Buyer - Akron, United States - Ten Thousand Villages

Description

Job Description

Position Summary:

The Buyer maintains and develops the Ten Thousand Villages fair trade relationship with artisan groups. The Buyer conceptualizes, designs, selects and develops marketable products with an understanding of the Ten Thousand Villages customer needs and wants, an understanding of the Ten Thousand Villages brand, with an ability to anticipate forward-looking products and trends, and an acute understanding of artisan partners' skills and abilities. *Note: This role requires the applicant to be in the Akron, PA office on Mondays & Wednesdays.

Product design and development with artisan groups is managed by the Buyer, working closely with the rest of the Buying Team. The Buyer works closely with an Assistant Buyer to maintain information on products and producers, formalize purchase orders and track product development.

The Buyer maintains the lead responsibility for planning of specific product categories by envisioning category strategy and monitoring creative influences and sales data history within those categories. The Buyer works with the rest of the Buying Team to incorporate items from other artisan groups to ensure a cohesive and successful product line.

The Buyer communicates regularly with producers and travels internationally once or twice each year to understand fair trade practices, maintain good communication, provide strategic and creative product direction, facilitate design collaboration, work on product development, discuss production concerns, and address product quality and organizational capacity issues.

This position supports and contributes to the Ten Thousand Villages mission by:

The Buyer is the artisan groups' primary connection to Ten Thousand Villages and is directly responsible for providing guidance to the individual groups in how best to meet the demands of the US market. The Buyer acts as an advocate for the groups, representing their unique needs to the rest of the organization. In doing so, the Buyer assumes the responsibility of helping to bridge the divide between the mission and the market.

Position Duties/Responsibilities:

Product Selection and Development (65%)

• Conceptualize products and designs that both embody and inform the heart of the Ten Thousand Villages brand, create relevance for the target customer, and fulfill purchasing strategy with artisan partners.
• In partnership with the Planning & Allocation team, analyze and interpret sales data, tailoring the product category assortment and price points to respond to customer sales feedback and meet customer expectations.
• Manage the product development work necessary to maintain and grow purchases with existing artisan groups either through personally executed development work, or working with other design resources as necessary.
• Identify upcoming appropriate product/trend directions that Ten Thousand Villages can respond to and thereby meet customer expectations. Attend gift fairs, monitor current retail directions, and visit Ten Thousand Villages stores to maintain a dynamic understanding of Ten Thousand Villages customers. Gather and implement store and customer feedback.
• Work with the Product Coordinator to review and evaluate samples from producer organizations.
• Prior to buying products, follow standard procedures with Ten Thousand Villages warehouse and Product Coordinator for confirming acceptability of the product regarding packaging and safety issues.
• Participate in other purchasing functions as requested by the Director of Merchandising.
• Participate in the development of annual financial plans for assigned categories.
• Facilitate an annual vision that encompasses segmented customer targets, priority product lines, and seasonal trend influence. Lead the collection planning process for category, organizing for efficiency and clarity.
• Provide customized, cohesive creative direction to artisan groups, intertwining sales data, trend and design opportunity, and priority product lines for growth.
• Present product collections to inter-department teams, communicating strategy, target customer segments, trend and design influences, and product story.

Artisan Relationships (30%)

• Develop relationships with producer organizations through frequent correspondence and regular visits to ensure that orders are appropriate to the producer's capacity, to respond to samples and product development, to communicate information about North American market trends, and to follow up on quality requirements and problems.
• Work with artisan groups to increase purchases by addressing issues that are barriers to their growth within the context of a mutual fair-trade relationship. Provide direction and resources as appropriate.
• Work with Director of Merchandising to strategize the evolution of Ten Thousand Villages relationship with artisan groups by considering their practice of fair trade, product capacity, regional economic considerations, and the group's ability to manage growth.
• Explore and cultivate relationships with new artisan groups in keeping with the Ten Thousand Villages mission and growth strategy.
• Work with the Marketing Department to gather artisan information during international travel.

Merchandise Assortment Management (5%)

• Review products that the Planning & Allocation Team has decided to eliminate from the product line and identify other issues that may affect that decision.
• Evaluate re-orders with the Planning & Allocation team to address artisan-related matters.

Perform additional duties/responsibilities as requested which contribute to the position's success and the mission.

Preferred Experience/Knowledge/Education/Skills/Abilities:

• Bachelor's degree in Buying, Business, Product Design or equivalent work experience
• 3-5 years professional experience, ideally related to retail industry and a demonstrated understanding of product brand execution
• Experience working with developing countries
• Advanced cross-cultural interpersonal relationship skills with demonstrated ability to effectively communicate ideas and concepts between cultures, from a distance and despite language barriers
• Ability to gather market trend information and translate it into action plans with artisans that drive growth in purchases
• Critically interpret customer feedback and market trends, and apply that information to product development both internally and with the artisan groups.
• Demonstrated ability to collaborate with a team to achieve organizational objectives while accomplishing individual tasks and meeting deadlines
• Ability to manage many details in an ever-changing environment while balancing immediate and long-term needs of the business
• Product concept and design skills; ability to conceptualize and design new products in a variety of craft processes and producer skill levels, to meet market demands while reflecting artisans' best abilities
• Excellent written and oral English communication skills
• Motivated and positive with an enthusiastic work ethic
• Ability to travel internationally via various transportation modes and to thrive in simple accommodations
• Available to travel 4 to 6 weeks per year
• Proficiency in language(s) other than English a plus

Types of Interaction (internal):

• Close collaboration with Director, Merchandise Buying & Product Development and other members of the buying team
• Warehouse and Product Coordinator regarding packaging and safety issues
• Work with the Marketing Department to gather artisan information
• Evaluate re-orders with the Planning & Allocation team.
• Present product collections to inter-department teams, especially Marketing and Sales
• Store staff

Type of Interaction (external):

• Artisans
• Design resources
• Product consultants
• Customers
• Producer organizations
• Prepare and present information to a wide variety of audiences
• Mennonite Central Committee personnel within the buying region

Physical Requirements:

• This role routinely uses standard office equipment, requires close visual acuity, frequent typing, and both hearing and talking abilities. While the role is largely sedentary, occasional bending, lifting of up to 10 pounds, reaching, grasping, and feeling objects of varying size and texture, and the ability to move throughout the building is necessary.
• This job operates in a professional office environment and is not exposed to adverse environmental conditions.
• Ability to travel internationally, primarily in the developing world, often involving modes of transportation and accommodations that are less refined than normal travel conditions.

Position Specifications:

• Eligible for monthly hybrid work stipend: Y