Associate Vice President, Manufacturing Excellence

GENERAL SUMMARY:

This leadership role provides strategic direction for the Manufacturing Excellence function, transforming strategic vision into actionable initiatives that elevate production capabilities and efficiency. The role is responsible for driving manufacturing innovation, machinery development, digitalization, and developing company standard manufacturing concept, in alignment with Victoria’s Secret’s global strategies. This position reports to the Vice President, Manufacturing Excellence & Production Engineering.

RESPONSIBILTIES:

Strategic Leadership

• Develop and execute strategies to elevate production capabilities and operational excellence across the vendor network. This includes providing insights on global manufacturing trends, emerging technologies, and exploring operational opportunities.

• Partner with the VP of Manufacturing Excellence & Production Engineering in driving continuous improvement and ensuring alignment with performance and cost goals.

• Lead and develop a high-performing team across multiple countries, fostering collaboration and accountability.

Manufacturing Excellence & Capability Development

• Lead initiatives in manufacturing innovation, driving process optimization by introducing innovative techniques and emerging technologies to enhance efficiency and reduce lead times.

• Drive machinery development programs, including evaluation, adoption, and optimization of equipment to meet evolving product and speed requirements. Collaborate with vendors and technical experts on delivering measurable improvements in cost, quality, and agility through elevation of machinery.

• Develop and implement initiatives to enhance vendor production capabilities. It may involve evaluating vendor performance, identifying areas for improvement, and collaborating on technical specifications and process flows to achieve higher quality and throughput.

• Develop a strategic roadmap for manufacturing digitalization. Drive the implementation of tools and systems that enable real-time visibility and predictive analytics for performance optimization. Oversee deployment of automation, robotics, and AI-driven solutions to optimize production workflows.

• Develop and implement a standard manufacturing concept that will support future VS&Co’s business goals in cost, speed, agility and quality.

• Establish metrics and dashboards to monitor operational performance, identify gaps, and drive improvement initiatives.

• Keep track of vendors’ performance, capacity, lead time and future expansion plan, and unlock any capacity constraints required for manufacturing.

• Leverage industry knowledge and experience to enhance manufacturing excellence and maintain updated technical knowledge of the latest techniques and methods available.

Collaboration & Influence

• Build strong relationships and collaborate effectively with internal cross-functional teams and external partners to optimize workflows and resolve issues.

• Represent Manufacturing Excellence function in global forums and contribute to enterprise-wide initiatives.

• Direct, mentor, and coach team members. Set goals, manage performance

• Bachelor’s degree in Manufacturing Engineering, Industrial Engineering or related field.

• 20+ years of experience in lingerie/apparel manufacturing.

• Strong understanding of global manufacturing systems, supply chain dynamics, and regulatory compliance.

• Familiar with digital manufacturing tools.

• Exceptional leadership, influencing, and negotiation skills with the ability to develop talent and build high-performing teams.

• Proven track record of managing multi-country teams and delivering results in a global supply chain environment.

• Ability to navigate complex cultural and business environments across multiple markets.

• Detail-oriented, results-driven, and strong organizational skills.