Senior Sourcing Specialist, Leather Raw Material and R&D Full Time

Ralph Lauren Corporation (NYSE:RL) is a global leader in the design, marketing and distribution of premium lifestyle products in five categories: apparel, accessories, home, fragrances, and hospitality. For more than 50 years, Ralph Lauren’s reputation and distinctive image have been consistently developed across an expanding number of products, brands and international markets. The Company’s brand names, which include Ralph Lauren, Ralph Lauren Collection, Ralph Lauren Purple Label, Polo Ralph Lauren, Double RL, Lauren Ralph Lauren, Polo Ralph Lauren Children, Chaps, among others, constitute one of the world’s most widely recognized families of consumer brands.

At Ralph Lauren, we unite and inspire the communities within our company as well as those in which we serve by amplifying voices and perspectives to create a culture of belonging, ensuring inclusion, and fairness for all. We foster a culture of inclusion through: Talent, Education & Communication, Employee Groups and Celebration.

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Responsible for driving RL’s leather material strategy, leading season ahead R&D innovation and seasonal concept development by aligning global R&D direction with vendor capabilities, ensuring material readiness, technical excellence, and continuous elevation of the leather supply base.

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Leather Raw Material & Skins Technical Management

Drives seasonal leather raw material in alignment to RM strategy , including macro’s(like to like skin cost season on season) , driving localization, approval of all new leather qualities while ensuring testing and master standards as part of SOP.

Manages tannery relationships and ensures full compliance to LWG with RL’s global standards on quality, sustainability, and traceability.

Manage & maintain leather master standard library – color & quality level in seasonal base and support production team for bulk color and qualities issues.

Drive technical system operations including T2/T3 mapping, VMS onboarding, MID creation, RM macros, inventory controls, BCCU movements, LWG tracker, and standardization frameworks.

R&D (Seasonal Research, Material Innovation & Vendor R&D Rooms)

Drive season ahead leather research and innovation, aligning new material development with Global R&D direction and seasonal strategy. Research and development of new leather qualities in close working with vendor partners & tannery .

Integrates seasonal leather menus (new hides, finishes, washes, textures, sustainability processes) and ensures full 360° vendor R&D room updates.

Works cross functionally to translate R&D outputs into vendor ready direction, ensuring concepts are commercially executable ahead of seasonal kickoff.

Concept / Design Development

Drive early stage in season concept development for leather products across multiple categories for in season development.

Translates brand direction and seasonal creative briefs into executable material and construction concepts working closely with Design , Vendor and Sourcing Development RLI team

Ensures material readiness in alignment with seasonal buy calendars and cross functional timelines and handover to sourcing team.

Leads cost negotiations for new leather developments, secures testing ,manages SMS delivery, costing/MOQ alignment, and updates all partners with accurate flash costing inputs.

Drives effective communication between internal teams and tannery/vendor partners to secure appropriate lead times and pricing that meet business objectives.

Proactively reviews and flags potential risks to NY counterparts, providing clear corrective recommendations ahead of seasonal milestones.

Supports troubleshooting of leather/skin issues, risk mitigation, quality escalations, and delivery challenges. Provides solutions for bulk leather quality issues to support smooth production

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• Degree or diploma in Leather Mandatory, Fashion Design or related field work experience preferred.
• 12-15 years related experience in buying office or global sourcing company is an advantage.
• Experience in leather manufacturing or raw material manufacturing for branded apparel.
• Leather knowledgeable, and with comprehensive knowledge of the end-to-end merchandising process.
• Proven Experience in leather new qualities development and deep understanding of leather testing parameters to close testing of new leather qualities.
• Proven experience in staff or tannery training, specific on quality / color/testing approval is a PLUS.
• Share a passionate interest in leather; visionary, highly proactive, fresh thinking, communicative, dots connecting and multi-tasking.
• High adaptability to changing business requirement and across functional team environment.
• Proficiency in using MS office & knowledge in PLM & VMS(Vendor Management System) is an advantage
• Fluency in both spoken and written English