Associate Buyer

We're a company that's passionate about providing our customers with the best possible shopping experience. Our mission is to touch lives for the better, and we're committed to being the first choice for bargain-minded consumers in the market.

Our Purchasing team is the heart of the organization, building and maintaining vendor relationships and providing solutions for our supplier partners and independent operators. We're a collaborative and entrepreneurial team that's passionate about closeout buying and providing our customers with the deepest discounts on quality and branded products.

As an Associate Buyer on the Deli team, you'll work alongside a buyer to continue to learn and develop your buying and negotiating skills. You'll assist the buyer you're teamed up with on all of their categories and key accounts, as well as take ownership of managing your own categories. The Associate Buyer will report to a Buyer on the Deli Team.

• Support Buyers on day-to-day functions of the department
• Develop new relationships as well as foster existing relationships to drive the success of your categories
• Responsible for category management for multiple classes and sub-classes
• Monitor future purchase orders and manage weekly receipt flow into the 4 different distribution centers, to insure timely arrival of orders
• Monitor receipts for fulfillment accuracy
• Work closely with the inventory planning team to support buyer forecasting and managing of imports
• Demonstrate ability to successfully sell Grocery Outlet to vendors and foster relationships with our existing supplier base
• Identify category opportunities based on trends within and outside of GOI to help reach and exceed sales and margin plans
• Navigate key metrics by category and SKU to analyze assortment and potential gaps
• Negotiate costs that allow to set retail prices that maximize value to the customer while considering the impact in margin
• Ensure that communication (written/verbal) is complete and thorough with vendor and internal partners
• Establishes and maintains a reputation of credibility and responsiveness; promptly returns vendor and store phone calls, ensures timely follow-up on issues within 24 hours
• Write articles addressed to store managers and operators communicating organic trends, merchandising recommendations and general knowledge of the organic category

• Base Salary Range: $70,000 - $75,000 Annually
• Annual Bonus Program
• Equity
• 401(k) Profit Sharing
• Medical, Dental, Vision & More
• Final compensation will be determined based upon experience and skills and may vary based on location

• Degree and 2+ year of purchasing experience or 4 to 6 years of purchasing experience and/or training; or equivalent combination of education and experience
• Experience negotiating cost and terms with suppliers
• Ability to prioritize, multitask and manage multiple projects with broad workload to meet deadlines in a fast-paced environment
• Strong written & verbal communication skills
• Excellent interpersonal and negotiation skills
• Proven team player, self-motivated, independent thinker
• Highly analytical, resourceful, and problem-solving mentality
• Proficient in the use of Excel, Microsoft Word and Outlook
• Travel 10% of the time
• Able to work a hybrid schedule in our Emeryville, Ca office