Job Description

Principal Accountabilities:
Under general direction:* Responsible for merchandise selection and purchase including type, quality, source, timing, delivery, mix and promotion for one or more merchandise categories* Create and implement plans to maximize gross profit by coordinating sales, gross margin, inventory turnover, cost of promotion, and markdowns for categories managed* Select and evaluate vendors and negotiate product cost* May also have design (private label) responsibility

Knowledge & Skill Requirements:
* Bachelor’s degree in a related field *Equivalent years of experience in a substantially similar industry may be considered in lieu of a degree to be determined by the nature of the specific job and the hiring manager’s criteria * Minimum of five years of related experience preferred* Strong written and oral communication skills* Proficient PC skills

Knowledge & Application:
* Discipline expert, typically with a number of years post qualification experience or equivalent business experience * Integrates and communicates fairly complex information within the specialization or recognized body of formal knowledge* Knowledge of principles and practices within a professional discipline * Assess unusual circumstances, suggests variations in approaches, and incomplete or conflicting data

Problem Solving:
* Resolve issues that are differing, but related* Issues require sophisticated analytical or problem solving techniques to identify cause * Devises solutions based on limited information and uses past experience or precedent to identify solutions or to adapt existing approaches to resolve issues* Uses evaluation, judgment, and interpretation to select right course of action, which may impact the longer term* Anticipates future issues* Work is done independently, but is reviewed at critical points

Interaction:
* Interprets and explains information to audiences who are not familiar with the subject matter often requiring persuasion* Adapts style to differing audiences* Requires objective review of difficult work problems, obtaining cooperation or approval * Requires considerable resourcefulness* Requires strong multicultural awareness to appropriately deliver messages

Impact:
* Impact is limited to the achievement of short- to medium-term goals* Contributes to delivery of discipline/department goals through personal effort or through influence over team members* Has contributory impact on team/discipline performance

Accountability:
* Accountable for meeting own target which will impact the discipline * Accountable for own targets which will typically be definable but not always financially measurable

R-20260608-0002