About the Company
A leading creative agency is looking for a Head of Merchandising & Production to lead the end-to-end delivery of branded merchandise and physical assets for their clients. You'll bridge the gap between creative vision and tangible execution, managing vendor relationships, production workflows, and quality control while keeping projects on budget and on time.
About the Role
What you'll do:
- Own the full production cycle for merchandise and promotional materials, from sourcing and sampling to final delivery
- Build and manage relationships with manufacturers, printers, and specialty vendors across apparel, packaging, signage, and promotional products
- Partner with creative teams to translate brand concepts into producible, cost-effective physical goods
- Negotiate pricing, lead times, and terms with suppliers to optimize quality and budget
- Establish and enforce quality standards, conducting pre-production approvals and final inspections
- Manage production timelines across multiple concurrent projects, flagging risks early and solving problems fast
- Track budgets, vendor invoices, and inventory for merchandise programs
- Stay current on production methods, sustainable materials, and emerging manufacturing capabilities
- Lead a small production team and collaborate daily with account, creative, and strategy departments
Qualifications
- 4+ years in production, merchandising, or procurement (ideally in an agency, brand, or retail environment)
Required Skills
- Deep knowledge of apparel decoration, print production, packaging, and promotional product manufacturing
- Proven ability to manage complex vendor networks and negotiate favorable terms
- Strong project management skills with experience juggling multiple timelines and stakeholders
- Eye for quality and detail. You know what good looks like and how to get there
- Comfortable working in a fast-paced, deadline-driven creative environment
- Excellent communication skills and a collaborative, solutions-oriented mindset
- Familiarity with sustainable and ethical sourcing practices is a plus
