Assistant Buyer

The Assistant Buyer supports their Buyer with business strategies designed to maximize sales and margins.  They will be working closely with members of the Buying, Sales, Product Development, Visual & Space Planning, and Replenishment teams, as well as store/field employees, to obtain and communicate the information needed for successful execution of the merchant vision as it relates to a specified product category.  The Assistant Buyer should have proven ability to multi-task and operate independently, with strong presentation, communication and excel skills.

Duties & Responsibilities

Merchandising:  Assists in vendor and assortment selection and in developing and maintaining strong vendor partnerships. Assists in monitoring industry trends and in evaluating competition. Provides information for the development of the merchandise strategy and assists in product selection and key item development as directed. Assists in conducting line reviews / style outs for management and team. With Buyer direction, collects, organizes, merchandises samples, and sets planograms in partnership with Visual Space Planning team. Assists in setting up new items in the item database. Communicates with Merchandise Planning, Sales, & Field regarding the entire product cycle related to new product introductions. Ensures the dissemination of product knowledge to cross functional teams. Executes the Best / Worst Seller Review. Aids in the preparation of the merchandise hindsight.

Purchasing and Replenishment: Assists in analyzing category performance, saturation, and performance by customer. Assists in managing the timely placement of purchase orders and inventory needs. Assists in providing analysis to support micro-merchandising strategies by customer. Participates in weekly replenishment strategy sessions. Assists in providing feedback for space strategies. Assists in providing information for the monitoring of inventory productivity, and the analysis of vendor profitability.

Administrative Assistance:  Work closely with Buyer to prepare all necessary documents and resources for major milestone meetings i.e., Product Reviews, Monthly Business Review.  Act as the liaison for cross-category special projects.  Own partnership with Merchandise Operations to execute price changes, item maintenance, and item setup. Establish and maintain a reputation of responsiveness internally and externally. Oversee coordination of domestic merchandise samples. Ensure that all product samples are received on time, in correct format and displayed and correctly labelled within the showroom.

Account Management:  Assists in managing account portfolios, providing assortment plans, sales analysis and to support Jacent’s retail partners.
Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• Must be proficient in Excel and retail math
• Ability to learn quickly and work in a highly collaborative environment
• Articulate, assertive, with both strong verbal and written communication skills
• Able to communicate effectively with all levels
• Detail oriented, with excellent follow-through skills
• Must be highly organized
• Must be able to work independently as well as on group projects
• Must be able to handle multiple projects with adherence to deadlines
• Experience in analyzing reports and drawing conclusions/recommendations
• You have a passion for product!
• Must have a positive attitude and be a great team player
• You have a desire to learn, grow and engage

Experience and Credentials

• Bachelor's degree required, Merchandising degree, a plus
• 1+ years of related experience in Merchandising/Buying/Retail
• Strong to proficient in MS Office applications, Tech savvy, with an emphasis on Excel spreadsheet application and PowerPoint; ability to learn systems, Sisense and NetSuite
• Demonstrates understanding of merchandising and retail math

Physical Requirements

• Hybrid Schedule: 3 days remote and 2 days in office
• Sample management which will include lifting and moving packages and samples in the corporate office
• Some travel (within US) – vendor visits and store visits as needed
• Prolonged periods of sitting at a desk and working on a computer