Pattern Maker

Company description

Maagrace Garment Industries Limited (MGIL) is a leading apparel manufacturing firm established in 2003 in Ghana (West Africa). With a current workforce of approximately 1,000 workers, the factory has the capacity to expand and accommodate up to 2,000 individuals. Situated in a region with a population of over a million people, MGIL stands as the largest employer, contributing significantly to the local economy.

At MGIL, our vision is to pioneer ethical manufacturing practices on a large scale within the African context. We aspire to establish a model factory that exemplifies innovation, efficiency, and integrity, while delivering high-quality products to our customers. We specialize in both heavy and light weight garments including fleece, sweats, nightwear, underwear, shirts, schoolwear, dancewear. We work with mainly large scale brands in the USA and have strict quality and compliance requirements.

Central to our mission is the empowerment of our workforce, with a particular focus on promoting opportunities for women.

MGIL has formed a strategic partnership with Ethical Apparel Africa (EAA), a sourcing company that specializes in delivering ethical, cost-competitive, and high-quality manufacturing solutions to international apparel brands operating in West Africa. Headquartered in Ghana, EAA boasts a dynamic team with extensive expertise garnered from various corners of the globe, spanning product development, quality assurance, account management, social impact, operations, and finance. EAA collaborates with factories across West Africa to elevate technical and ethical standards to meet international benchmarks. Their clientele primarily comprises international brands hailing from Europe and the USA, all seeking to establish and expand their manufacturing presence within the African continent.

Position overview

We are looking for an experienced Pattern Maker to join our technical team in Koforidua. This role is central to translating brand tech packs into accurate, production-ready patterns and contributing to efficient, high-quality sample and bulk production. This is a hands-on technical position. The Pattern Maker drafts and grades patterns personally, builds and optimises markers, and leads a small pattern team by working alongside them. It is not a product development or merchandising management role. The position reports to the Factory Director and works closely with the MGIL and EAA technical teams. They will have the following responsibilities:

Product Costing

●     Flag to the merchandising team any information missing from the tech pack or brand manual that is needed to draft the pattern

●     Contribute pattern, fit and marker risks to the risk assessments run by the merchandising team for costing and sampling

●     Produce graded, digital patterns and marker plans from the brand’s tech packs and/or samples to propose consumptions for costing - offering alternative lays, fabric widths, and marker options to increase marker efficiency and reduce fabric waste.

●     Ensure fabric and trim consumptions are correct in the style tool and monitor to ensure actuals used are recorded and analyzed versus those in the costings

Product Sampling and Fit

●     Attend brand fit and technical meetings to answer pattern, fit and construction questions, with commercial commitments owned by the Factory Director

●     Using the pattern and markers from the costing process to print graded patterns for sampling, adapting as needed to the fabric that has been procured.

●     Ensure patterns provided are accurate to the tech pack and client requirements.

●     Ensure all final pattern, marker and measurement data is uploaded into the ERP system

Production

●     Ensure Style tools (tech packs) are correct and in place prior to production start-up.

●     Attend pre-production meetings and provide hands-on support during bulk production to resolve any pattern, marker or fit issues that arise on the line Ensure all markers are completed and checked before the PP meeting

●     Ensure all markers are handed to the cutting team on time in line with the loading plan

●     Adjust any markers as needed relative to fabric changes required

●     Attend post production meetings to identify success and learnings on product development and production

Pattern team management

●     Coach, lead and provide hands-on support to the pattern team, working alongside them day to day rather than reviewing their output

●     Conduct pre-sample meetings with the sampling team and make suggestions to improve fit quality.

●     Be ready to answer any client’s requests and questions ahead of the client fit meetings and work with the merchandising team on any revised samples needed

●     Keep systems up to date with technical details required such as fit comments, measurement charts and sample notes.

●     Document the pattern room's working methods, keep them current, and train the pattern team on them

<