Buying Manager

Carters Inc. • Atlanta, GA

1d

About The Position

Serving the needs of all families with young children, Carter’s Inc. is the largest North American apparel retailer exclusively for babies and young children, encompassing Carter’s, OshKosh B’gosh, SkipHop and Little Planet brands. Meaningful work, constant learning, genuine people, and a community guided by core values that promote inclusion and innovation is in everything we do. There are many reasons to build your career at Carter's. How you’ll make an impact: The Buying Manager, Omnichannel Retail leads the development and execution of merchandise strategies across DTC channels (stores and eCommerce) for a defined brand or business segment. This role drives consumer-first assortments, influences strategic decision-making, and oversees in-season business management to achieve financial and brand goals. The Buying Manager mentors and guides a team of Sr. Buyers, Buyers, and Associates, while ensuring assortments, seasonal architecture, and execution meet strategic goals.

Requirements

• 8+ years of experience in merchandise buying, planning, or merchandising, with at least 3–5 years in a leadership role.
• Strong financial acumen and analytical ability; proven success in influencing buy strategies and in-season management decisions.
• Experience leading teams of Buyers and/or cross-level merchant teams.
• Demonstrated ability to guide assortment strategy, identify growth opportunities, and recommend optimization strategies tied to LRPs.
• Excellent collaboration and influencing skills; able to work effectively with Planning, Merchandising, Ecommerce, Visual, and Marketing partners.
• Strong presentation skills; able to communicate strategy and performance insights to leadership.
• Bachelor’s degree required.

Nice To Haves

• Experience in multi-brand or global retail organizations.
• Proven success in consumer-first merchandising, fleet segmentation, and omnichannel assortment planning.
• Familiarity with long-range planning, space planning, and inventory lifecycle management.
• MBA or advanced degree in business, retail, or related field.

Responsibilities

• Strategy & Pre-Season Leadership Partner with Brand Merchant leaders and Strategic Planning to shape DTC assortment strategies by business unit, department, and channel, identify growth opportunities and influence brand long-range plans (LRPs).
• Guide team in developing line architecture, balancing breadth, exclusives, and channel differentiation. Ensure seasonal buys, delivery flows, and promotional cadence align with consumer expectations and financial objectives.
• Oversee and approve assortment plans and buy recommendations developed by Buying team.
• Collaborate with Financial Planning peers on seasonal and annual financial plans.
• Partner with Visual Merchandising and Marketing to align product strategies with seasonal floor sets, marketing campaigns, and ecommerce initiatives.
• Work alongside Ops, Allocation, Ecommerce, Store Ops, and Supply Chain to ensure seamless execution across channels.
• Oversee in-season performance across departments, monitoring sales, margin, inventory, and consumer response to guide decisions aligned with consumer insights, competitive trends, and enterprise priorities.
• Achieve financial goals by managing in-season performance, sales, and profitability.
• Guide buying team in chasing winners, exiting underperformers, managing promotional cadence, and reallocating inventory.
• Partner with Financial Planners to manage inventory across the product lifecycle, ensuring alignment with margin guardrails and clearance strategies.
• Serve as the DTC champion across teams, influencing assortment strategies and supporting strong operational delivery.
• Build capabilities in line architecture, fleet segmentation, in-season agility, and consumer-first storytelling.
• Inspire, lead, and grow a team of Sr. Buyers, Buyers, Associates, and Assistants by setting direction, guiding decisions, and fostering a culture of agility, accountability, collaboration, and innovation.

Benefits

• Career Development: Success starts from within, and we have several paths from which you can choose to enhance your career evolution. From Carter’s University to Toastmasters to mentorship programs and more, we encourage you to utilize these tools to elevate your professional prowess.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Manager
• Number of Employees: 5,001-10,000 employees