Director Product Development - India Franchise

About the Role

What You'll Do

• Develop exclusive products for the local franchise market, and work in partnership with the Franchise Product teams in creating assortments that meet market-specific customer needs, grow market share, and are aligned to the overall brand strategy

• Build and strengthen strategic relationships with franchise partner and successfully collaborate across varied functions and levels with stakeholders to drive results and influence strategic sourcing direction

• Own end-to-end product development process for locally sourced products, from fabric development through to order placement, ensuring alignment with brand aesthetic, quality standards, and service level agreements.

• Develop and implement scalable processes that support product excellence, technical design, product integrity, and safety compliance.

• Influence vendor strategy and sourcing initiatives to drive responsive capabilities to support partner’s business needs for closer in-market decisions and replenishment

• Develop fabric strategy initiatives with partner to support responsive supply chain, differentiated market needs while aligning with global aesthetic and standards

• Partner closely with franchise business partner to monitor and influence local sourcing initiatives, ensuring timely product approvals and vendor onboarding.

• Serve as the primary liaison between partner, Gap Inc.’s strategic vendors and GIS leadership, facilitating domestic production to support key product initiatives tailored for the local market

• Support the design team in aligning locally sourced products with brand vision and quality expectations.

• Work with Sourcing central teams to ensure quality assurance, technical design, and compliance standards are met across all locally sourced products.

• Serve as a key member of the cross-functional leadership team, contributing to strategic planning and execution of growth initiatives.

Who You Are

• Previous experience in retail/apparel license and wholesale businesses

• 12+ years of experience, including significant apparel sourcing, fabric development, product development, and/or production experience

• Thrives in a highly collaborative environment, working with diverse cultures, and influencing people

• Exceptional analytical and problem-solving skills

• Strong project management and communication skills as well as ability to work successfully with peers, teams, and executives in a matrixed organization

• Strong change management, strategy, and operational experience

• Strong influencing skills to both internal and external stakeholders

• Strong oral, written and formal presentation skills including the ability to communicate complex ideas in a simple way

• Strong interpersonal skills, works well as a part of a cross-functional team and can influence and interact at all levels of the organization

• Ability to work in and bring structure to ambiguous environments