Fabric Production Assistant

The Fabric Production Assistant at River Island plays a key role in managing the critical path process for RI Production fabric, managing cloth orders from order raising, production and to receipt. The role is integral to the RI Production team, managing the fabric critical path and ensuring fabrics are fit for purpose, maintaining compliance and quality standards across fabrics.

Responsibilities:

• Manage fabric ordering process; Collate & review fabric spec & base test reports from mill, action lab-dips & strike off’s on new fabric bases. Highlight technical fabric risks with end product in mind
• Efficiently and accurately raise, amend and manage bulk orders, reviewing order confirmations.
• Manage bulk leadtimes and critical path through production process including testing and approvals. Liaise across multiple internal stakeholders such as shipping, supply chain, distribution centre, buying etc to ensure fabric requirements are met on time, and issues resolved.
• Manage the testing process on the River Island testing platform, creating materials and top sheets, liaising with the BI Garment Technologist to achieve approval of testing and confirmation of care instructions
• Manage & confidently negotiate solutions to bulk fabric issues such as:
  • Delays & shortages
  • Quality & fabric faults
  • Colour rejections
  • Fabric contamination
• Maintain monthly reporting on cloth finance and roll ad hoc reporting on order numbers, meterage & fabric stock/ liability
• Monitor mill performance to highlight opportunities or flag risk in partner mills, advise CAP

Profile:

• Good relevant knowledge of fabric/materials/ components
• Confident in reading and interpreting Fabric testing reports – able to apply commercial understanding of testing requirements based on end product
• Good experience of working across multiple sourcing locations
• Supplier management experience
• Critical path management
• Collaborative and builds good relations with peers/ stakeholders
• Agility and ability to absorb change in line with business priorities
• Commercial awareness and application in day-to-day decision making.
• Strong Excel skills

About Us

We’re a much-loved brand with an exciting future. Our Islanders are a diverse bunch of bright, talented people who love working together – and are proud of the work they do. Progression here can take you in all kinds of directions. This is what a career at River Island is like. And this is where yours starts.

What we can offer you:

• Generous 50% staff discount so you can treat yourself to the latest products, and a bargain staff shop on site!
• Reducing Islanders everyday expenses through discounts, benefits, financial advice, wellbeing solutions and more through Reward Gateway!
• A free onsite gym, subsidised restaurant & café to fill you needs. Various social events to socialise throughout the year.
• Every family is unique, we support Islanders with all different family setups enhanced maternity, paternity, adoption & fertility treatment. We also work closely with the Retail Trust to create dedicated support for all our Islanders!
• Flexible working is a given, on top of payday and summer early finish Fridays.
• Give as you earn scheme, a ‘Giver Island’ day each year and receive matched funding.
• Support with upskilling through on-the-job training and qualifications. A succession plan if you want to progress.
• 23 days paid holiday, exclusive of Bank Holidays. With the added option to purchase additional holiday twice a year for whatever the need!

Keeping You Safe

At River Island we are committed to the safeguarding of all of our employees regardless of age or job role. We will fulfil our obligation under the Prevent duty which seeks to stop extremism and extremist views from materialising in our business. We promote and encourage the belief in British Values- including democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty and mutual respect and tolerance of different faiths and beliefs.