CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER (COO)

SBH Fashion; New York (NY); On-site; USD 350,000 - 400,000; Full time

Job summary

SBH Fashion is seeking a Chief Operating Officer to drive day-to-day operations across sourcing, production, supply chain, and fulfillment. The COO will partner with the CEO to scale the business while maintaining vendor relationships, customer satisfaction, and operational excellence.

The ideal candidate has 10+ years in apparel operations leadership, with hands-on experience in manufacturing, inventory management, and cross-functional leadership.

Qualifications

• 10+ years of operational leadership within apparel, consumer products, or fashion.
• Proven experience managing sourcing, production, supply chain, logistics, and inventory operations.
• Strong vendor management, financial acumen, and budgeting capabilities.
• Experience scaling operational infrastructure in a growth environment.
• MBA preferred or equivalent advanced degree.

Responsibilities

• Oversee sourcing, production, warehousing, logistics, customer fulfillment, and planning.
• Develop and implement scalable strategies that enable growth, profitability, and operational excellence.
• Build systems, processes, and KPIs to improve efficiency, accountability, and execution across departments.
• Lead cross-functional coordination between sales, production, design, planning, finance, and customer support.
• Drive cost reduction, lead-time improvements, and continuous improvement initiatives.

Skills

Operational leadership

Sourcing

Production

Supply chain

Vendor management

Cross-functional leadership

Budgeting

KPIs

Strategic planning

ERP/WMS

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Business/Operations

MBA preferred

Tools

ERP/WMS systems

Job description

Job Title: Chief Operating Officer (COO)

Privately owned, children’s apparel company is seeking a strategic, execution-focused Chief Operating Officer (COO) to lead and optimize the company’s day-to-day operations across sourcing, production, supply chain, logistics, customer fulfillment, planning, and operational infrastructure. The COO will partner closely with the CEO and leadership team to scale the business efficiently while maintaining strong vendor relationships, operational excellence, and customer satisfaction.The ideal candidate is a hands-on apparel operations leader with deep experience in manufacturing, sourcing, inventory management, and organizational leadership within the apparel or consumer goods industry.

Key Responsibilities

Operational Leadership

• Oversee all daily operations across sourcing, production, supply chain, warehousing, logistics, customer service, and fulfillment.
• Develop and implement operational strategies that support company growth, profitability, and scalability.
• Build systems, processes, and KPIs to improve efficiency, accountability, and execution across departments.
• Lead cross-functional coordination between sales, production, design, planning, finance, and customer support teams.
• Drive continuous improvement initiatives focused on cost reduction, lead-time improvement, and operational excellence.

Supply Chain & Production Management

• Manage domestic and international sourcing and manufacturing relationships.
• Oversee production calendars, inventory planning, forecasting, and order fulfillment.
• Ensure quality control standards and on-time delivery performance are consistently met.
• Negotiate with factories, vendors, freight providers, and operational partners.
• Identify opportunities to diversify sourcing, reduce risk, and improve margins.

Financial & Business Performance

• Partner with finance leadership on budgeting, forecasting, inventory management, and operational planning.
• Monitor operational KPIs including margin performance, inventory turns, production efficiency, fill rates, and customer service metrics.
• Improve operational profitability through better planning, vendor management, and process optimization.
• Support strategic initiatives including acquisitions, integrations, system implementations, and expansion opportunities.

Team Leadership

• Recruit, mentor, and develop high-performing operational teams.
• Foster a culture of accountability, collaboration, ownership, and execution.
• Establish organizational structure and reporting processes to support future growth.
• Lead performance management and succession planning within operations teams.

Strategic Planning

• Work with executive leadership to define and execute long-term business strategy.
• Serve as an internal operational leader responsible for aligning teams, driving accountability, and ensuring organizational priorities are executed effectively across the company.
• Develop and manage company-wide operational roadmaps for key corporate initiatives, process improvements, systems implementations, and strategic growth projects.
• Partner cross-functionally with department leaders to establish timelines, milestones, and measurable outcomes for enterprise initiatives.
• Help scale infrastructure, systems, and operations to support growth across wholesale, retail, ecommerce, and licensing channels.
• Evaluate operational technology and ERP/WMS solutions to improve visibility and decision-making.
• Serve as a key executive leader in company-wide planning and strategic decision-making.

QualificationsRequired Experience

• 10+ years of operational leadership experience within apparel, uniforms, fashion, textiles, or consumer products.
• Proven experience managing sourcing, production, supply chain, logistics, and inventory operations.
• Strong understanding of apparel manufacturing, vendor management, and production calendars.
• Experience scaling operational infrastructure in a growing business environment.
• Demonstrated ability to lead cross-functional teams and improve organizational performance.
• Strong financial acumen and experience managing operational budgets and KPIs.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with school uniforms, childrenswear, or licensed apparel categories.
• Experience with international sourcing and factory management.
• Familiarity with ERP, inventory management, and operational planning systems.
• M&A integration or operational transformation experience.
• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Supply Chain, Operations, or related field; MBA preferred.

Salary $350,000- $400,000 + 35% bonus