Supply Growth Manager - Calico AI
Location: Toronto (Hybrid)
Reports to: Chief Operating Officer (Canada HQ)
Experience Level: 8–10 years
About Calico AI
Calico AI is transforming how consumer brands bring products to life — we are the agentic AI copilot for sourcing, production, and global supply-chain orchestration.
Calico serves as the intelligence layer for global manufacturing, automating design-to-delivery decisions for leading apparel and accessories brands. Our multi-agent system connects brands with a vetted network of factories across Vietnam, Mexico, Turkey, India, China, and beyond — optimizing for speed, cost, compliance, and reliability.
We’re building the world’s most dynamic AI-powered supply engine, and our supplier network is the backbone of it. This role is directly responsible for growing, diversifying, and strengthening that backbone across continents and product categories.
About the Role
Calico AI is seeking a Supply Growth Manager to lead global capacity planning and supplier acquisition across Asia, South America, and emerging markets.
This is a high-impact, externally-facing role — ideal for someone who is part diplomat, part strategist, and part operator. You’ll identify new factories, evaluate their capabilities, negotiate partnerships, and ensure Calico has the right capacity in the right regions to support our rapidly growing customer base.
You’ll work closely with the COO, Supply Operations, Commercial, and Product teams to expand and strengthen Calico’s supplier network using data-driven insights, strong cross-cultural communication, and deep industry knowledge.
What You’ll Do
Global Capacity Strategy & Expansion
Build and own Calico’s long-range capacity plan aligned with brand demand forecasts, category expansion, and regional diversification goals.
Identify gaps in current capacity — by category, region, compliance requirement, or price point — and develop plans to close them.
Develop and maintain a forward-looking view of global supply hotspots (e.g., rising manufacturing hubs, geopolitical shifts, cost changes).
Recommend new markets and regions to explore based on performance data, risk indicators, and customer needs.
Supplier Acquisition & Onboarding
Source, vet, and onboard new factories across Asia, South America, and other strategic regions.
Conduct capability assessments covering quality, capacity, compliance, costing, engineering sophistication, and production specialty.
Negotiate commercial terms, MOQs, costing frameworks, timelines, and partnership agreements.
Build strong early-stage partnerships with factories and ensure seamless handoff into Calico’s internal operating systems.
Cross-Cultural Relationship Management
Serve as Calico’s primary relationship-builder with new factory partners, adapting communication styles to different cultures and business norms.
Build trust-based relationships with senior factory leadership (owners, GMs, production heads) to secure strategic commitments.
Leverage multilingual communication where possible to strengthen rapport, reduce friction, and accelerate onboarding.
Market Intelligence & Opportunity Analysis
Monitor global supply market trends, wage shifts, raw material availability, and category-specific innovations.
Identify emerging suppliers or niche capabilities that can unlock new opportunities for Calico (e.g., performance fabric mills, specialized outerwear factories, artisanal workshops).
Maintain a structured view of competitors, pricing landscapes, and regional regulations.
Operational Integration & Alignment
Partner with Product and Data teams to refine how new supplier data flows into Calico’s platform and AI agents.
Work closely with Supply Operations to ensure new factories integrate smoothly into ongoing capacity, compliance, and performance frameworks.
Collaborate with Commercial teams to match new supplier capabilities with brand opportunities.
Support customer-facing conversations when highlighting new capabilities or newly onboarded regions.
Travel & Field Engagement
Represent Calico during on-site visits, audits, and relationship-building meetings across Asia and South America.
Attend industry events, trade fairs, and conferences to expand Calico’s footprint and pipeline of new suppliers.
What You Bring
8–10 years of experience in apparel or apparel-adjacent roles across sourcing, production, vendor management, category management, or supply-chain strategy.
Demonstrated success working across international manufacturing ecosystems, particularly in Asia (China, Vietnam, India, Bangladesh) and/or South America (Mexico, Peru, Colombia).
Strong cross-cultural communication skills and the ability to build trust with factory leadership from diverse backgrounds.
Multilingual proficiency preferred (e.g., Mandarin, Vietnamese, Spanish, Portuguese, Hindi).
Strong understanding of apparel production fundamentals: capacity planning, costing, line allocation, lead times, compliance, and quality systems.
Proven ability to evaluate new suppliers across capability, performance, risk, compliance, and commercial fit.
Strong negotiation and relationship-building skills.
Analytical mindset — able to translate market data and customer pipeline forecasts into supply strategies.
Ability to thrive in ambiguous, fast-paced environments with high ownership and autonomy.
Based in Canada, with willingness to travel internationally as required.
Nice to Have
Experience working directly with factory GMs, owners, or sourcing offices.
Background in expanding supply networks for brands, agents, or manufacturing groups.
Exposure to AI tools, sourcing platforms, or supply-chain technology products.