Assistant Buyer Development Program - s

Location:

2006 Route 130 North, Burlington, NJ 08016

Additional Locations: US-CA-Los Angeles

Starting a new career is a big deal, and at Burlington, we love big deals! If you always hop on the latest trends and notice all the little details, have a passion for retail, and are prepared to join a team for the long haul, we encourage you to apply for our 2024 Assistant Buyer program. You will analyze a business area and develop relationships with vendors to bring in the best products and values for our customers.

In 1972, Burlington Stores began as a family‑owned coat business and has grown into one of today’s leading off‑price retailers, offering clothing, baby items, home goods, and more. Centered on five tenets, Burlington defines who we are as an employer, what matters to us as a team, and guides us toward becoming an even stronger competitor in the off‑price channel.

Our Assistant Buyer Program is a starting point for a career journey in buying. The program includes:

• Hands‑on training and onboarding for the first 12 weeks, where you’ll be placed in a business area to apply your knowledge and skills.
• Participation in an onboarding class with peers, starting in winter or summer months.
• A mentor who guides you through training and beyond.
• Shadowing opportunities with various buying teams in both market and office settings.
• Hybrid model: 1 day in‑office, 2 days in market, 1 day comp shopping, 1 day remote per week (relocation benefits available for eligible candidates).

• Select and procure merchandise in conjunction with your Buyer in the assigned business area to determine the overall mix of products, ensuring customer orientation and profit plan achievement.
• Provide operational support such as presenting category performance and sales‑trend analyses, compiling data in Excel to draw key takeaways.
• Travel to market visits to select and negotiate products that meet customer needs and are priced competitively.
• Monitor industry trends, evaluate competition, and conduct competitive shopping to proactively recommend actions.
• Build vendor relationships and influence vendors to solve problems and follow up on orders.
• Manage high volume email streams across a diverse vendor database and communicate updates to managers.
• Maintain planned receipt flow, track merchandise receipts, and call out flow issues to buyers, ensuring adherence to shipping windows and negotiating late‑shipping discounts.
• Own administrative functions: entering, updating, managing, tracking, and organizing purchase orders, communicating late deliveries, setting up new vendors, and pre‑ticketing information.
• Collaborate across functional areas for input, ideas, and assignment execution.

• Bachelor’s degree in a relevant field (Merchandising, Marketing, Business).
• Affinity for retail math, product/merchandising, and a career in buying.
• Basic understanding of Microsoft Office with advanced proficiency in Excel, including pivot tables and VLOOKUP.
• Fundamental understanding of retail math.
• Data‑driven problem‑solver capable of building and maintaining productive partnerships.
• Strong critical thinking, attention to detail, and excellent listening, oral, and written communication skills.
• Ability to recognize, analyze, and quantify market trends.
• Ability to prioritize tasks to meet deadlines and operate with a high sense of urgency.
• Ability to negotiate with vendors to secure the best prices.
• Self‑starter with initiative, curiosity, adaptability, and a willingness to learn.

• Annual salary of $65,000 plus a bonus and eligibility for an annual performance‑based merit increase.
• Generous PTO plan, affordable health insurance options (medical, dental, vision), and a company‑matched 401(k).
• Paid holidays and Early Fridays all year round.
• Associate discount for in‑store purchases.
• Professional development opportunities and potential career advancement to Divisional Merchandise Manager or beyond.

At Burlington, we stand for equality and the dignity of each person. We embrace diversity, promote inclusivity, and ensure a respectful work environment. Our Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Council shares insights, proposes initiatives, and amplifies the impact of our DEI efforts.

Position Type:
Regular Full‑Time