Senior Merchandiser
Talented Recruitment Specialists · Durban, KwaZulu-Natal
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Start free — we apply for you →- An exciting opportunity awaits an experienced Senior Merchandiser to join a leading supplier in the fashion industry!
- This is your chance to take the lead in product execution, drive strategic planning, manage teams, and ensure seamless delivery to global buyers.
- If you're a strong decision-maker with a passion for fashion, production, and delivering results, this could be the perfect next step in your career!
Duties and Responsibilities: Buyer Management & Strategic Communication:
- Owning complete communication with buyers
- Understanding buyer expectations, pricing targets, and compliance needs
- Leading PD meetings, costing discussions, and risk assessment
- Presenting solutions proactively to buyers for any deviation
Advanced Costing & Price Negotiation
- Reviewing costing sheets prepared by junior merchandisers
- Finalizing fabric, and margin structures
- Leading negotiations with suppliers and buyers to achieve profi table costing
- Approving bulk bookings within cost targets
T&A Planning & Critical Path Control
- Creating detailed T&A and ensuring strict adherence
- Risk-mapping processes fabric, trims, approvals, production
- Driving cross-functional coordination with factory, production, QA & logistics
- Escalating delays early with corrective action plans
Production & Quality Oversight
- Monitoring knitting, dyeing, printing, cutting, sewing, and finishing
- Reviewing inline quality reports and addressing root-cause issues
- Ensuring compliance to buyer standards AQL, physical testing
- Approving pre-production samples and production start-ups
Team Leadership & Training
- Guiding junior team member
- Allocating tasks, reviewing work accuracy, and ensuring skill growth
- Conducting weekly performance reviews and workload planning
- Building strong communication channels across departments
Supplier & Factory Coordination
- Maintaining strong relationships with factory , suppliers and customers
- Evaluating supplier capability, lead time, and performance
- Identifying new suppliers for cost efficiency and innovation
Shipment, Documentation & Post-Delivery
- Ensuring on-time shipment with 100% document accuracy
- Coordinating fi nal inspection, packing, labeling & compliance checks
- Managing claims, reworks, short shipments & buyer feedback
- Closing orders with margin analysis and learnings
The Senior Merchandiser ensures
- Profitability
- On-time delivery
- Zero communication gaps
- Quality assurance
- Strong team performance
- Smooth buyer relations