Assistant Buyer & Consignment Coordinator

Housing Works • New York, NY

16h

About The Position

The Assistant Buyer and Consignment Coordinator is responsible for assisting the Buyer in the development, sourcing, merchandising, and execution of strategic product assortments for product lines that are not commonly donated in a resalable condition, thereby improving revenue and profitability incrementally over and above the current revenue and donations stream and supply trends. This role supports category expansion, vendor coordination, purchase order execution, inventory management, allocation management, and cross-functional communication to ensure timely and profitable product flow. This position is also responsible for managing the full lifecycle of consigned merchandise in our newly launched Consignment Program, including consignor communications, product authentication, pricing, financial management and shipping logistics. This position works closely with the Buyer, PDC Manager, eShop Manager, Bookstore Manager, Director of Stores, and the Administrative team to identify, analyze, and maximize trends and opportunities.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s Degree
• 1-3 years of experience in retail buying, resale, consignment, vintage, or fashion merchandising
• Strong foundation of retail math
• Strong understanding of designer brands and value, luxury resale and consignment, vintage value, and trend cycles
• Experience authenticating luxury items
• Experience sourcing vintage and/or luxury secondhand apparel and accessories
• Polished, professional, and highly skilled at building relationships with consignors, with strong communication and interpersonal skills to represent the consignment program effectively
• Must be proficient in Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, Outlook, Powerpoint)
• Working knowledge of the off-price and second-hand market

Responsibilities

• Responsible for providing key support to the Buyer and the Product Buy program with the overall goal of providing incremental profit to the business by sourcing and developing product lines in categories that are not commonly donated in a resalable condition
• Assist in private label product development and category expansion
• Oversee store communications and PDC warehouse communications
• Assist in processing and distribution instructions for incoming product buy
• Work with PDC team on processing, pricing, ticketing and distribution of product to ensure maximum revenue
• Purchase order management and administration
• Inventory management and shipping logistics
• Invoice management and communications with the finance team
• Support seasonal strategy planning, markdown strategy, and promotional initiatives
• Research current market trends, vendor opportunities, and product category opportunities
• Conduct brand outreach for off-price buy opportunities
• Coordinate with the Asset Protection Manager and Store Teams to conduct regular cycle counts
• Responsible for managing the full lifecycle of consigned merchandise under our newly launched consignment program – including: initial customer outreach relationship building hosting consignment appointments product intake product authentication product research and pricing merchandising strategy invoice management consignor payout financial reporting markdown execution inbound/outbound logistics sell through performance
• Work with Marketing and Administrative team to develop the Annual Promotional Calendar and attend weekly marketing meeting to ensure all revenue opportunities are maximized via appropriate messaging
• This includes providing input and feedback on the in-store visual merchandising strategy of the product buys
• Demonstrate and communicate awareness of retail landscape, including competitive trends and fashion trends
• Visit Shops on a regular basis to collect feedback from staff and customers
• Demonstrating excellent internal and external customer service, and growing this within the businesses and amongst support teams
• Demonstrating excellent teamwork and growing this within the businesses and amongst support teams
• Perform other duties as directed by your supervisor, V.P., CRO, President and Thrift Shop board members

Benefits

• Three comprehensive healthcare plans to choose from
• Housing Works covers most of the plan; you pay a portion, based on your salary.
• Staff begins accruing PTO immediately for a total of up to 30 days earned in the first year.
• Educational benefit available for tuition loan reimbursement, tuition costs, and text books.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Entry Level