London, UK
Textiles project manager
at Turquoise Mountain
Turquoise Mountain is hiring a textiles project manager to join its team in London.
Turquoise Mountain is seeking a textiles project manager to support its growing textiles and high-end fabrics offer created by artisan communities in Myanmar. With flexible hours through the working week, and based in London, the person appointed to the role will work closely with the UK and Myanmar teams to develop the fabrics offer, and service and build a growing number of clients across diverse market sectors.
The successful candidate will have proven industry and sales experience of relevance to the role, and a strong interest in artisan-made products. They will be proactive and a self-starter, with attention to detail and able to work at a fast pace, responsive to needs of clients.
About Turquoise Mountain
Turquoise Mountain was founded in 2006 by HRH The Prince of Wales to revive historic areas and traditional crafts, to provide jobs, skills and a renewed sense of pride. Since 2006, Turquoise Mountain has restored over 150 historic buildings, trained over 15,000 artisans, treated over 165,000 patients at our Kabul clinic, and supported and generated over $17 million in sales of traditional crafts to international clients, including Kate Spade and London’s Connaught Hotel.
Turquoise Mountain has also curated major international exhibitions at museums around the world, from the Museum of Islamic Art in Doha to the Smithsonian Museum in Washington D.C. Turquoise Mountain has now built over 50 small businesses in Afghanistan, Myanmar, and the Middle East, supporting a new generation of artisan entrepreneurs who will not only drive economic development but also preserve their unique cultures and traditions.
Main responsibility
To the building and servicing of a network of commercial/design textiles partners globally. The main objective of the role is to create sales growth for Myanmar fabrics and textile products.
Scope of work (sales and marketing):
- grow Turquoise Mountain’s commercial partner network in textiles globally, focusing on both retail and wholesale as well as designer/interiors clients, and bring tiered approaches to products and pricing
- work with UK and Myanmar communications and creative teams to align photography of textile products and the creation of sales collateral with market needs, specifically overseeing the creation of an online Myanmar fabrics catalogue, accompanying brochure, and swatch books
- maintain inventory of all swatch books and any UK-held fabrics stock
- coordinate international distribution of marketing collateral to agreed target client lists
- proactively develop opportunities for brand-building and increased visibility of Myanmar textiles; this can include partnering with designers/retailers, participating in trade shows and hosting events
- launch Myanmar fabrics with at least one online retailer, with support from creative team
Myanmar textile collections:
- work with the textiles production team (Myanmar) and creative team (UK) to conceptualise and produce textiles collections (both bolt fabrics and textile products) for the international market that represent the Turquoise Mountain ‘brand’ and exemplify the textile traditions of the regions in which Turquoise Mountain is active
- work with the textile production team to cost and price the items in these collections, review and update existing pricing structures for different types of buyers, and working towards the profitability of the textiles’ business activities
Client relationship management:
- serve as the main point of contact for international fabrics clients from conceptualisation through to invoicing. This includes acting as the liaison between the client and the Myanmar production team during sampling, order placement and fulfilment, as well as initiating client’s direct communication with the production team during product development and production cycles, as necessary, and keeping oversight of those communications
- for clients with product needs across more than one TM country programme, support with all back-of-house textile-related aspects to ensure smooth client liaison and delivery. Data collection, reporting and internal communications
- report to creative director and Myanmar country director, attending all UK and Myanmar meetings and calls as appropriate
- coordinate and capture feedback from the commercial director and creative director on product sales and opportunities
- provide regular anecdotal feedback to UK and Myanmar teams on client and sales environment for textiles, and ensure an integrated approach into wider centralised sales efforts
- collect, track, and report textiles sales data to senior management and provide short bi-annual narrative reports on key achievements and challenges
Key relationships
Internal reporting: creative director, Myanmar country director peers: textiles production team, Myanmar; creative team, UK; communications teams, UK and Myanmar advisory: commercial director, finance director and team UK.
External clients (existing and new): interior designers, fabric suppliers and homeware retailers fabric industry networks trade show representatives.
Applications
To apply for the role, please submit your CV and a covering letter.
Deadline: 7 March 2022