General Manager (Textiles) - Malaysia

VenTara Corp/Hi-Tech Fabrics; Johor Bahru; Remote; MYR 180,000 - 320,000; Full time

Job summary

VenTara Corporation/Hi-Tech Fabrics is expanding with a General Manager for the Malaysia Office. This senior, hands-on role requires launching operations, building a local team, and driving sourcing, QC, and logistics from Malaysia.

You will travel regionally to mills, negotiate terms, and report to North Carolina headquarters. The ideal candidate has 6+ years in Malaysian textile/apparel, strong leadership, and deep knowledge of export docs, with fluency in English and willingness to travel

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Textiles, Business Administration, Supply Chain, Engineering, or related field required.
• Minimum 6 years in Malaysian textile/apparel industry with leadership experience.
• Strong negotiation skills with mills; ability to manage pricing and delivery.
• Proven knowledge of export documentation, Malaysian customs, and shipping.
• Excellent English; Chinese/Malay languages a plus; travel frequently.
• Proficient in Microsoft Excel and Outlook; experience with ERP systems.

Responsibilities

• Launch, build, and run the Malaysia Office with entrepreneurial leadership.
• Travel across Malaysia to visit mills, develop fabrics, and source partners.
• Negotiate pricing, terms, lead times, and MOQs to protect margins.
• Coordinate shipping, logistics, and export documentation to HQ.
• Recruit, train, and scale QC, sourcing, and logistics teams.
• Report regularly to North Carolina HQ and maintain HQ relationships.
• Establish a local office setup including site selection and compliance.

Skills

Entrepreneurial drive

Leadership

Commercial acumen

Quality mindset

Self-direction

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Textiles, Business Administration, Supply Chain, Engineering, or a related field

Master’s degree (MBA or equivalent) is a plus

Tools

Microsoft Excel

Microsoft Outlook

ERP systems

Job description

Textile Experience Required

Location: Malaysia — home-based, but frequent travel within country.

Coverage region spans all of Malaysia.

Work Arrangement: Work-from-home initially, with heavy daily travel to mills and supplier locations. Office space will be established as the operation grows.

Department: Malaysia Branch Operations (New).

Reports To Senior Leadership, North Carolina Headquarters (USA).

Employment Type Full-Time.

Travel: Extensive in-region travel (most days of the week) to mills across Malaysia; occasional travel to North Carolina, USA.

About The Job

JOB DESCRIPTION

General Manager

Malaysia Office (New)

Textile Experience Required

Company Overview

Headquartered in North Carolina, USA, VenTara Corporation/Hi-Tech Fabrics is a trusted supplier of high-quality fabrics sourced from across the globe. We currently operate a established branch offices across Asia that handle quality control, sourcing, fabric development, and logistics for our mill base. We are now expanding into Malaysia to better serve our customers, build relationships with mills in the region, and broaden the range of fabrics we can offer. The General Manager of the new Malaysia Office will be the founding leader of this expansion.

Position Summary

The General Manager (GM) — Malaysia Office is responsible for launching, building, and running our presence in Malaysia. This is a senior, hands-on, entrepreneurial role for someone who is comfortable starting from a blank page. Day to day, the GM will travel across the region to visit mills, inspect fabric, negotiate pricing and terms, source new mill partners, develop new fabrics for our customers, coordinate shipping and logistics, and manage the office’s paperwork and finances. As the operation grows, the GM will hire and train staff, set up a physical office, and build out a full QC, sourcing, and logistics team mirroring our Surat operation. The GM reports directly to senior leadership at our North Carolina headquarters and acts as the company’s most senior representative in Malaysia.

Key Responsibilities

Mill Visits, Sourcing, and New Mill Development:

• Travel daily across Malaysia — with heavy activity in and around key textile hubs — to meet with mills.
• Identify, evaluate, and onboard new mills in the region that match our quality and capacity requirements.
• Build and maintain strong, professional relationships with mill owners, merchandisers, and production teams.
• Stay current on the Malaysian textile market, including capacity, capabilities, raw material trends, and competitive activity.

Quality Control And Fabric Inspection

• Personally inspect fabric at the mill against company and customer quality standards, especially in the early stages before a local QC team is in place.
• Identify quality issues quickly and drive resolution with the mill, including reinspection, rework, claims, and corrective action plans.
• Establish and document QC processes, checklists, and reporting standards for the Malaysian operation.

