Associate Buyer

The Associate Buyer in partnership with the Buyer is responsible for developing the strategic vision, business strategy and assortment plan for a portfolio of programs or classifications of business under the Merchandise Managers scope of responsibility. At more experienced levels, the Associate Buyer may directly manage a category of business under the supervision of the Merchandise Manager. This position develops customer centric assortment plans based on an intimate understanding of each cruise line’s brand, guest demography and a detailed knowledge of the product category/marketplace and data. The Associate Buyer works with their Planning counterpart to achieve sales, gross margin and inventory turnover/weeks of supply plans while demonstrating a comprehensive understanding of the connection between the financial strategies and the related merchandising objectives. The Associate Buyer evaluates the assortment and reacts to in-season performance/trends as well as highlights performance and learnings to inform future strategies. They partner and influence across various cross functional teams and partners to ensure the execution of the merchandise assortments. The Associate Buyer is responsible for leading and developing one or more direct reports.

Strategic Priorities:

• In partnership with Merchandise Manager, develop and execute strategic vision for areas of responsibility while supporting multiple cruise line profiles (Budget, Moderate, Upscale, and Luxury).
• Develop strategic vision for merchandising standards onboard and partner with visual and marketing teams to execute the vision to support assortment and drive sales.
• Source, develop and manage vendors that are relevant to our business & negotiate terms, gross margin, and exclusive agreements.
• Ideate and create execution strategy for customer centric retail experiences that are relevant to each cruise line’s guest demographics and itineraries.
• Consistently evolve strategic vision based on emerging trends, market updates, and white space opportunities.Maintain competitive market awareness in both domestic and travel retail channels in core markets such as the U.S., Europe, and Asia as well as seasonal itineraries, such as Alaska, Australia and South America.
• Regularly reviews strategies and current business (category, vendor, and ship performance) with Merchandise Manager.

Assortment Planning:

• Deliver relevant, profitable assortments driven by consumer trends, cruise line demographics, and data-based insights.
• Manage assortment mix to drive sales in key items, exclusives, and novelty items. Ensure strategy and assortment execution align with constantly changing guest demands through consistent and rigorous analysis of SKU level performance and maintaining relevancy with consumer trends.
• Responsible for creating a compelling pricing strategy that delivers a competitive price advantage and savings to consumer within each itinerary/market.
• Optimize SKU count within each area of business to ensure the appropriate breadth & depth in each program based on ship profile and volume.
• Work with brands on exclusive product and First at Sea assortment opportunities to provide points of competitive differentiation.
• Able to prepare for and conduct vendor meetings, independently.

Financial Management:

• Position your area of responsibility to meet or exceed financial targets by leveraging business insights and retail intuition to successfully execute category initiatives.
• Consistently analyze, evaluate & reset to performance each business and brand by ship, focusing on opportunities within core, white space, and exclusive assortments.
• Direct and manage currency of inventory, processing markdowns & Sku optimization on a timely basis to keep inventories clean and maintain age standards.
• Achieve profitability goals by negotiating favorable margin and vendor support for key profit initiatives.Establish deliberate product life-cycles to better manage inventory flow…planned obsolescence
• Prepare for monthly OTB in partnership with MM and PM on the prep presentation of monthly overview of performance, areas of success and opportunities, and short-term forward-looking strategies to merchandising and planning leadership at monthly OTB meetings.

Interpersonal Management:

• Develop strong relationship with planning partner through teamwork and communication.
• Build relationships interdepartmentally within Starboard. Consistently act as a positive contributing force within Starboard in all interrelations and communication.
• Leverage relationships across the organization to ensure solid execution of strategic priorities and to more effectively synthesize scalable business opportunities.
• Drive cross-departmental initiatives through peer group collaboration
• Leads and develops one or more direct reports

Knowledge, Skills & Abilities:

• 4 to 6 Years of experience
• Bachelor’s Degree
• Strong analytical and strategy-formulation skills
• Demonstrated ability to be flexible and balance organizational prioritiesAbility to lead and drive results across large-scale initiatives within specified timeframes.
• Exceptional partnering skills that supports efficient decision-making.
• Demonstrated financial acumen.
• Proficiency in Microsoft applications such as Outlook, Excel, Word, Power Point.
  Exceptional communication skills.
• Strong negotiation skills.
• Creative and innovative with a passion for trends.
• Manages one or more employees within a departmentMakes recommendations and decisions independently. Some managerial guidance provided. Relatively high level of individual problem-solving ability required.
• Participates in strategy development for areas of responsibility in alignment with category vision set by the Merchandise.

Decision Making: 

• Makes recommendations and decisions independently. Some managerial guidance provided. Relatively high level of individual problem-solving ability required. Participates in strategy development for areas of responsibility in alignment with category vision set by the Merchandise Manager.

Travel Requirements:

• Between 10-25% of time

Key Competencies:

• Customer Service
• Relationship Management
• Business Acumen
• Drive for Results
• Self-Development
• Courage
• Problem Solving
• Communicating Effectively
• Teamwork and Collaboration
• Managing Conflict
• Motivating Others
• Adaptability
• Decision Making
• Managing and measuring work

Position Type/Expected Hours of Work:

Some flexibility in hours is permitted, employee must be available during the “core” work hours of 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday – Friday and must work 30 hours each week to maintain full-time status. Occasional evening and weekend work may be required as job duties demand.

Physical Demands:
Office environment with frequent sitting, walking and standing, occasional climbing, stooping, kneeling, crouching and balancing. Frequent use of eye, hand and finger coordination enabling use of office machinery. This position requires the ability to
occasionally lift office products and supplies, up to 20 pounds. Oral and auditory enabling interpersonal communication as well as communication automated devise such as the telephone.

At Starboard Cruise Services and Onboard Media curating a vibrant world can only be accomplished by vibrant and diverse teams. We are committed to nurturing a workplace where you can feel safe to show up authentically and thrive while being uniquely you. Our North Star guides us to deliver equal employment opportunities for all individuals and to providing employees with an equitable work environment free of discrimination and harassment. We also aim to extend this commitment to the partners we work with and the guests we serve. We are constantly listening, learning, and evolving to deliver on these promises.

We believe our differences make us stronger and are curious to see you leverage your lived experiences to strengthen our team, our culture and your career. At Starboard Cruise Services and Onboard Media we take action so that no one is discriminated against because of their differences, such as age, disability (physical, mental or sensory), ethnicity, gender, gender identity and expression, religion, sexual orientation, military/veteran status, genetic information, family care status or any other basis protected by federal, state or local laws. All employment decisions will be made based on business needs, job requirements and individual qualifications.

So come onboard with us and celebrate a culture that attracts top talent with shared values and forms the foundation for a great place to work.