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Director - Specialty Fibers

Quince· Material Sourcing
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Hybrid (Italy and United Kingdom)Full-timePosted 4w ago

About the role

Director role overseeing all specialty fibers (cashmere, merino, yak, alpaca, and other luxury fibers) with end-to-end supply chain leadership, quality assurance, and cross-functional collaboration across sourcing, production, quality, and design to ensure quality, sustainability, and affordability.

Responsibilities

  • Orchestrate the end-to-end supply chain as the central hub connecting sourcing managers, production teams, and quality specialists to ensure a seamless, resilient, and efficient flow from fiber to finished yarn.
  • Lead and mentor a diverse, specialized team of sourcing managers, quality engineers, and production experts, fostering a culture of continuous improvement and technical excellence.
  • Drive multi-sourcing and nearshoring strategies to mitigate geopolitical and logistical risks while ensuring a stable supply of high-grade fibers from the Americas and Asia.
  • Set the strategic direction for vertical integration opportunities, evaluating build-vs-buy decisions for spinning, dyeing, or finishing capabilities that could enhance quality control and margin structure.
  • Act as a key advisor to the executive team on fiber market trends, geopolitical risks, climate impacts on raw material supply, and competitive intelligence—translating complex data into actionable business recommendations.
  • Champion Quince's "unreal prices" mission by continuously identifying cost-leadership opportunities across the supply chain, from farm to finished yarn, without compromising ethical standards or product integrity.
  • Build and curate a best-in-class supplier ecosystem, identifying, vetting, and onboarding mills, dehairers, spinners, and dye houses that meet standards for quality, capacity, sustainability, and labor practices.
  • Lead supplier development programs, coaching strategic partners to improve yield, reduce defects, adopt sustainable practices, and achieve cost efficiencies.
  • Drive traceability and transparency across the entire fiber supply chain, partnering with certification bodies to ensure chain-of-custody integrity.
  • Make high-stakes sourcing decisions based on market intelligence—auction prices, crop forecasts, currency fluctuations, geopolitical developments—balancing short-term cost opportunities with long-term relationship value.
  • Architect the quality management system for all specialty fibers, defining standards, testing protocols, and approval workflows for raw fiber, dehaired fiber, tops, yarns, and finished goods.
  • Partner with the Senior Manager, Natural Fibers Quality to establish measurable quality benchmarks (micron distribution, fiber length, tensile strength, yield, color fastness, pilling resistance).
  • Oversee third-party lab testing and compliance to validate materials meet ISO, OEKO-TEX, GOTS, REACH and internal specs.
  • Lead root-cause analysis for quality failures, implementing CAPA across the supply chain and promoting "quality at the source."
  • Collaborate with product development and design teams to translate visions into technical specifications (micron targets, twist levels, finishing treatments).
  • Serve as the central point of communication for all fiber-related matters with design, product development, and production teams.
  • Communicate daily with mills, dye houses, and suppliers to provide feedback on fiber quality, color accuracy, availability, and timelines.
  • Translate design and merchandising visions into manufacturable technical briefs for suppliers.
  • Lead blind panels with design, merchandising, and customer focus groups to validate luxury fiber perception and color accuracy before commercialization.

Qualifications

  • Degree in Textile Science, Fiber Engineering, Material Science, Supply Chain Management, Color Chemistry, or related field.
  • 15+ years of experience in specialty fiber sourcing, yarn production, quality management, or coloration for apparel, accessories, or home textiles.
  • Deep technical knowledge of natural fibers (cashmere, merino, yak, alpaca, cotton) and spinning processes (woolen, worsted).
  • Proven leadership experience managing cross-functional teams in a fast-paced retail or manufacturing environment, with mentoring experience.
  • Strong cost analysis skills: cost-per-kilogram modeling, yield optimization, landed cost analysis, and budget management.
  • Experience building and maintaining quality standards and supplier compliance programs, including SKU rationalization and shade consolidation.
  • Excellent communication skills with the ability to translate complex technical concepts for non-technical stakeholders.

Skills

Required:Fiber sourcing strategyCross-functional leadershipQuality management system designCost analysis & budgeting

Benefits

  • Equal opportunity employer
  • Reasonable accommodations available upon request (accommodation process described)
Last updated Sep 30, 2026. Interested? Apply on the company site.
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About Quince

High Quality Essentials, Radically Low Prices

Quince brings luxury products like Mongolian Cashmere, Italian Leather, Turkish Cotton and Washable Silk to everyone at radically low prices. Shop premium essentials with no middleman.

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