Do you love to make things? Do you have experience bringing production batches to life in the real world? Do you want to do this for a company that makes fun and beautiful products with incredible partners around the world?
ABOUT
Hazel Village makes organic cotton stuffed animal dolls and premium quality doll clothing and accessories. We sell primarily through our website to a devoted audience of families and collectors, at a rate of approximately 25 product launches a year. To produce our products, we maintain close relationships with social enterprises and small producers. We’re proud of our product quality and proud to make our products “with care for the earth and the worker”. We have the same core values as the woodland creatures of Hazel Village: we are resourceful, clever, jolly, diligent, and gentle.
THE OPPORTUNITY
Hazel Village is looking for someone to join our creative and industrious team. This position will work closely with the creative team to guide our tiny and beautiful handmade products through the development, production, and QC processes. We count on you to get the things made!
Some of the key responsibilities of this position include:
- Move new and core products through the development, production, and QC processes, working closely with our suppliers and the design team.
- Create and maintain documentation of products in development, sufficient to communicate with suppliers and keep our team informed internally.
- Stay organized with supplier communication and timelines for up to 75 products in various stages of development and production.
- Collaborate with the other directors (Creative, Operations, Marketing) to make business decisions about what to sell, when, for how much.
- Understand our full and evolving range of handicrafts and production processes, sufficient to specify clearly to our suppliers and engage in robust troubleshooting.
- A partial list of current processes: cut and sew toys and doll clothes, hand weaving, hand knitting, woodworking, offset printing, wet felting, and several styles of embroidery.
- Proactively build expertise in new or unknown craft areas as needed - we know you’re not a wizard but we need you to be curious!
- Maintain mutually sustainable working relationships with key small producers and social enterprises in Peru, Colombia, Cambodia, Nepal, and India. Engaging in negotiations regarding quality, price and capacity.
- Keep the producer network healthy by scouting for new suppliers that meet our needs.
- Manage our product-based regulatory needs: CPSIA testing program, clearing inbound shipments through customs, product labeling requirements.
IDEAL QUALIFICATIONS
- Expertise and wide-ranging interest in textile crafts, with curiosity to build on this knowledge continuously
- Experience with craft production at scale in the working world - ideally 5 years experience in a related field
- Experience working cross-culturally and collaborating with cross functional partners
- Ability to efficiently prioritize multiple tasks and stay organized
- Must possess negotiation skills
- Strong understanding of product integrity, fabric construction, the product life cycle & business calendars
- Knowledge and ability to stay on top of trade regulations and testing protocols
- Strong communication and interpersonal skills
- Comfortable working in an hybrid environment - working in office several days a week (based on the needs of the business) with occasional remote work from home.
- Comfortable traveling to visit suppliers 2-3 times a year.
Submit resume and cover letter to jobs@hazelvillage.com
In your cover letter please tell us what appeals to you about working at Hazel Village and which animal avatar you would pick for yourself.
Due to the level of responses we receive, we will not be following up with all applicants directly but if we feel you are a good fit, we will follow up within 7 days. Thank you for your application.