We have an exciting opportunity for a sustainable fashion enthusiast to drive business development in our company’s purpose and vision to find innovative and relevant solutions for the crisis of stuff.

The Sustainability Research & Development Manager is responsible for planning, researching and delivering a range of solutions that will allow the company to profit from sustainable innovation in fashion and retail.

Bank & Vogue is a leading North American trader of second hand clothing processing over 36 million kilos of used apparel annually. The second arm of our business is Beyond Retro, a leading vintage clothing retailer with stores in the United Kingdom, Sweden and online. The third arm of our business is our accessories brand LABEL; Manufactured from reclaimed materials, LABEL aligns our passion for original design with a mounting concern for declining global resources.

We are committed recyclers dedicated to bringing large scale sustainable solutions to the fashion industry. You will play a key role in inventing and executing solutions that allow our core competencies to compete in the changing landscape of retail. Our aim is to be a leader in building a fashion community that celebrates uniqueness – from our product, to our customers, to our projects, stores and employees. 

BE A PART OF THE TEAM

You will be joining a unique creative hub at our central London (N1) office, you’ll be encouraged to innovate, be open minded and original in an exciting autonomous role. You will be given the opportunity to help shape our business as we bring innovative sustainable fashion solutions to our industry partners. 

YOUR ROLE

The Sustainability Research & Development Manager is responsible for innovating, planning, researching and delivering a range of solutions and contacts that will allow the company to profit from sustainable innovation in fashion and retail.   

YOU WILL BE EXPECTED TO:

  • Identify opportunities to partner with other retailers to incorporate our services (i.e. reverse logistics, remanufacturing) in their existing supply chains 
  • Facilitate collaborations within the fashion industry and key verticals for co- branded and own label remanufacturing solutions 
  • Innovate, develop, secure and maintain partnerships and business opportunities that leverage our unique core competencies 
  • Maintain awareness of new initiatives in recycling and post-consumer waste solutions including tech innovations, chemical recycling innovations and sustainable initiatives, sustainable fashion, coalitions and funded projects. 
  • Attend industry events and network to grow brand awareness and opportunities. 
  • Assist new product department in making the most sustainable buying decisions: product filters, new vendor on-boarding, packaging, shipping, etc. 
  • Continue development of Revolution Range: Convert entire new product range to recycled/upcycled products, get vendors to incorporate upcycling into their supply chains and develop cost effective recycled product for our key categories, identify and facilitate wholesale opportunities for BR to sell Revolution Range to its wholesale customers 
  • Work with and assist wholesale sales team as required 
  • Develop and report against KPIs and budgetary requirements and generate recommendations based on project developments. 
  • Coordinate training materials and information to keep our staff knowledgeable on sustainable fashion. Champion the Purpose and Vision to store teams ensuring teams are confident to translate it to our customer. 
  • Work in close co-operation with marketing, press and social teams and develop communications strategies 
  • Manage community outreach placing emphasis on educational partners with emphasis on teaching/communicating our business models in efforts to harvest the next generation of talent for the business 
  • Lead and/or participate in recycling and sustainable fashion discussions/events with wider Beyond Retro community   


WORKING AT BEYOND RETRO

  • You will be eligible for a 50% discount in stores
  • Have the opportunity to contribute meaningfully to a company dedicated to providing a sustainable solution to fast fashion.
  • Be able to develop your skills with workshops provided by our in-house Learning & Development manager   


ABOUT YOU

  • A Minimum of 2 years of related experience in the UK and/or US market 
  • Have an established client list or ideas on how to grow our business 
  • Accessory and/or Apparel experience 
  • Entrepreneurial and proactive at building relationships 
  • Strong business development skills 
  • Proven ability to meet and exceed sales goals 
  • Excellent communication and presentations skills
  • Driven to accomplish goals and objectives as part of high energy team

Please forward your CV and cover letter outlining why you would be suitable for the role to [email protected]