Buying Manager
Robert HalfThis job posting is for a current vacancy with our client.
Our client, a growing Canadian apparel and lifestyle retailer, is seeking a Senior Buying Manager to join their expanding team in Toronto.
This is an exciting opportunity for an experienced apparel buying professional to take ownership of seasonal buying, assortment execution, open-to-buy management, and in-season trading within a growin
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g omnichannel retail environment. This individual will also lead and develop a Buyer while partnering closely with Planning, Retail, E-Commerce, Marketing, Supply Chain, and Finance.
Key Responsibilities
• Lead seasonal buying and assortment execution across retail and e-commerce channels.
• Provide strategic oversight of seasonal buys, including style, unit, channel, and store-level decisions.
• Own Open-to-Buy (OTB) management in close partnership with Planning.
• Analyze sell-through, gross margin, GMROI, AUR, inventory productivity, and markdown performance.
• Make informed in-season trading decisions, including reorders, depth adjustments, pricing, promotions, markdowns, and product exits.
• Monitor performance at the style, channel, and store level and translate insights into commercial actions.
• Oversee purchase order management and partner with Supply Chain to support inventory flow and receipt accuracy.
• Lead, coach, and develop a Buyer while providing guidance on day-to-day buying activities.
• Partner cross-functionally to align buying and inventory strategies with broader business objectives.
What They're Looking For
• Approximately 7–10+ years of progressive buying and merchandising experience; strong candidates with slightly less experience may also be considered.
• Meaningful apparel or fashion buying experience is required.
• Experience should be primarily rooted in buying, with complementary planning knowledge.
• Strong experience with seasonal buys, assortment management, OTB, in-season trading, markdowns, and inventory management.
• Experience within an omnichannel retail environment, including both physical stores and e-commerce.
• Previous people management experience with at least one direct report.
• Strong retail math and commercial acumen, including margin, sell-through, inventory productivity, and markdown analysis.
• Proven experience managing a meaningful category, inventory portfolio, or dollar value of business.
• Strong Excel and/or Google Sheets skills.
• Strong judgment, adaptability, communication, and cross-functional collaboration skills.
Nice to Have
• Experience within a high-growth, DTC, or digitally native apparel brand.
• Experience with Shopify and/or NetSuite.
• Experience working within a scaling retail organization.
• Comfort leveraging AI and emerging technology as tools to support analysis, productivity, and decision-making while maintaining strong independent judgment.
This is an opportunity to join a growing, people-focused retail organization and play an important role in strengthening its buying function as the business continues to scale. The position follows a four-day in-office hybrid model in downtown Toronto, with one work-from-home day per week.
Our specialized recruiting professionals apply their expertise and utilize our proprietary AI to connect exceptional talent with outstanding career opportunities.