Buyer, Business

Job Title

The buyer role is responsible for driving profitable sales for their area of responsibility.

Responsibilities:

• Devise profitable exit strategies, including vendor participation, of slow selling items, discontinued items, package changes and poor promotional sell through.
• Drives lifecycle management of items.
• Creates and owns strong vendor partnerships.
• Negotiates with vendors to reduce costs, increase margin, secure exclusivity and favourable special terms, discounts, allowances and payment dating in all appropriate opportunities.
• Stays current with competitive landscape. Drives the strategic direction of responsible categories.
• Develops and implements assortment strategy and plans.
• Optimizes product mix based on category financial goals and performance.
• Works collaboratively with vendor/brand partners to maximize first to market approach of on trend products and promotions.
• Achieve sales and profit goals for assigned categories by identifying opportunities and gaps.
• Partners with pricing team to ensure optimal performance for sales and margin.
• Collaborates with cross-functional teams to ensure a "customer first" approach to product strategy.
• Coordinate with planning and allocation to ensure ideal inventory levels.
• Identify and promote new products and trends in a timely manner to maximize sales potential.
• Influence cross-functional teams to drive category plan results.
• Develop talent by fostering a collaborative and high-performing team environment.

Knowledge, skills & abilities requirements

• Bachelor's degree and/or equivalent experience preferred
• 3-5 years category management experience in related field, exhibiting progressive responsibility
• Proven track record of growing categories or leading category growth

Competencies & attributes

• Passionate Learner – inquisitive about the business; open to feedback and coaching, applies learning quickly; applies learning to improve processes and procedures, proactively shares learning with colleagues and leaders; realigning and reshaping projects
• Flexible & Agile Adapter – responsive and open to change; works well with ambiguity; adapts to new plans or directions; keeps calm under pressure; perseveres to achieve the plan/task; doesn't dwell on the past
• Talent Builder – considers how we can create an inclusive culture; encourages input from others; invests time as an informal/formal coach or buddy; works to build a diverse team with the right skills and knowledge; looks for ways to acknowledge, motivate, and value the team
• Effective Communicator – articulates in an appropriate and accurate manner; emotionally astute while remaining authentic to own style/self; encourages others to express views and opinions;
  Team Builder – references the importance of teamwork and actively demonstrates collaboration and sharing; builds and/or participates in effective teams; values the importance of inclusion and various sources of thought/input; humble when operating within a team
• Customer Focused Partner – understands internal and external customer needs; contributes to plans and actions to improve the associate and customer journey/experience; holds self and team accountable for improving the customer experience; is an advocate for the customer
• Strategic Thinker – progressive thinking with the ability to bring new ideas to life; works with others to develop progressive and cost-effective strategies; provides suggestions to improve upon continuous improvement and scalability within department; uses a broad range of data sources
• Big Picture Thinker – understands own department and how other key departments operate; adopts an inclusive approach; seeks feedback reviews progress, and adapts plans as needed; understands interdependencies with other departments
• Results Driver – effective at driving and delivering on plans; holds self and team accountable to high standard of delivery; suggests opportunities for innovation and continuous improvement; focuses on the right priorities and uses resources/time wisely; demonstrates grit and determination
• Problem Solver & Decision Maker – able to consume department/operational data to identify business; identifies, gathers, and examines the relevant…