Fashion On Demand Jobs | BoF

Companies that rushed to hire in the virtual world are less inclined to hire for those roles as they face a potentially very real recession.

Across all industries, job postings with “metaverse” in the title fell 81 percent between April and June, Bloomberg reported, citing a study by workplace consultancy Revelio. Fashion is no exception: while brands are still launching many web3 and metaverse projects, the overall enthusiasm seems to have faded along with NFT and cryptocurrency prices.

Fashion brands mostly still rely on external partners to build their virtual storefronts and fashion shows. But as more companies – Puma, Adidas, Kenzo and Gucci among them – create brand channels on Discord, a messaging platform popular with early web3 adopters, there may be a need for online staff in roles such as community managers and, eventually, some virtual vendors. , experts say.

But these days, the priority in hiring is for roles that will help companies navigate short-term uncertainty, whether it’s navigating supply chain jitters, new environmental regulations or changing demands from socially conscious consumers.

Diversity and inclusion managers and environmental, social and governance consultants, once rare in fashion, are growing fields, especially in large companies. The most traditional positions in supply chain and human resources are evolving rapidly.

“Companies are starting to get that bent of ‘What roles and skills are going to drive the long-term strategy for us and also get us through some economic uncertainty,'” said Lisa Butkus, a partner with Hanold Associates and retail leader. and luxury goods practice.

Here, BoF breaks down the in-demand fashion jobs of the moment.

Environmental, social and governance (or ESG) compliance.

For most of the past two decades, ESG was an increasingly important but vaguely defined topic. Each company had their own ideas on how to prioritize issues related to their environmental impact and human rights.

Governments in North America and Europe are introducing a growing number of laws aimed at curbing abusive practices in the fashion supply chain and putting real teeth behind environmental standards. In the US, the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA), which took effect in June, bans goods produced with forced labor in China’s Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region from entering the US. In the UK, the Competition and Markets Authority in July launched an investigation into sustainability claims made by fast fashion brands Boohoo, Asos and British supermarket chain Asda’s clothing label George.

Fashion brands are scrambling to hire lawyers for their in-house teams who specialize in areas such as international law and environmental shipping regulations, said Sara Orr, a partner at Kirkland & Ellis LLP in Chicago, who specializes in the environment. , social and governance.

Whether internal or external, legal counsel can advise on ESG reporting and disclosure requirements, conduct litigation risk analysis, help guide the response to shareholder activism, and can point to potential human rights issues. or environmental risks in the supply chain. Companies looking to increase their ESG expertise also add key people in HR, communications, marketing and other areas to address the legal team’s recommendations, Orr said.

Currently, Authentic Brands Group, the parent company of Nautica and Juicy Couture, is hiring an ESG director (for LinkedIn), PVH Corp. needs a senior director of ESG communications (according to its career page) and Saks Fifth Avenue is recruiting for a sustainability director post that requires a bachelor’s degree in environmental studies (per LinkedIn).

Supply Chain and Logistics

Ongoing port congestion, product shortages, economic and geopolitical tensions, and heightened consumer expectations around fast shipping have helped propel supply chain—and the array of logistics, assortment, and operations roles that support the function—to the top of the priority list. for fashion companies.

“I can’t think of a more important role right now than supply chain leaders and operations leaders,” said Inna Kuznetsova, chief executive officer for ToolsGroup, a global supply chain planning and optimization firm.

Nordstrom named its first supply chain chief early last year, Revlon hired a new CSCO amid buzz in 2021, and luggage brand Away added its first chief operating officer that same year. All three companies emphasized the need to put the weight of the C-suite behind the growing logistics challenges.

“Before, when stores were the main driver of retail sales, supply chains were more of a back-office function,” said Kyle Rudy, a senior partner at executive recruiting firm Kirk Palmer Associates. “Globalization and technology have transformed it.”

Fashion companies are hiring for support roles such as operations managers, merchandising assortment planners, shipping and logistics specialists and pricing and promotions specialists, Kuznetsova said.

Employment of supply chain (or logistics) management professionals is expected to grow by 30 percent from 2020 to 2030, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. Kate Spade is currently hiring for a materials development coordinator and materials manager (for BoF careers), Under Armor needs a senior materials developer for apparel and accessories (per its careers page), Luxottica is hiring for a supply chain analyst (via CareerBuilder) and Gucci needs a VP of supply chain, according to its career website.

Positions that can help companies boost a company’s sustainability efforts — such as materials and product developers — are also getting new attention, said Janou Pakter, founder of New York-based executive search firm Janou LLC.

“We constantly see where people are getting awards for working with amazing new sustainable materials,” she said. “[Being able to source] these materials and all these different fabrics—they’re extremely hot and important.”

Human Resources and Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

New employee expectations around flexibility, remote working and employer-supported mental wellbeing, together with consumer demands for organizations to have progressive policies that prioritize areas such as diversity and inclusion and social responsibility, have all helped to ‘made the roles and responsibilities of human resources more complicated – and in demand – than ever before.

The upheavals of the past two years, including the pandemic, economic uncertainty, social justice protests and the so-called Great Recession, have revealed that some senior HR leaders “may not be as agile as the world needs right now,” he said. Rudy.

The result has been high turnover among senior executives, but also new opportunities for companies to “improve” their human resources departments and prioritize candidates who are “agile and diverse,” he added.

Hiring needs range from senior HR executives to generalists and coordinators, with Gucci currently hiring for a “people operations coordinator,” Balenciaga seeking an HR generalist, according to LinkedIn, and Kering eyewear recruiting for a HR manager for North America, according to its career website.

When it comes to the DEI function specifically, fashion companies—from Kering to PVH Corp. to Nike and Lululemon—have added diversity leaders to their C-suites over the past two to four years. But the chief diversity officer role itself has become controversial due to high turnover and complaints that these leaders are often overworked and under-resourced.

Facing new pressures to put greater resources behind DEI goals, companies are beginning to supplement their DEI function – giving DEI leaders more resources to hire and groom junior and middle managers and directors, who can help handle the complexity of the function, Butkus said. .

Companies like J.Crew and Tiffany & Co. have recently added diversity managers. Condé Nast is currently looking for a director of diversity and inclusion, Farfetch is looking for a senior manager of diversity and inclusion, and Nike is hiring a business diversity and inclusion analyst, according to LinkedIn.