Price Negotiation And Commercial Terms

• Negotiate fabric pricing, payment terms, lead times, and minimum order quantities with mills to protect margin and ensure on-time delivery.
• Track raw material trends (cotton, yarn, dyes), currency movements, and market conditions, and use them to inform negotiations and customer pricing.
• Ensure all commercial commitments are documented and communicated clearly to North Carolina headquarters.

Bulk Production Monitoring And Order Status

• Monitor bulk production at the mills to ensure all orders progress on schedule and meet the required quality standards and quantities.
• Visit mills regularly to review order status and production progress firsthand, and to address any issues directly on the ground.
• Communicate frequently with the mills on order status, flagging any delays or concerns early and driving timely resolutions to keep customer deadlines on track.

Fabric Development:

• Work directly with mills and customers to develop new fabrics — from initial concept and lab dips through sampling and commercial production.
• Coordinate construction, finishing, and testing requirements with mills to meet customer specifications.
• Manage development timelines so that customer deadlines are consistently met.

Shipping, Logistics, And Documentation

• Coordinate booking, container loading, export documentation, and on-time shipment of orders from Malaysia to the United States and other destinations.
• Work with freight forwarders, shipping lines, and customs agents to control costs and resolve delays.
• Ensure full compliance with Malaysian export regulations, customs requirements, and applicable trade documentation.

Office Administration, Paperwork, And Finance

• Manage paperwork and financial records for the Malaysian operation.
• Maintain accurate records and submit timely reports to North Carolina headquarters.
• Help establish a physical office in Malaysia when the operation reaches the right scale, including site selection, lease, setup, and basic infrastructure.
• Ensure the operation runs in full compliance with Malaysian labor, tax, and corporate regulations.

Reporting, Communication, And Tools

• Build, complete, and maintain regular reports in Microsoft Excel covering inspections, shipments, mill activity, quality issues, costs, and other key metrics.
• Manage email correspondence professionally through Microsoft Outlook with mills, customers, and the North Carolina team.
• Provide regular operational, quality, and commercial updates to headquarters via written reports, calls, and video meetings.
• Be responsive across time zones — Malaysia and U.S. East Coast — with reliable communication.

Hiring, Training, And Team Building

• Hire, onboard, and train new employees as the operation grows, including QC inspectors, sourcing staff, and logistics coordinators.
• Set clear performance expectations and develop the team into a high-performing branch office.
• Build a culture of accountability, integrity, professionalism, and continuous improvement from day one.

Problem Solving And General Leadership

• Act as the senior decision-maker on the ground in Malaysia, escalating to North Carolina headquarters when appropriate.
• Anticipate and resolve issues across quality, production, logistics, finance, and customer service quickly and professionally.
• Represent the company’s values, brand, and standards in every interaction with mills, vendors, and customers.

Qualifications

Required:

• Bachelor’s degree in Textiles, Business Administration, Supply Chain, Engineering, or a related field. A Master’s degree (MBA or equivalent) is a plus.
• Minimum of 6 years of progressive experience in the Malaysian textile and/or apparel industry, with at least 5 years in a leadership role.
• Strong working knowledge of Malaysian Mills.
• Deep technical understanding of woven and/or knitted fabrics, mill operations, and quality control standards used by U.S. and international buyers.
• Proven experience negotiating with mills on price, payment terms, and delivery.
• Solid understanding of export documentation, Malaysian customs, and international shipping from Malaysia.
• Strong working knowledge of Microsoft Excel (formulas, pivot tables, basic data analysis) and Microsoft Outlook.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English; working knowledge of Chinese and Malay strongly preferred.
• Valid driver’s license and willingness to travel extensively across Malaysia most days of the week.

Preferred

• Prior experience working with U.S. or European buying offices, importers, or brands.
• Experience opening or building out a new branch office, sourcing office, or QC operation.
• Familiarity with fabric testing standards (AATCC, ASTM, ISO) and common third-party testing labs.
• Comfort with ERP systems and modern collaboration tools (Microsoft Teams, OneDrive, SharePoint, etc.).

Core Competencies

• Entrepreneurial Drive: Comfortable building from scratch — owning a region, a P&L, and the long-term plan.
• Leadership: Inspires confidence with mills, customers, and future team members; leads by example.
• Commercial Acumen: Strong negotiator with sound judgment on pricing, margin, and risk.
• Quality Mindset: Holds mills to a high standard with no shortcuts.
• Self-Direction: Operates independently with minimal supervision while keeping HQ well informed.