Sourcing & Quality Manager, China

About the Role

Poppy & Peonies is looking for an experienced Sourcing & Quality Manager to join our growing team in China. This role will be based in the Guangzhou area and will work closely with our handbag suppliers, with a particular focus on supplier management, quality assurance, quality control, and compliance.

This is a highly hands-on role. The ideal candidate has strong handbag manufacturing experience, understands the full product lifecycle from development through production, and is comfortable being on the factory floor working directly with suppliers to identify issues, drive solutions, and ensure products meet Poppy & Peonies' quality and compliance standards.

You will report to the Director of Global Sourcing and serve as a key on-the-ground partner to our sourcing and production team.

Key Responsibilities

Sourcing & Supplier Management

● Manage day-to-day relationships with handbag factories and key suppliers in the Guangzhou region.

● Partner with the Director of Global Sourcing on supplier selection, development, costing, negotiations, capacity planning, and production execution.

● Monitor supplier performance, including quality, delivery, responsiveness, and overall execution.

● Build strong relationships with factory management and become a trusted Poppy & Peonies representative on the ground.

● Identify opportunities to improve supplier performance, reduce costs, improve lead times, and strengthen manufacturing capabilities.

● Support new supplier identification and onboarding as the business grows.

Product Development & Production

● Partner with the sourcing and product teams on new handbag development, samples, materials, construction, and production readiness.

● Work closely with factories to identify and resolve product and manufacturing issues before they impact production.

● Monitor production progress and proactively flag risks to quality, cost, or timelines.

● Ensure suppliers understand Poppy & Peonies' product specifications and expectations.

● Help drive timely resolution of production issues and escalations.

Quality Assurance & Quality Control

● Own day-to-day QA/QC activities with assigned suppliers.

● Establish and maintain quality standards and inspection processes for handbags and related products.

● Conduct and/or coordinate factory inspections, inline inspections, pre-production checks, and final inspections.

● Identify quality issues, determine root causes, and work with suppliers on corrective and preventive actions.

● Track recurring quality issues and implement improvements with suppliers.

● Review inspection results and ensure suppliers take appropriate corrective action before shipment.

● Partner with the broader team to continuously improve product quality and reduce defects, returns, and customer complaints.

Compliance

● Ensure suppliers comply with Poppy & Peonies' quality, social compliance, product safety, and other applicable requirements.

● Support factory audits, compliance documentation, testing, certifications, and corrective action plans.

● Maintain accurate supplier compliance records and ensure required documentation is current.

● Escalate compliance risks promptly to the Director of Global Sourcing and relevant Poppy & Peonies stakeholders.

Reporting & Communication

● Provide regular updates on supplier performance, quality issues, production risks, and corrective actions.

● Maintain clear documentation and reporting on inspections, supplier issues, and compliance.

● Proactively escalate issues rather than waiting for problems to impact production or launch timelines.

● Serve as the communication bridge between Poppy & Peonies' North American team and our China-based suppliers.

What We're Looking For

● 5+ years of experience in handbag manufacturing, sourcing, production, or quality.

● Strong, hands-on experience working with handbags and/or accessories; handbag experience is strongly preferred.

● Experience in both Quality Assurance (QA) and Quality Control (QC).

● Strong understanding of factory production processes, materials, construction, workmanship, and common quality issues in handbags.

● Experience with supplier compliance, factory audits, product testing, and corrective action processes.

● Strong supplier relationship management skills and the ability to hold factories accountable.

● Comfortable working directly on the factory floor and traveling to supplier facilities as needed.

● Strong problem-solving skills and ability to identify root causes and drive issues to resolution.

● Highly organized with strong attention to detail.

● Strong sense of ownership, urgency, and follow-through.

● Excellent communication and interpersonal skills.

● Ability to work effectively with teams in China, Canada, and the U.S.

● Fluent Mandarin and strong English communication skills required.

What Success Looks Like

In this role, you will be successful when:

● Our suppliers consistently meet quality and delivery expectations.

● Quality issues are identified early, before they become production or customer issues.

● Suppliers are held accountable and corrective actions are followed through to completion.

● Poppy & Peonies has strong visibility into factory performance and production risks.

● Compliance requirements are consistently met and properly documented.

● The sourcing team has a reliable on-the-ground partner in Guangzhou who can move quickly when issues arise.

● Supplier relationships become stronger while expectations and accountability become higher.

Why This Role Matters

This is an important role for Poppy & Peonies as we continue to scale our sourcing organization in China. You'll have the opportunity to work closely with our suppliers and directly influence product quality, supplier performance, production timelines, and ultimately the customer experience.

The ideal person is not someone who simply reports problems — you are someone who sees a problem, gets to the factory floor, works with the supplier to find the root cause, and drives it through to resolution.