Director of Color

Position Summary

The Director of Color provides strategic and operational leadership for all color development, color management, and color commercialization activities across the organization. This role is responsible for ensuring color consistency from concept through production and driving excellence in color execution across all product categories.

The Director of Color oversees the Color team and is accountable for talent development, workload management, process adherence, and overall team performance. This leader partners closely with Design, Product Development, Merchandising, Sourcing, Quality, In country Color teams, and Manufacturing teams to ensure color strategies align with brand objectives, customer requirements, and business goals.

Additionally, the Director of Color ensures compliance with retailer-specific color standards, approval requirements, and timelines, while overseeing color laboratory operations, including equipment calibration, certification, and measurement accuracy to support consistent and reliable color assessments.

Key Responsibilities

• Color Development & Commercialization
• Lead execution of seasonal color cards and color standard library across multiple product categories.
• Oversee color approval processes from concept through production.
• Ensure color standards, specifications, and color testing requirements are clearly communicated to suppliers and manufacturing partners.
• Resolve complex color issues affecting product quality, commercialization timelines, or customer satisfaction.
• Drive continuous improvement initiatives related to color development, approval, and production processes.
• Color Team Leadership & Management
• Directly oversee the Color team, including Color Managers, Color Specialists, Color Technicians, and other color development personnel.
• Establish team priorities, goals, and performance expectations aligned with business objectives.
• Provide coaching, mentoring, and career development opportunities to build a high-performing color organization.
• Allocate resources and manage workloads to support seasonal development and production deadlines.
• Foster collaboration and accountability across cross-functional teams.
• Recruit, develop, and retain top talent within the Color function.
• Ensure all color processes, standards, and best practices are consistently followed throughout the organization.
• Ensure all color development, submission, testing, and approval processes are executed in accordance with retailer-specific requirements and timelines.
• Color Lab Management & Quality Assurance
• Oversee all color laboratory operations to ensure accurate, reliable, and consistent color measurement practices.
• Manage calibration, certification, maintenance, and validation programs for color laboratory equipment.
• Ensure spectrophotometers, light boxes, color assessment tools, and related equipment are maintained and calibrated according to industry standards and manufacturer requirements.
• Establish processes to maintain current certifications and audit readiness for all color testing equipment.
• Partner with Quality and Technical teams to ensure measurement consistency across internal In Country facilities and external suppliers.
• Develop and enforce color measurement protocols that support accurate color approvals and production consistency.
• Lead implementation, optimization and laboratory best practices.
• Communicate color-related priorities, issues, and opportunities to leadership and stakeholders.
• Vendor & Supply Chain Management
• Develop and maintain strong relationships with mills, dye houses, printers, manufacturing partners and In Country Color teams.
• Evaluate vendor color performance and drive continuous improvement initiatives.
• Ensure color standards are consistently executed across all manufacturing locations.
• Collaborate with suppliers to resolve color challenges and improve first-pass approval rates.
• Experience
• 10+ years of progressive experience in color development, color management, textiles, apparel, or consumer soft products.
• 5+ years of leadership experience managing color teams and cross-functional business initiatives.
• Experience working with global sourcing, manufacturing, and supplier networks.
• Proven experience managing retailer-specific color requirements and approval processes. Walmart Color Experience a Plus.
• Leadership Competencies
• Strategic Thinking
• Creative Vision
• Team Leadership & Development
• Cross-Functional Collaboration
• Executive Communication
• Problem Solving
• Change Management
• Decision Making
• Success Measures
• On-time color approvals
• First-pass color approval rates
• Reduction in color-related quality and production issues
• Compliance with retailer’s color standards and requirements
• Color consistency across products, categories, and facilities
• Color lab certification and calibration compliance
• Team engagement, retention, and development
• Process efficiency improvements and cost savings
• Reporting Structure
• Reports To: Vice President Corp. Sustainability and Product Compliance
• Direct Reports: Color Managers, Color Specialists, Color Technicians, Color Laboratory Personnel, and other Color Team members as assigned.