Senior Buyer - Mark & Graham

About the Team

You will be part of the collaborative Mark & Graham team responsible for creating assortment strategies based on analyzing sales and trends. Our job blends creativity, analytics, and marketing.

About The Role

As Senior Buyer, you will be responsible for developing and implementing business strategies to maximize the development of the two departments. The Senior Buyer will identify opportunities and recommend new product ideas for the departments. You will manage information across functions working closely with Design, Inventory Management, Sourcing, Ecommerce, Packaging and Creative Services to ensure the process is followed and timelines met. You will manage and develop Associate and Assistant Buyers.

Responsibilities

• Expertly identify emerging trends and develop business strategies outlining strengths, weaknesses, new opportunities and threats
• Effectively present product assortment, business strategies and hindsight to leadership team during milestone meetings
• Expert communicator; communicate annual and seasonal strategies, assortment & intent to cross functional teams (Inventory, Design, Sourcing, Ecommerce, Packaging, Creative Services)
• Collaborate with Inventory Management to develop annual and seasonal financial plans. Own recapping current business performance and presenting out to leadership, in tandem with assistant and associate buyers
• Perform market analysis, competitive shop and analyze sales trends to keep abreast of current trends
• Deep financial acumen and understanding; data driven decision maker
• Deep understanding of the retail space & the consumer
• Maintain strong relationships with cross functional teams; be a strong role model and mentor for the balance of the team
• Elevate issues to Director; propose solutions and improvements to resolve
• Manage a team of 3+
• Hire, onboard, develop and train teams. Clarify objectives, assess performance and provide regular feedback
• Determine workload for staff; recommend effective processes and procedures to improve workflow and results responsible for all Merchandising product strategies, annually and per season, driving to hit budget sales and margin plans
• Responsible for hitting MG merchant milestones: SKU management for on time PO placement, photo samples on set on time with personalization, kicking off seasonal product development process with clear direction for team, product information handover to copy team, and owning personalization for MG
• Operational Excellence: work with key partners to lower return rate and keep customer satisfaction high. Ensure operating goals are hit. Correspond with functional areas to resolve difficult issues on product quality issues, re-ticketing issues, or customer service needs, knowing that Merch drives and ultimately owns the resolution
• Create & Execute 3YP growth strategies for assigned department(s)
• Support creating budget by departments financial plans with SVP
• Collaborate with Inventory Management and Sourcing on seasonal assortment rank, purchase quantity recommendations, flow and exit strategies for initial cost and production negotiations for new programs
• DTC Management: Collaborate with website team to address any website improvements, ideas, and issues, to ultimately make sure we are hitting our budget

Criteria

• BA/BS Required
• 7+ years Buying/Merchandising experience
• Managing experience of 2 or more; loves being a people manager
• Strong leadership & presentation skills
• Strong written & verbal communication skills
• Loves to work collaboratively in a group, you have an innate willingness to dig in and contribute with your team.
• You act like a true business owner and operate with strong decision-making and calculated risk-taking for the benefit of your business.
• Think innovation is critical in a business environment and support others in creative thinking
• Pride yourself on the quality of your and your teams work.

Our Culture & Values

We believe that taking care of our people is vital to our success and we strive to offer equitable and transparent practices for all. We prioritize connection, growth, and wellbeing. People First Putting People First means investing in overall well-being and opportunities to grow and advance within the organization.

Benefits

• A generous discount on all WSI brands
• A 401(k) plan and other investment opportunities
• Paid vacations, holidays, and time off to volunteer
• Health benefits, dental and vision insurance, including same-sex domestic partner benefits
• Tax-free commuter benefits
• A wellness program that supports your physical, financial and emotional health
• Continued Learning In-person and online learning opportunities through WSI University
• Cross-brand and cross-function career opportunities
• Resources for self-development Advisor (Mentor) program
• Career development workshops, learning programs, and speaker series

About Us

Founded in 1956, Williams-Sonoma, Inc. is the premier specialty retailer of high-quality products for the kitchen and home in the United States. Our family of brands are Williams Sonoma, Williams Sonoma Home, Pottery Barn, Pottery Barn Kids, Pottery Barn Teen, Rejuvenation, West Elm, Mark & Graham, Outward, and GreenRow. These brands are among the best known and most respected in the industry. We offer beautifully-designed, stylish and functional products for every area of the home, including the kitchen, living room, bedroom, home office, closet, laundry room and even outdoor spaces. We've seen some big changes since our first brick-and-mortar store opened more than half of a century ago. What hasn't changed is our passion for high-quality products, functional design, outstanding customer service, and enhancing the lives of our customers and the communities where we operate. Today, we're a multi-brand, multi-channel, global enterprise supported by state-of-the-art technology and some of the most talented teams in retailing - and we're always looking for new energy and ideas.