Director, Global Supply Management
Description
Calling all originals: At Levi Strauss & Co., you can be yourself — and be part of something bigger. We're a company of people who like to forge our own path and leave the world better than we found it. Who believe that what makes us different makes us stronger. So add your voice. Make an impact. Find your fit — and your future.
Position Summary
The Director, Global Supply Management is a senior functional leader responsible for setting direction, establishing governance and delivering reliable in-season supply outcomes for assigned global portfolios. You will convert changing commercial requirements into possible supply commitments and lead enterprise-level trade-off decisions across demand, production capacity, materials, delivery, and responsiveness.
Beyond managing daily supply performance, the Director shapes the GSM operating model, builds decision mechanisms, sponsors planning and technology transformation, and develops organisational capability. You will operate in a global matrix, partnering with senior leaders across MPIM, Supply Planning, Merchandising, Sales, Sourcing, Manufacturing, Materials, Logistics, Finance and Technology.
Success requires deep supply-chain expertise, independent executive judgment, a proven record of transformation, the ability to influence without direct authority and a disciplined approach to leading a high-performing Bengaluru-based team.
1. Global In-Season Supply Strategy and Demand-Supply Governance
- Set the in-season GSM strategy, operating priorities and performance agenda for the assigned global portfolios, aligned with our goals.
- Lead global demand-supply reconciliation and establish a disciplined governance process for possible vendor-level, time-phased supply commitments.
- Anticipate supply constraints and commercial changes; direct scenario planning and recommend explicit service, speed, capacity and cost trade-offs.
- Establish decision rights, escalation thresholds and executive review mechanisms for supply choices.
- Represent GSM in S&OP interfaces and senior business forums, providing concise decision recommendations and clear accountability.
2. Supplier Capacity, Materials Readiness and Network Agility
- Provide senior oversight of supplier capacity agreement, RCCP, production feasibility, and material readiness in partnership with Product Development, Sourcing, Manufacturing, and Fabric teams.
- Shape cross-vendor capacity allocation and supply flexibility recommendations to respond to shifting our priorities.
- Sponsor plans to reduce lead times, improve material and production responsiveness, and strengthen the assigned supply network.
- Resolve material or capacity constraints requiring prioritisation or senior-leadership intervention.
- Ensure transparent assumptions, risks, milestones for critical supply commitments.
3. In-Season Execution and Business Continuity
- Lead the governance of in-season supply performance, supply confirmations, production readiness and delivery-risk resolution for assigned portfolios.
- Establish proactive risk identification, exception management and structured recovery processes across sourcing and execution partners.
- Lead resolution of the most consequential supply disruptions and direct escalation of issues affecting business-critical deliveries.
- Improve commitments, supply reliability, response speed and execution discipline.
- Ensure continuity through well-defined handoffs, process documentation and organisational resilience.
4. Global GSM Operating Model, Transformation and Analytics
- Define and guide a multiyear roadmap for GSM process, operating-model scalability and digital planning capability.
- Sponsor transformation plans to simplify planning cycles, standardise governance.
- Partner with Technology, Analytics and Planning on enterprise solutions, including o9, Boardwalk where applicable.
- Promote scenario-based management, data quality, exception-led workflows and decision-support dashboards.
- Establish benefit realisation, adoption measures and accountable owners for transformation plans; reduce reliance on individual expertise.
5. Executive Partnership and Enterprise Influence
- Be the senior GSM counterpart to leaders across MPIM, Supply Planning, Merchandising, Sales, Product Development, Sourcing, Manufacturing, Materials, Logistics, Finance and Technology.
- Shape decisions where commercial urgency, supplier constraints, and execution feasibility create priorities.
- Present strategic options and clear recommendations to the Vice President and other senior leaders, including possible effects and required decisions.
- Represent the function in senior operational and transformation forums and strengthen trust in GSM as a partner.
6. People Leadership, Succession and Organizational Capability
- Develop the Bengaluru GSM organisation, setting direction, performance standards and accountability.
- Build a leadership bench and succession pipeline; delegate operational ownership while retaining governance of critical outcomes.
- Develop capabilities in global supply planning, capacity management, analytics.
- Establish repeatable knowledge-management, onboarding and continuity practices.
- Create a sustainable global working model with clear priorities, collaboration across time zones and disciplined escalation.
Measures of Success
- Demand-supply agreement and responsiveness to our requirements.
- Supply commitments, supply reliability and recovery performance.
- Supplier capacity readiness and resolution of material or production constraints.
- Lead-time reduction, flexibility and in-season responsiveness.
- Plan cycle efficiency, data quality and adoption of standardised decision processes.
- Decision speed, risk visibility and effectiveness of escalations.
- Delivery and adoption of the GSM transformation roadmap.
- Team capability, succession strength and partner confidence.
Required Qualifications and Experience
- Bachelor’s degree in Supply Chain Management, Engineering, Operations, Business or a related field.
- 25+ years of progressive experience in global supply-chain management, supply planning, sourcing operations, manufacturing planning or related disciplines.
- Substantial senior leadership experience across multi-region, multi-vendor or multi-category global supply environments.
- Lead Complex teams, develop successors and influence executive partners across a matrix organisation.
- Expertise in in-season demand-supply management, S&OP interfaces, RCCP, supplier capacity, materials readiness and supply execution.
- Experience shaping operating models and delivering process or technology transformation.
Qualifications
- Experience in apparel, footwear, consumer products, retail or other seasonal, outsourced global supply chains.
- Experience with multi-country sourcing networks and global capability-centre leadership.
- Exposure to o9, Boardwalk or comparable enterprise planning platforms.
- Master of Business Administration, relevant master's degree or professional supply-chain certification.
Leadership Competencies
Enterprise perspective and commercial judgement; independent decision-making; operational accountability; transformation sponsorship; talent development and succession.
Expected First-Year Outcomes
- Maintain uninterrupted in-season supply management and establish credibility with important global partners.
- Confirm and strengthen global governance, decision rights and escalation routines for assigned portfolios.
- Improve visibility of capacity and materials constraints and accelerate resolution of critical supply exceptions.
- Agree a prioritised GSM transformation roadmap with measurable business and adoption outcomes
- Strengthen the Bengaluru team's leadership capacity, succession readiness and operational independence.
Position Impact
You will influence global commercial execution through supply feasibility, supplier readiness, decisions and reliable in-season supply performance. Director-level impact is demonstrated by shaping how GSM operates, setting priorities and governance across functions leading major transformation and building enduring organizational capability rather than by managing exceptions alone.
Benefits:
We put a lot of thought into our programs to provide you with a benefits package that matters. Whether it is for medical care, taking time off, improving your health or planning for retirement, we've got you covered.
Here's a small snapshot:
- Complimentary preventive health check-up for you & your spouse
- OPD coverage
- Best in class leave plan including paternity & family care leaves
- Counselling sessions to prioritize mental well-being
- Exclusive discount vouchers on Levi’s products
We are an Equal Opportunity Employer committed to empowering individuals from all walks of life to achieve their professional goals with us, regardless of race, religion, gender, gender identity, pregnancy, disability, sexual orientation, age, national origin, citizenship status, or genetic information. We actively seek and encourage applications from diverse candidates, including those with disabilities, and offer accommodations throughout the selection process upon request.
To ensure that our products and culture continue to incorporate everyone's perspectives and experience, we never discriminate based on race, religion, national origin, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, age, or marital, veteran, or disability status.