Job Title: Lockstitch Team Leader
Responsible to: Shift Leader - Lockstitch
We are currently looking for a Team Leader to oversee our Ready to Wear production area.
This is a full-time, permanent post working 38 hours per week. Monday to Thursday 0700-1600, Friday 0700-1100.
Rate of pay for this role starts from £14 per hour. Higher rate will be considered for the candidate with relevant technical skills and experience.
About the Role:
As a Ready to Wear Team Leader you will be responsible for overseeing the daily workflow within the Ready-to-Wear production area, ensuring orders are prioritised effectively and delivered on time while maintaining the exceptional quality standards expected of Johnstons of Elgin.
This is a hands-on leadership role, requiring active involvement in garment cutting, machining, production processes, and problem-solving. The successful candidate will lead by example, support team development, and drive operational efficiency while maintaining the highest standards of craftsmanship.
Your key responsibilities will include:
Production Planning & Workflow
- Coordinate and manage the day-to-day workflow
- Prioritise production orders to meet customer requirements and delivery deadlines
- Monitor work-in-progress and adjust resources to maintain production flow
- Ensure efficient movement of work between cutting, sewing, and QC
- Liaise with planning, quality, and management teams
- Lead, motivate, and support the production team
- Allocate workloads and responsibilities in line with production priorities and individual skill levels
- Provide training, coaching, and mentoring to team members
- Foster a positive and collaborative working environment
- Promote high levels of employee engagement, accountability, and performance
Skills & Experience
- Proven experience in a supervisory, team leader, or senior production role
- Understanding of industrial cut, make and sew manufacturing processes
- Excellent organisational and workload planning skills
- Ability to prioritise multiple orders and deadlines effectively
- Strong problem-solving and decision-making abilities
- Excellent communication and team leadership skills
About You
As a successful team leader, you will have:
- Willingness to learn and grow within their role
- Confident communicator, verbally and written
- Strong leadership and team building skills
- Able to work independently and be able to take the initiative in problem solving
- Strong organisational and time management skills and with ability to prioritise a busy workload
- A sense of ownership – caring about doing a good job and helping others to do the same
- An understanding of how your department contributes to the wider business
Desirable experience:
- Previous leadership experience and/or experience in Lockstitch, textiles or a similar production environment would be a huge advantage
About Us
Founded in 1797, Johnstons of Elgin is an innovative, luxury clothing brand celebrating 225 years of experience in working with the world’s finest fibres. Across three centuries, our family-owned company has carefully sources cashmere and fine woollen fibres from around the world, ing the latest technology and highest quality craft expertise in our very own vertical Scottish mills. Employing over 1,000 staff, our valued employees and communities are at the heart of everything we do, producing unique, high-quality designs that are made to last. Our brand is focused on sustainability, working with natural, renewable, and biodegradable fibres and we are committed to maintaining a minimal environmental footprint.
Johnstons of Elgin is proud to be an equal opportunity employer wholeheartedly supporting the principles of equality and diversity to build an inclusive workforce. Our aim is to embed diversity and inclusion in everything we do to create an environment where our employees feel safe to be their whole authentic self without having to downplay or change parts of their identity. We celebrate diversity in all its forms, which goes beyond those characteristics protected by law to include everything that makes us unique, from our backgrounds and experiences to our personalities and ways of thinking.
We endeavour to provide reasonable accommodations for individuals with disabilities and encourage any candidate who requires assistance to contact us at
[email protected].
Don’t meet every requirement? Studies have shown that women and people of colour are less likely to to jobs unless they meet every single requirement or qualification. At Johnstons of Elgin, we are dedicated to building a diverse, inclusive, and authentic workplace, so if you are excited about this role but think your experience doesn’t align perfectly with the job description, we encourage you to anyway. You may be just the right candidate for this or other roles.
Please note all applicants must be able to provide evidence of their right to remain and take up paid employment in country job is based.
