Product Technician/Developer Job Description

Please contact harry@cultivatecornwall.com or phone 07415981988 if you need assistance with your application or want to apply by phone, email, or other means. This role is funded by the National Lottery Community Fund
Job title: Product Technician/Developer
Location: Portreath Retail Park
Hours of work: 19 hours a Week
Flexible Working: The exact hours and locations of your work may vary including working weekends and evenings and in different locations, based on the needs of the organisation. You must be flexible, mainly working from the Portreath Studio, however, we will be offering some opportunities for flexible working. 
Salary: £1,108.33 per month
Holidays: 6 weeks + 14.5 hours (totalling 128.5 hours) including company and bank holidays
Probationary Period: 3 Months
Length of contract: Temporary – 12 months
Responsible to: Harry Deacon – CO-CEO (Cultivate Cornwall CIC)
Responsible for: Varied (as appropriate), including volunteers and contractors
Start date: 10/01/2022

Company Description

Founded in 2016, Cultivate Cornwall C.I.C  provides a diverse range of projects that support the communities needs. Cultivate Cornwall is an award winning business that is helping stimulate a circular economy. We have a small team that works in an agile way to continue to meet the changing needs of our communities across Cornwall and beyond. Our Vision is to support and build communities that work for the planet. Our mission is to reimagine society where great ideas and people grow side by side.

In your role you will be working on secondment with Upcycle Kernow CIC, a social enterprise  that has been raising sustainability awareness in Cornwall since 2017, generating a creative, resilient community, offering a variety of upcycling, repair and reuse workshops combining creative arts and traditional skills with usable waste often taking their repair cafes, workshops and creations to various events, festivals, town squares.

Project Description

The Product Technician/Developer will be working on a collaborative project that brings together Cultivate Cornwall and Upcycle Kernow with the University of Exeter. The project aims to stimulate the growth of the sustainable textile and fashion industry in Cornwall, working closely with local businesses, communities, universities and councils. Activities will include fashion workshops to help people to reduce their environmental impact when buying clothes, community engagement events to introduce the project to new audiences and clothing swap events. While taking a collaborative approach to apply stronger monitoring and evaluation processes to our current and future work, providing a strong evidence base to support the roll out of activities to other areas.

Job Description

The Product Technician/Developer will play a vital role in developing and delivering the TeX Innovation project. The role will include opportunities to shape and develop new approaches and solutions to the challenges faced in the fashion and textiles industry. As the role will be varied it is suited to someone who is adaptable and willing to get stuck in, applying problem solving skills to make it happen.

You will use your growing experience to contribute throughout all stages including conception, development, design, delivery and monitoring of the TeX Innovation project. In this role you will work with senior and project staff sharing your knowledge and experience to support decision making, best practices and our company projects. This role provides an exciting opportunity for a person with experience of product development to develop and progress the work of TeX across a range of different areas. 

The postholder will be involved in developing systems that support the TeX Innovation project in the areas of manufacturing and product development. You will oversee the development of product technical specifications and ensure best practices are met through designing quality, environmentally responsible products. The post holder will also be expected to lead on innovation by applying their knowledge across the organisation and ensuring it thinks creatively and imaginatively as we develop new solutions for industry. 

Key Duties and Responsibilities

• Communicate professionally with clients, stakeholders, the community and the project team. 
• Sewing - alter, mend, modify and construct garments and other articles according to specifications and needs.
• Lead on the development of products contributing to the process of developing a product or enhancing existing products in order to meet customer needs. 
• Manage and develop systems including a fabric library and assist in the product design process, particularly through (although not limited to) developing technical product specifications and product patterns that can be used in production.
• Work collaboratively with our partners to measure the environmental impacts of the products we create and solutions we provide.
• Support the TeX studio production and manufacturing activities; improve manufacturing productivity and to reduce lead times of the product reaching the fashion or retail company.

• ​Assist in development of studio policies, ensuring a safe environment whilst maintaining high standards.
• Ensure tasks meet delivery deadlines, budgets and project KPIs. 
• ​Contribute to project reviews and help oversee project closure and lessons learned.
• Contribute to project administration and ensure information including data protection, budgets, impact measuring etc. is appropriately filled and maintained.
• Continuously share learning to help shape future processes and support others through our reflection events and team dialogue.

• Provide general support for the project and it’s team as otherwise required.       

PERSON SPECIFICATION

​We are supportive of learning and skills development and therefore are open to candidates from a range of backgrounds. Importantly, we’re looking for someone who has a real passion to lead change and drive sustainability in the Fashion and Textiles Industry. Some of the key attributes we are looking for are detailed below;

Attributes
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Education / Qualifications


Experience / Knowledge


















Skills / Personal Requirements

ESSENTIAL REQUIREMENTS

Undergraduate degree in fashion and/or textiles.

​IT literate and proficient with common applications such as MS Office, web-based applications and CRM systems.

You should have previous experience/knowledge of the fashion and/or textiles industry.

Sewing in a commercial/industrial environment.

Experience in product development.

You should be an excellent communicator who is energetic, creative, driven, and an inspiration for our community with a proactive and positive approach. Applying excellent critical and creative thinking and analytical skills to support problem-solving.

Highly motivated with the ability to work under your own steam but also as an effective team member.

Able to follow processes and maintain high standards while multitasking and manage multiple priorities under pressure, in a high volume, fast-paced work environment.

Enthusiastic and positive, with the ability to set and meet long-term and short-term goals and deadlines while also being adaptable and welcoming to changing priorities.

DESIRABLE REQUIREMENTS

Driving Licence 


Understanding and appreciation of the many complex issues surrounding community development.

Experience in manufacturing.

Experience in impact recording and measuring. 


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