.
• Advanced proficiency in Excel.
• Demonstrated interest in using automation, advanced analytics, and AI to build a more connected, intelligent, and scalable costing operation.
• Data-driven, commercially minded approach, leveraging analytics, cost intelligence, and procurement expertise to create business value and improve profitability.

• Understanding of materials including textiles, synthetics, foams, rubbers, leather, and components, along with commodity markets, manufacturing processes, cost structures, and their impact.
• Knowledge of procurement practices, including supplier quotation analysis, cost benchmarking, negotiation preparation, commercial terms, and total cost of ownership.
• Experience applying procurement insights to materials costing, supplier negotiations, or cost optimisation.
• Experience developing dashboards, data models, or analytical tools.