Trainer – The Commercial Reality of Fashion: Costing, Customer & Market Logic

Summary

Creative Space Beirut (CSB) is an independent design school committed to widening access to high-quality design education. CSB provides a tuition-free three-year fashion design program and supports students and alumni through hands-on learning, mentorship and pathways into the fashion and creative industries.

CSB is launching Beyond the Studio – Fashion Practice and Professional Growth Masterclasses, a continuing education program for young creatives. This program is implemented by Creative Space Beirut, in partnership with Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) and the Lebanese Ministry of Social Affairs (MoSA), commissioned by the German Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). The program aims to increase employment and income opportunities for young creatives by strengthening technical skills, career readiness, and employer engagement.

Central to this approach is a series of applied, participatory masterclasses delivered by experienced practitioners and facilitators. Each masterclass focuses on a specific, practical competency participants need in real workplace situations, built around applied exercises, real scenarios and direct feedback, so participants leave with concrete tools they can use immediately. Trainers are asked to bring both subject-matter expertise and strong facilitation skills, translating their own professional experience into structured, accessible learning for a diverse cohort of emerging designers and creatives.

Dependency / Stakeholders

CSB Program Coordination Team, participating cohort learners (~22–25 per cohort), and, where relevant, a founder, buyer, production/commercial or finance practitioner contributing a real case, arranged by CSB.

Employment Type

Consultancy – core masterclass trainer; approximately 6 contact hours per cohort, repeated across core cohorts. Availability to deliver multiple cohort runs is strongly preferred; exact session format co-developed with CSB.

Remuneration

Up to €1,350 for the full agreed scope of work, including preparation, delivery across multiple cohort runs, coordination, review and participant feedback. Final fee will reflect the confirmed scope and number of cohort runs agreed with CSB.

Scope

The Trainer is responsible for delivering The Commercial Reality of Fashion: Costing, Customer & Market Logic masterclass – a core working-brief module under CSB’s Commercial & Market Readiness track within the Beyond the Studio program.

The role includes giving participants basic commercial literacy so they can understand how design choices affect cost, price, margin and market relevance, answering the core professional competency: can the participant assess the basic commercial viability of a fashion product/proposition and understand how design decisions affect cost, price and market relevance?

The position requires strong applied facilitation skills across cost versus price, margins, direct and hidden costs, material/construction/production impact, customer and market position, and creative-commercial trade-offs, co-developing the final session structure with CSB within the agreed program framework.

This role does not include full business plans, advanced accounting, financing/scaling strategy, or detailed distribution/e-commerce strategy.

Responsibilities

1. Session Design and Delivery

• Design and facilitate applied sessions covering cost versus price, margins, direct and hidden costs, material/construction/production impact, customer and market position, and creative-commercial trade-offs.
• Guide participants toward an applied costing/pricing/market-viability case as session output.
• Deliver the agreed contact hours per cohort, repeated across core cohorts, with availability across multiple cohort runs strongly preferred, in Beirut, online or hybrid format as agreed with CSB.
• Integrate costing spreadsheet workflow, market research and simple commercial analysis into session content.
• Advise CSB/Program Coordination on whether a founder, buyer, production/commercial or finance practitioner would strengthen delivery with a real case, and help integrate their contribution into the session once arranged.
• Work with participants who have no advanced business prerequisite, keeping content accessible.

2. Proposal, Coordination and Reporting

• Propose recommended contact hours and session rhythm within the working course model.
• Propose participant pre-work and prerequisites.
• Propose applied exercises and the final output/evidence participants will produce.
• Propose a feedback/critique approach and any between-session work.
• Propose required materials, software, equipment or venue conditions.
• Flag accessibility/support considerations and realistic group-size limits.
• Co-develop and confirm the final session structure with CSB within the agreed program framework.

Uphold Governance Principles

• Transparency: make goals and methods of achieving them clear to all affected by the business
• Integrity: perform duties honestly and with moral principles
• Reliance: seek guidance from management, legal counsel and other trusted advisors.
• Legal compliance: remains within the law – follow rules and regulations, and demonstrate social responsibility
• Equity: treat all stakeholders fairly and equitably
• Independence: minimize conflicts and conflicts of interest
• Security: Keep non-public information secure and confidential

Minimum Requirements & Skills

Core Competencies

• Fashion operator or business/finance specialist experienced with creative/product businesses.
• Ability to translate professional practice into an applied, participatory masterclass format.
• Skilled in structuring feedback/critique on costing/pricing/market-viability work.
• Clear written and verbal communication.
• Comfortable facilitating groups of ~22–25 participants.
• Flexible, collaborative approach to co-developing session structure with CSB.
• Professional conduct that reflects CSB’s values.

Technical Qualifications

• Fashion experience useful but not mandatory if examples are sector-specific.
• Comfortable with costing spreadsheet workflows, market research and basic commercial analysis tools.
• Available to deliver sessions in Beirut, online or hybrid format, with availability across multiple cohort runs strongly preferred.

CV + short statement of relevant professional and teaching/facilitation experience + any relevant course/work examples. Please also indicate your availability across the program period.