Head of Fit & Digital Product Creation

Job Title Head of Fit & Digital Product Creation
Reports To Director of Product Sustainability & Quality
Team Quality
Location Arthur Ryan House, Dublin
Job Type (Full-Time)

Primark is an international clothing retailer employing more than 70,000 colleagues across 16 countries in Europe and the US. Founded in Ireland in 1969 under the Penney’s brand, Primark aims to create maximum joy at minimum cost – less money and less impact on the planet. Primark continues to expand across new and existing markets with the aim of reaching 530 stores by the end of 2026. Every person impacts the culture at Primark. Our values: Caring (we always strive to put people first), Dynamic (we bravely push the boundaries to stay ahead) and Together (we learn more, laugh more and achieve more as a team) outline the behaviours we expect of our people as we work with each other, our customers, our suppliers and our partners. Let’s see what impact you can make!

Purpose of the Role:
We are seeking a dynamic, engaging and forward-thinking leader to drive Primark’s strategy on fit. This is a pivotal role to ensure that Primark’s strategy considers new markets, changes in global body shape and a move to adopt technology to drive fit consistency. You will combine very strong and engaging leadership with deep technical knowledge, strategic foresight and 3rd party partnerships to build a globally scalable 3D fit framework. This will support speed to market, sustainability, consistency, and commerciality. As a business leader and subject matter expert in pattern development, grading and 3D fitting you will champion innovation in digital technology and embed robust technical standards across the business and our supply base.

Operating as both a strategic thought partner and hands on leader you will influence stakeholders at every level to ensure technical alignment and operational efficiency. You will influence stakeholders to measure and report on success and to overcome challenges along the way. You will be instrumental in reducing sampling costs, improving first-time fit, and enhancing the customer experience by driving a step change in how fit is delivered in a fast paced, value retail environment.

Duties & Responsibilities:
• Engage senior leadership across the Primark business and supply chain to engage and excite stakeholders on the benefits and advantages of onboarding technology within Primark fit processes, ultimately driving fit consistency.
• Drive and evolve Primark a robust strategy on fit, leveraging global data, customer insights and 3rd parties to ensure Primark fit is evolving with the market and global shifts in body shape.
• Thought leadership on evolution of Primark’s proposition, highlighting commercial opportunity as it moves into new markets and rolls out a wider product offer on click and collect platforms.
• Lead the implementation and advancement of new technologies and processes to establish a robust, market leading fitting function across all departments.
• Define and maintain technical fit standards tailored to the needs of our global retail markets.
• Collaborate closely with Quality, Design, Buying, leadership teams, supply chain partners and external partners to ensure alignment and consistency in core product fits.
• Oversee and maintain appropriate grading rules, ensuring they are simple to understand and use for both internal teams and suppliers.
• Build and manage a comprehensive global block library for all product departments, ensuring timely delivery of block details to support fast-paced product development.
• Lead the development of minimum make standards to drive consistency in garment construction aligned with value retail positioning.
• Ensure consistent use of standardised body dimensions across all apparel categories.
• Support the QA team in developing a self-sealing fit approval protocol.
• Champion the adoption and advancement of 3D fitting expertise and technologies across the business.
• Work cross-functionally with relevant stakeholders to ensure consistent and accurate application of the Pattern/Block Library across internal teams and suppliers.

Leadership & Collaboration
• Build strategic relationships with external partners to drive Primark’s strategy in the right direction.
• Share an engaging and inspiring vision with the business and supply chain and provide clarity and direction with clear plan of execution.
• Collaborate with senior leadership, engage and influence stakeholders in all relevant business areas.
• Build trust and credibility across Primark and develop strong internal networks and partnerships.
• Form strategic partnerships and productive working relationships with external partners, suppliers and vendors where relevant to achieve strategic objectives
• Build, manage and mentor a high performing team fostering a culture of collaboration and inclusion.
• Coordinate and facilitate seamless communication and collaboration among team members in different locations, ensuring efficient workflows and clear expectations.
• Work with many stakeholders across customer insights, brand along with the product teams.
• Implement inclusive leadership practices, embracing cultural differences and creating an environment where all voices are heard and valued.
• Generate enthusiasm and commitment within the team and across Primark to shared outcomes
• Prioritise and manage competing matters utilising a team approach whilst maintaining high and consistent standards
• Facilitate learning, ideas and information sharing across teams.

Knowledge, education, skills and experience:
• A minimum of 10 years of operating in a senior leadership capacity with a proven track record of building strategy and implementing and embedding changes in high volume global business.
• Proven track record of building strategy and implementing and embedding changes in high volume global business.
• Extensive technical expertise in pattern cutting, garment construction, sampling and fit development with a deep understanding of the end-to-end apparel development process.
• Proven track record and experience in 3D fitting processes and previous experience implementing and scaling these technologies within a global retail environment.
• Expert in blocks, grading and pattern development, with a strong grasp of technical standards required to deliver consistent, commercial fits across multiple markets.
• Proven ability to operate at both a strategic and tactical level, with the ability to shift between high level thinking and day to day detail.
• Experience in creating a high-performance culture through target setting, performance evaluation, and employee engagement. Strong leadership skills, with the ability to effectively coach, guide and mentor while ensure the team achieves its goals
• Demonstrated experience creating effective relationships across the business, with prior experience of relationship management at Executive levels. Proven ability to build relationships and influence at all levels of the business.
• Demonstrated ability in developing a culture that embraces innovation, and challenges existing paradigms without compromising business performance
• The ability to effectively manage complex tasks and prioritise multiple projects and competing priorities
• Outstanding written and interpersonal communication skills

Personal Attributes:
• Creates trusted relationship and collaborates across multi-functional teams to successfully drive business objectives
• Highly organised, possessing the ability to effectively prioritise
• Excellent planning and organisation skills, ability to multi-task, plan and prioritise work schedule for self and team and work within agreed timescales
• Effective and persuasive presentation skills, including the ability to present complex information in an understandable manner to all areas of the business
• Comfortable with complexity and ambiguity and confidently finding a new path or solution to problem solve in a changing environment
• Proven ability in managing sensitive matters whilst ensuring all Primark information remains confidential to the business
• Accuracy, attention to detail and a “can do” pro-active approach is essential
• Be a collaborative team player with excellent interpersonal/communication skills, while demonstrating high levels of emotional intelligence and possess the ability to push back with professionalism
• Operates with a high level of integrity, diplomacy, tact and professionalism.
• Ability to lead, influence and coach others
• Sound judgement, unquestionable ethics and integrity with high degree of transparency and trust