Merchandising and Buying Assistant, PT (24 hrs/week)

About the Role

The Barnes Shop Merchandising and Buying Assistant supports the Barnes and Calder Gardens retail operation with expertise in visual merchandising, ordering, receiving, inventory tracking, reporting, and online sales. This role is detail-oriented and involves reconciling packing slips, purchase orders, and invoices, as well as assisting the Merchandise Manager with sales reports and inventory transfers. The assistant will also support ecommerce sites by creating thematic product listings, coordinating product photography, and generating product copy. The role requires a clear understanding of the sales process, retail procedures, and superior customer service.

Responsibilities

• Assist with product reorders, receiving, transfers, and tracking.
• Reconcile invoices to packing lists and purchase orders.
• Monitor inventory levels for online items and adjust product quantities weekly.
• Assist with floor resets, visual merchandising, and maintaining visual merchandising standards.
• Create clean, edited copy consistent with the Foundation’s institutional voice for online merchandise listings.
• Coordinate with product photographers to produce edited images for e-commerce platforms (jewelry, books, home goods, stationery, accessories).
• Create Shopify product listings following category, sub-category, alt text, and tagging standards.
• Maintain updated product photography files, resized for print and digital use.
• Maintain a roster of perennial and seasonal discount codes and collaborate with departments (Membership, Digital Strategy, Marketing) to generate promotions.
• Interpret sales reports to determine when remerchandising or repricing is necessary.
• Create shipping profiles based on product size, value, and fragility to standardize shipping fees.
• Process and fulfill online orders through the Shop’s sites (shop.barnesfoundation.org, shop.caldergardens.org, prints.barnesfoundation.org, prints.caldergardens.org).
• Collaborate with the Marketing department to promote e-commerce sites, including creating content (photos, text) for social media platforms (Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, Pinterest).
• Perform other duties as required by supervisor.

Requirements

• High School diploma/equivalency with four years' work/volunteer experience, or associate's degree with two years' experience, or bachelor's degree.
• Relevant experience in retail, ecommerce, or marketing (retail experience preferred).
• Photo editing experience (resizing, cropping, light touch-up in Photoshop).
• Strong writing skills with excellent grammar, spelling, and English language usage.
• Fluent with content management systems and digital file organization (OneDrive, Google Drive, WeTransfer, Dropbox).
• Proficiency with social media platforms (Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, Pinterest).
• Online retail merchant experience (eBay, Amazon, Etsy, Poshmark, or Depop seller account preferred).
• Proficiency with Microsoft Word, Excel, Outlook, Basecamp (or comparable project management software), and computerized point-of-sale/inventory systems.
• Excellent verbal, telephone, email, and general communication skills.
• Ability to occasionally transport up to 35 lbs. of files, equipment, or supplies.
• Extended time on the computer (vision requirements apply).
• Criminal background clearance.

Schedule

This position operates in a hybrid work setting, combining on-site work at the Barnes’ Philadelphia campus with remote work from the employee’s documented home address.