Material & Innovation Lead, H&M Sport

Company Description
At H&M Group, we believe in making great design available to everyone. It’s essential in everything we do. Our family of brands — H&M, COS, Monki, Weekday, & Other Stories, H&M Home, ARKET, Afound, Treadler and Itsapark — offer customers around the world a wealth of fashion, beauty, accessories and homeware, as well as modern menus with fresh and local produce at some of the brands’ in-store eateries.


About H&M SPORT
With H&M SPORT we see great potential for growth, both as a team as well as a brand. To be able to reach our goals we are recruiting for a strong culture that will be a key success factor in our future journey. In H&M SPORT we are BRAVE, we dare to try new things, we are bold in how we express ourselves and we never say no to a challenge. We want all our team members to feel that they BELONG. We always welcome new mindsets and cultures with great belief in that different perspectives are what will make our business and team successful. We care for each other and let everyone be exactly who they are. We love to SHARE, both insights and time. We celebrate together and we fail together – always open to learn from others. We have a true PASSION and belief in our teams, our brand, and our products. We have great dreams but always dare to dream even bigger, constantly ready to take the next step that will move us closer to our goals! We want a new talent to join our team as a role model and a representative of our H&M SPORT Culture.


Job Description
What will you do?
As the MATERIAL & INNOVATION LEAD for H&M SPORT, you will be responsible for the implementation of the (1) sustainable material roadmap as well as the (2) integration of innovative material technologies.
1. Sustainable Material Roadmap: You will co-create a customer-centric physical and digital material library with the goal of consolidation and standardization across all sports departments. You will secure the price, quality, duplication, sustainability, and availability of all materials.
2. Innovative Material Technologies: You will apply innovation and technologies systematically based on customer-centric value, analytical data, and supply chain capabilities. You will create meaningful growth opportunities through technical and commercial feasibility assessments.


Who will you work with?
You will be part of the Global Production Organization and partner closely with the H&M SPORT Head Office team. You will build meaningful relationships across several stakeholders throughout the H&M Group organization, such as Sustainability and Business Tech, to ensure successful launch and scale of the material & innovation strategy. You will act as a catalyst and coach people on the product teams to further expand their material and innovation skills and capabilities.


Qualifications
Who are you?
Ideally, you are an expert in performance fabrics and yarns with a background in textile science, research & development and/or production. You are a strategic thinker with the ability to lead the material & innovation strategy from design idea, to product development, purchasing and production. As a key member of the team, you must have strong communication and collaboration skills which will inspire and influence key speaking partners.
Extensive experience within field of textile science, R&D, development, or production
Experience in coordinating a cross-functional team
Experience in creating roadmaps and follow-up in a structured way
Passion for sportswear and understanding of performance products and customer focus
Agile entrepreneurial mindset and adaptable to fast changes in a start-up like environment
A flexible, positive, and inspirational team player
Excellent communication & presentation skills in English, written and verbal
Meriting 3-year education within fashion, textile, buying or sustainability; Mandatory textile, material & sustainability courses



Additional Information
H&M right for me?
People who are happy and do well at H&M tend to thrive on using their intuition and common sense. We might be the place of possible but we’re also the place of ambiguity and constant change. This is not a company for micro-managers or people who operate on autopilot. This is a company where your opinions will inform business decisions, so you need to enjoy making them heard, questioning how things work, and trying things that you might not be familiar with.
Consequently, we depend on teamwork. And we have a pretty high-tolerance for failure, provided you can show you’re learning. You can expect to take on new responsibilities and move around a bit, too, so this could be the start of a varied and rewarding career if that’s what you’re looking for. Beyond that, it’s really up to you. 70% of our people manager roles are hired from within, so there’s not much limit to how far you can go. All we ask is that you be yourself, take ownership of your work and your career goals, and go for it with everything you’ve got.


Thinking about applying?
If all of this sounds like it might be your kind of thing then you should definitely apply by 6 April, 2021. We’re more about personality and competence than qualifications, so don’t worry if your skills aren’t an entirely perfect match. If your CV is selected the HR team will invite you for a phone / video call, followed by a couple of interviews at one or more of our offices. If you have any query please knock Vetter Stephanie (Hiring Manager) or Shakib Rahman (HR)
H&M is committed to creating a Diverse & Inclusive environment and we are actively looking for qualified candidates irrespective of race, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, ethnicity, religion, national origin, disability or age.