Buyer Manager

Baltic Born•Lehi, UT

43d

About The Position

We're looking for a Buyer Manager to lead our buying team through every launch on the calendar. You'll own the buy end to end — assortment planning, quantities, size curves, vendor negotiation, and delivery — across approximately twelve launches per year. Just as importantly, you'll lead people. You'll manage a team of six spanning Junior Buyers through Senior Buyers, and a core part of this job is growing them: teaching the craft of buying, sharpening their analytical instincts, and building the kind of bench strength that lets people advance into bigger roles here. This is a strong fit for an experienced buyer who is ready for their first management seat. We are not requiring prior people-management experience. We are looking for someone with real buying depth, sound judgment, and a genuine interest in developing others — and we'll support you in growing into the leadership side of the role.

Requirements

Several years of hands-on buying, merchandising, or assortment planning experience — ideally in apparel, fashion, or a comparable consumer product category.
A demonstrated track record of making buy decisions and owning the results, good and bad.
Fluency in sell-through, margin, inventory turn, and forecasting, with advanced Excel or Google Sheets skills.
Direct experience managing international vendors, production lead times, and the realities of global shipping.
Hands-on experience with Sage Inventory Planner, or comparable demand planning and inventory forecasting software.
Working proficiency in Shopify and Asana, plus Google Workspace.
A genuine interest in building repeatable systems — you notice when something is being done inefficiently and you fix it.
Evidence that you enjoy teaching and developing people, whether that came from formal management, training peers, or mentoring junior team members.
Real interest in women's fashion and consumer trends, and a point of view about where the market is heading.
Clear, professional, and direct communication — with vendors, with your team, and with leadership.

Nice To Haves

Experience buying for extended sizing and managing size curves across a broad range.
Background in a direct-to-consumer or e-commerce-first brand.
Experience in a high-launch-cadence environment with compressed seasonal calendars.
Familiarity with landed cost modeling, tariff codes, and international shipping terms (FOB, DDP, CIF).
Experience hiring, onboarding, or building out a team from a small base.

Responsibilities

Lead the buying process for approximately twelve launches per year, from initial concept through delivery to the warehouse.
Build and finalize buy quantities by style, color, and size, balancing newness against proven performers.
Set and manage size curves across our extended size range, using sell-through data to refine depth by size over time.
Partner with Design and Production on the seasonal calendar, holding buy deadlines that protect on-time launch dates.
Manage the open-to-buy budget, flagging risk and opportunity early rather than at the end of the season.
Own assortment planning for each launch — category mix, price architecture, style count, and the balance of core, seasonal, and fashion-forward product.
Analyze historical sell-through, margin, return rates, and customer feedback to inform what gets bought, repeated, or retired.
Identify white space in the assortment and bring forward opportunities backed by data and market research.
Build and present the assortment plan and post-launch recaps to leadership, with a clear point of view on what worked and what didn't.
Manage a team of six across Junior Buyer, Buyer, and Senior Buyer levels — setting priorities, reviewing work, and holding a high bar.
Mentor deliberately: teach assortment logic, negotiation, and data interpretation so team members build judgment, not just execute tasks.
Create development paths for each team member, with clear skill milestones that support promotion into more senior buying roles.
Run regular one-on-ones, deliver honest and useful feedback, and own hiring and onboarding as the team grows.
Delegate meaningful work — including stretch assignments — so the team gains reps on the parts of the job that advance careers.
Own relationships with overseas vendors and manufacturing partners, including negotiation of pricing, minimums, and terms.
Manage production and shipping lead times across international supply chains, building calendars that account for realistic transit and customs timing.
Resolve delivery discrepancies, quality issues, and delays, escalating with urgency when a launch date is at risk.
Evaluate landed cost — including freight, duties, and tariffs — and protect gross margin targets on every buy.
Source and vet new vendors to expand capability, improve turnaround, or reduce cost.
Own and continuously improve the buying team's processes, templates, and documentation — from PO workflows to sample tracking to vendor records.
Maintain accurate demand and replenishment planning in Sage Inventory Planner, using it to drive reorder timing and stock coverage decisions.
Keep product, vendor, and SKU data clean and current in Shopify and Asana so the rest of the business can rely on it.
Establish reporting the team and leadership actually use — sell-through, in-stock position, vendor performance, and margin by launch.
Partner with Marketing, E-commerce, Warehouse, and Finance to make sure every launch is supported, stocked, and on budget.