Product Merchandising Coordinator

**Product Merchandising Coordinator**

**12-Month Maternity Leave Contract**

**Hybrid - Vancouver, BC**Why Native Shoes?**

It seems the heavier the world gets, the more it needs lightness. At Native Shoes, we’ve made lightness our life’s work with our purpose: to make it easy for all to live lightly.

To achieve this, our team is an embodiment of our values:

- ** Design**:We consider aesthetics and functionality in all we do.
- **Possibility**: We explore and achieve higher dreams by leaving constraints at the door.
- **Integrity**:We do what we say we do.
- **Accountability**:We take personal responsibility for our actions.
- **Love**:Leading with kindness, we love those around us enough to have truthful conversations.
- **Light**:Above all else, we choose to live lightly.

Native Shoes strives to embody each of these words in all aspects of our brand. We engage in a fast paced, ever-evolving working environment with plenty of room for innovative thinking — encouraging honesty and challenge in a comfortable workplace. If any of the above words resonate with you, this is the place to be.

**Who is Native looking for?**

Native Shoes is looking for a contract Product Merchandising Coordinator to ensure Native Shoes delivers the high quality and creative product offering that the consumer expects from the brand each season. This role will drive the execution of the product line plan, support the building of the assortment strategy and be responsible for ensuring product is buy ready, profitable and high quality. The role spans business acumen, consumer research, line planning, development and production oversight. This role is driven by curiosity and creative exploration, thrives in uncertainty while mitigating risks and recognizes iterative failure as a tool for progress and innovation.

**What would I be responsible for?**
- Support the product triad (Design, Development, and Merchandising) through the Design & Development process detail orientation, timely feedback and strong cross functional communication.
- Build strong and trusting relationships with Design, Planning, Development and Leadership to have candid dialogue and to make timely decisions.
- File maintenance with respect to keeping documents update to reflect status of the seasonal collections. Adds, cancellations, changes requested, etc.
- Support over-seas suppliers with Product Development tracking reports to keep all teams on track and aware of critical deadlines.
- Manage, order, and log samples including physical sample organization, tracking, and shipping (in office) and initial reviews with Design.
- Check colors, printing/films/sample trials in collaboration with Design and record comments/revisions to be sent back to factories.
- Fitting / Fit Reports /Wear testing - In conjunction with design, fit and record all new products, scheduling fitters and when necessary, wear testing.
- Support the margin process each season by focusing on detailed briefs, completed information to the factory partners, working closely with Design, Development, and Planning teams. Set target costs. Align with PMM and Planning to set pricing on new styles and ensure pricing ladder consistency.
- Systems uploads and maintenance related to Product data and SKU set-up.
- Work with downstream partners to understand the needs of the sales and marketing teams and take steps toward smooth handovers to the later stages of the calendar.
- Confidently flex from strategy to detail daily as the calendar moments require.
- Proactively highlight challenges and propose solutions. There must be a deep sense of responsibility to reach out to critical partners through the process to share information and solicit feedback that can inform the line plan and assortment plan while ensuring successful delivery to the consumer.
- Package technical documentation for production including product specs and packaging.
- General admin support.

**Preferred Experience**
- Vancouver-based, able and willing to work from HQ approximately once a week or as seasonal development work requires.
- Advanced knowledge of Excel, Word, Powerpoint
- Experience with PLM systems is a plus
- Experience with Adobe (Illustrator, Photoshop, InDesign) is a plus
- Attention to detail, accuracy and timeliness is essential.
- Strong analytical and problem-solving abilities.
- Ability to work independently and as part of a team, with mínimal supervision.
- Excellent verbal and written communication skills
- Strong organizational and time management skills
- Able to lift large boxes up to 25lbs

We are an equal opportunity employer and value diversity. All employment is decided on the basis of qualifications, merit and business need.