Assistant Buyer Development Program - 2027 Start Dates

Burlington; United States; Hybrid; USD 42,000 - 65,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid work model

Relocation benefits

Job summary

Burlington is launching an Assistant Buyer program designed to start a career in Buying. You will work with Buyers to select merchandise, analyze category performance, and participate in market visits to negotiate value for customers.

The role combines in-office work with market visits and remote days, offering mentorship, onboarding, and cross-functional collaboration within a growing off-price retail environment.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Merchandising or related field.
• Advanced Excel skills including pivot tables and VLOOKUP.
• Strong data analysis and market trend skills.
• Ability to travel within NY/NJ/PA region.
• Excellent communication and vendor negotiation abilities.

Responsibilities

• Select and procure merchandise with Buyer to curate product mix.
• Analyze category performance and provide insights.
• Attend market visits and vendor appointments.
• Negotiate pricing to reflect value for customers.
• Manage purchase orders, shipping windows, and vendor setup.
• Collaborate with multiple departments.

Skills

Advanced Excel

Data analysis

Vendor relations

Market trend analysis

Negotiation

Communication

Education

Bachelor's degree in Merchandising/Business/Marketing/Retail Management/Supply Chain/Economics

Tools

Excel

Office software

Job description

Position Overview

Starting a new career is a big deal, and at Burlington, we love big deals! If you enjoy identifying emerging trends, have strong attention to detail, and are interested in building a career in retail merchandising and buying, we encourage you to apply. You will analyze a business area and develop relationships with vendors to bring in the best products and values for our customers.

Our Burlington

In 1972, Burlington Stores operated as a family-owned coat business, and over the years, we have grown into one of today's leading off-price retailers and continue to evolve through collaboration, innovation, and customer focus. Centered on five tenets, "Our Burlington" defines who we are as an employer, and what is important to us as a team, and it guides us toward continued growth, innovation, and success in the off-price retail industry.

Additional information is available at: https://burlingtonstores.jobs/our-burlington/

Additional information is available at: https://burlingtonstores.jobs/our-burlington/

Our Development Program

Our Assistant Buyer program opportunity is a starting point for a career journey in Buying and here is a peek at what you can expect:

• A hands-on training and onboarding program for your first weeks in which you will be placed in a business area to start applying your knowledge and skills.
• A mentor who will help guide and support you through training and beyond.
• Shadowing opportunities with various buying teams both in market and in the office.
• A hybrid model that includes in-office, market/comp shopping and remote days. This schedule can be subject to change. (Relocation benefits are available for those who are eligible).
• Being a part of an onboarding class with peers who will be starting in the same role and start date as you.

A Day in the Life

• Select and procure merchandise in conjunction with your Buyer in the assigned business area of responsibility to ensure that the final mix of products is ultimately customer oriented and curated to achieve a set profit plan.
• Provide operational support to the Buyer by independently managing business analysis and delivering insights on category performance.
• Participate in market visits/vendor appointments to select product assortments and negotiate pricing that resonate with customers and reflect strong value.
• Contribute to business growth by sharing well-informed perspectives based on competitive shopping, trend monitoring, and market performance evaluation.
• Build and nurture strong, positive "win/win" relationships with vendors. Effectively influence to solve problems and follow up with orders.
• Manage a large magnitude of email streams across a diverse vendor database and in turn, be able to communicate and give updates to managers regarding vendor feedback.
• Maintain planned receipt flow on a consistent basis which consists of tracking when merchandise is being received and using judgment to make flow issue callouts to buyers when needed, ensuring adherence to scheduled shipping windows, and negotiating late shipping discounts.
• Consistently drive results by strategically managing the full cycle of merchandise for your business area which include entering, updating, managing, tracking, and organizing purchase orders to ensure timely delivery, communicating late deliveries to the Buying team, setting up new vendors with routing guides and pre-ticketing information.
• Collaborate for success; teamwork is key to success and you will work with several functional areas within the department for input, ideas, and to execute your assignments.

You’ll Come With

• Bachelor's degree in Merchandising, Business, Marketing, Retail Management, Supply Chain, Economics, or related fields.
• A dvanced proficiency in Microsoft Excel including pivot tables and VLOOKUP and b asic understanding of Microsoft Office programs.
• Fundamental understanding of retail math.
• Data-driven problem-solver who can build and maintain productive partnerships by living our core values.
• Ability to recognize, analyze, and quantify market trends.
• Ability to think critically with high attention to detail and listening, oral, and written communication skills.
• Affinity for retail math, product/merchandising, and building a career in Buying.
• Ability to effectively prioritize tasks, manage competing deadlines, and adapt to changing business needs.
• Ability to negotiate with vendors to secure competitive pricing and strong value for customers.
• Demonstrates initiative, curiosity, adaptability, and a commitment to continuous learning and professional growth.
• Ability to travel within the NY, NJ, and PA region as needed for vendor appointments, trade shows, market visits, and competitive shopping activities.

This role requires travel to Burlington offices, vendor appointments, market visits, and store locations throughout the region. Candidates must be able to meet the travel requirements of the position.

Our Compensation and Benefits

A n annual s