Buyer Assistant - Frozen Food/Dairy

Festival Foods • De Pere, WI

60d • Onsite

About The Position

Under the direction of the assigned department or category Buyer, the Buyer Assistant will support and work closely with Festival's vendor partners and the larger team to ensure data accuracy and data quality of item-level attributes, including cost, and promotion.

The Buyer Assistant takes the lead on onboarding new Vendors and new Items, respective to their assigned department / category and ensures that through the life of the item, the associated attributes used for downstream reporting and profitability are maintained. This role operates in a fast-paced environment, and requires a keen attention to detail within associated business processes and software tools to be successful.

Requirements

• Minimum of 2 years retail experience
• Professional, positive, energetic attitude.
• Dependable work ethic, excellent organization, analytical, and problem-solving skills.
• Ability to multitask and quickly react to changing responsibilities/needs in a fast-paced environment
• Retail knowledge pertaining to invoicing, costs, deals, promotions and pricing
• Exceptional attention to detail with a continuous improvement mindset
• Excellent oral and written communication skills
• Strong technological / merchandising systems aptitude, and fluent in MS Excel and MS Office

Responsibilities

• Onboards new items and new vendors by collecting all appropriate information in conjunction with Buyers and vendors and seeing process through to completion ahead of product procurement.
• Maintains item attributes within Festival Foods' Master Data Systems by interpreting and relaying appropriate changes communicated by vendor partners, through connected internal processes.
• Collects ad / promotion tactics on behalf of assigned Buyer and department / category leadership and translates into downstream tools/processes to ensure accurate execution at point of sale and in promotional materials.
• Maintains accurate pricing at stores, by executing price adjustments under the guidance of assigned Buyer and department / category leadership.
• Maintains profitability by billing vendors for ads, cost recovery and assorted negotiations.
• Authorizes payment, returned merchandise, credits and invoice error fees.
• Maintains accurate costs by timely processing cost changes submitted by vendors
• Reviews invoices as needed to ensure that the cost on invoices matches the cost on file and resolves with vendor (or source system) as necessary.
• Supports assigned buyer's initiatives by preparing and compiling reports on metrics including, but not limited to, sales, margin, ad performance, shrink, quarterly performance, etc.
• Maintains exceptional vendor partner working relationships through partnership and training of Festival Foods forms, systems and tools by serving as a primary point of contact.
• Contributes to assigned department / category team by answering and/or resolving ad or merchandising inquires.
• Supports inventory maintenance programs on behalf of the assigned department / category, which may include but is not limited to, maintaining counts and preparing inventory workbooks.
• Partners with connected business teams, including Merchandising Systems, Central Pricing, Space Planning, Business Analytics, to ensure successful connected integrations between departments where applicable.
• Regular, timely attendance in compliance with the work schedule, and adequate notice to find a replacement for occasional absences
• Additional projects or duties as assigned by Buyer or department / category leadership.
• Other duties as assigned.

Benefits

• Associate Discount: Enjoy an industry-leading 15% off your grocery purchases for you and your immediate household!.
• Weekly Pay & Premium Pay: Hourly associates are paid weekly, providing more frequent access to their funds. Part-time store associates are paid a $1 premium per hour on Sundays and select holidays. Hourly full-time store associates receive time and a half on Sundays and select holidays.
• Two-Week Advanced Scheduling: Better Planning. Better Balance. We provide our associates with their schedules two weeks in advance, offering greater predictability & flexibility.
• Vision & Dental Insurance: Part-time and full-time associates are eligible for vision insurance and two dental coverage options that are designed to fit your needs.
• Support: Our associates receive support for their total well-being; including 3 weeks of paid parental leave, a fitness reimbursement program offering savings off of fitness membership fees; our EAP (Employee Assistance Program) and LEAPCare Care Coaches, which provide associates confidential care related to hospital visitation, conflict resolution, stress management, marriage or divorce, family issues and depression or anxiety.
• Save for Your Future: Offering a 401(k), we're proud to support our associates in planning for retirement. The 401(k) plan empowers associates to save a portion of their paychecks for retirement. Festival Foods has an annual discretionary match to help our associates reach their savings goals.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Entry Level
• Industry: Food and Beverage Retailers
• Education Level: No Education Listed
• Number of Employees: 5,001-10,000 employees