Position:Director, Product & Brand
Department:Product & Brand
Location:Vancouver, Head Office (Hybrid - minimum 2 days a week)
Reports to:VP, Operations
Type:Full Time, Permanent
Salary:125k to 170K CAD
JOB OVERVIEW:INDOCHINO's Director, Product & Brand owns what the company makes and how it shows up, from the mill board to the final post. The Director sets product and brand direction and builds and maintains relationships with fabric mills and production partners across Europe and Asia. These relationships are central to the development and sourcing of INDOCHINO's menswear fabrics, while overseeing the product range and leading the creative team through the launch to market.
Reporting to the VP, Operations, the Director leads a team of five across sourcing, buying, creative and design, and brand and social media, and holds final approval on the look, sound and feel of the brand on every activation. The role operates as Creative Director across the full creative pipeline and owns an AI-first production model, in which all INDOCHINO photography is AI generated.
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES:- Brand guardianship: set and enforce the brand standard across positioning, voice, typography, color, logo system and tier architecture, with final approval on all creative across campaign, ecommerce, retail, email, social and print.
- Product knowledge: author product knowledge and fabric education for the retail network, translating mill, construction and graduation detail into training the floor can sell from.
- Global sourcing and mill development: select fabrics at market and directly with European and Asian vendors, negotiate cost, minimums and lead times, and hold quality and construction standards.
- Social media and online communities: own social strategy across the INDOCHINO accounts with final approval on every post, and control the brand voice across online communities, from comments and forums to creators and user-generated content, so INDOCHINO is represented the right way.
- AI and creative technology: build and maintain the in-house AI Brand Brain, codifying brand, product and image production standards into tools the team briefs and executes from and set AI imaging standards for external contractors.
- Look, sound and feel on every activation: make sure every activation, from showroom window to inbox to feed, reads as one brand, and author the Brand Book, Product Playbook and brand standards hub.
- Assortment and range architecture: own the full assortment across custom and off-the-rack, building a clear tier ladder from Studio to Black Label and seasonal ranges developed against a single brand platform.
- Buying and assortment planning: build data-informed buys with Planning, Supply Chain and Finance, balancing newness and SKU efficiency against sell-through, markdown exposure and margin.
- Product development and roadmap: lead development with the production team, including full canvas, soft shoulder and soft tailoring, and own the roadmap across suiting, shirting, accessories and collections, back scheduled from production lead times.
- Creative direction: direct seasonal campaigns from strategic platform and brief through model casting, image direction, art direction and copy, carrying the line through every channel.
- Team leadership: lead and develop five direct reports across sourcing, buying, creative and design, and brand and social media, plus external studios and contractors.
- Retail presentation and environment: define showroom presentation, fabric merchandising, windows, fixtures, environmental design and signature scent to lift conversion and sell-through.
- Cross-functional partnership: partner with Retail, Marketing, ecommerce, Finance and IT on launches, presentation and systems, and represent product and brand to leadership and partners.
REQUIREMENTS:- 8+ years of progressive leadership experience in luxury, premium, or tailored menswear, including experience in spanning product, buying, sourcing, operations and creative direction.
- Extensive international experience working directly with fabric mills and production partners across Europe and Asia, from selecting fabric at market through sampling, costing and bulk production.
- In-depth knowledge of fiber compositions and blends, Super ratings, yarn counts, twist, weights, weaves and finishes, alongside expert knowledge of tailored garment construction, and how each performs in the finished garment and on the sales floor.
- Proven category buying at scale, with full accountability for budget, supply chain, procurement and margin.
- A strong aesthetic point of view, with hands-on art direction and copywriting held to a precise brand standard.
- Fluency in AI systems and creative technology, and the ability to turn standards into tools others execute from.
- Operational rigour in project and change management (PRINCE2 or equivalent), systems integration (Salesforce, Shopify) and budgeting.
- Experience leading and developing teams, and aligning cross-functional partners across retail, ecommerce, finance and creative.
- Seasonal international travel to visit vendors and partners across Asia and Europe.
- Bachelor's degree in Business Administration or equivalent.
