Senior Buyer

At SBH, our purpose is to inspire a more colorful, confident, and welcoming world. We are the leader in professional hair color, selling and distributing professional beauty supplies across 11 countries through our Sally Beauty and Beauty Systems Group businesses. Sally Beauty offers products for hair color, hair care, nails, and skin care to retail customers looking for salon quality products at a value price. Beauty Systems Group, branded as Cosmo Prof or Armstrong McCall stores, along with its direct sales consultants, sell professionally branded products intended for use and resale by salons to retail consumers.  This is a hybrid role reporting into the Support Center at Legacy West in Plano Texas.

As a Senior Buyer, you will play a pivotal role in shaping and executing omnichannel category growth strategies for higher volume and/or complex categories at Sally Beauty Holdings. This position is responsible for driving category performance, maximizing sales and profitability, and expanding market share through strategic product assortment, vendor partnerships, and effective merchandising execution.

You will lead end-to-end category management, including assortment planning, pricing strategies, promotional execution, and lifecycle management. The role also includes developing high-performing teams, fostering vendor collaboration, and ensuring operational excellence across all merchandising processes. Your ability to drive results through thought leadership, cross-functional partnership, and customer-first strategies will be essential to success.

Repsonsibilities

Strategic Merchandising Leadership

• Lead the development of compelling product assortments aligned with customer needs and market trends.
• Analyse business performance, competitive landscape, and consumer insights to inform assortment, pricing, and promotional strategies.
• Partner with vendors to negotiate terms, develop exclusives, and ensure supply continuity across channels.
• Own the end-to-end merchandising calendar and ensure timely execution of product launches and key initiatives.

Business & Financial Acumen

• Use data-driven insights to forecast performance, identify risks/opportunities, and build actionable plans.
• Monitor KPIs such as sales, margin, turns, and inventory productivity, course-correcting as needed.
• Contribute to annual planning and monthly business reviews with executive stakeholders.

Team & Cross-Functional Leadership

• Lead and develop direct reports, creating a culture of performance, accountability, and innovation.
• Collaborate cross-functionally to deliver cohesive category strategies.
• Serve as a category expert, sharing thought leadership across the organization and representing the company with internal and external partners.

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience required; 4–6 years of merchandising, category management, or retail buying experience—beauty industry or consumer goods strongly preferred.

• Proven success in driving category growth through strategic planning, product assortment optimization, and business analysis. Strong P&L ownership and financial acumen with a deep understanding of sales and margin levers.
• Demonstrated experience leading and developing high-performing teams. Ability to motivate, influence, and collaborate across all levels and functions within the organization.
• Highly skilled in data analysis, forecasting, and decision-making. Ability to translate insights into action with a balance of strategic vision and tactical execution.
• Strong verbal and written communication skills, including effective public speaking and vendor negotiation. Adept at communicating complex ideas clearly and persuasively.
• Proficient in Microsoft Office Suite, particularly Excel and PowerPoint; experience with JDA or other merchandising/planning systems is a plus.
• Comfortable working in a dynamic, fast-paced environment with shifting priorities. Highly organized with the ability to manage multiple projects with accuracy and urgency.
• Experience with planogram planning, in-store merchandising execution, and travel as needed to support store walks or vendor meetings.

• Passionate Learner – inquisitive about the business; open to feedback and coaching, applies learning quickly; applies learning to improve processes and procedures, proactively shares learning with colleagues and leaders; realigning and reshaping projects

• Flexible & Agile Adapter – responsive and open to change; works well with ambiguity; adapts to new plans or directions; keeps calm under pressure; perseveres to achieve the plan/task; doesn’t dwell on the past

• Talent Builder – considers how we can create an inclusive culture; encourages input from others; invests time as an informal/formal coach or buddy; works to build a diverse team with the right skills and knowledge; looks for ways to acknowledge, motivate, and value the team

• Effective Communicator – articulates in an appropriate and accurate manner; emotionally astute while remaining authentic to own style/self; encourages others to express views and opinions; Team Builder – references the importance of teamwork and actively demonstrates collaboration and sharing; builds and/or participates in effective teams; values the importance of inclusion and various sources of thought/input; humble when operating within a team   

• Customer Focused Partner – understands internal and external customer needs; contributes to plans and actions to improve the associate and customer journey/experience; holds self and team accountable for improving the customer experience; is an advocate for the customer

• Strategic Thinker – progressive thinking with the ability to bring new ideas to life; works with others to develop progressive and cost-effective strategies; provides suggestions to improve upon continuous improvement and scalability within department; uses a broad range of data sources

• Big Picture Thinker – understands own department and how other key departments operate; adopts an inclusive approach; seeks feedback reviews progress, and adapts plans as needed; understands interdependencies with other departments 

• Results Driver – effective at driving and delivering on plans; holds self and team accountable to high standard of delivery; suggests opportunities for innovation and continuous improvement; focuses on the right priorities and uses resources/time wisely; demonstrates grit and determination

• Problem Solver & Decision Maker – able to consume department/operational data to identify business; identifies, gathers, and examines the relevant information; makes recommendations and takes action to solve challenges, considers importance/impact of decisions against relevant factors demonstrates active listening and uses probing questions; is concise and relevant with data/info

This will be a hybrid role required to be onsite at the corporate office on specified days. The work environment generally involves everyday risks or discomforts which require normal safety precautions typical of such places as offices, meeting and training rooms, retail stores, and residences or commercial vehicles, e.g., use of safe work practices with office equipment, avoidance of trips and falls, observance of fire regulations and traffic signals, etc. The work area is adequately lighted, heated, and ventilated.

The work is sedentary. Typically, the employee may sit comfortably to do the work. However, there may be some walking, standing, bending, and occasionally requires carrying, moving and setting up of computers, for example desktops, monitors, printers, and other small hardware in the testing lab.

Benefits

We offer a competitive salary and outstanding benefits package that includes medical, dental, vision, life Insurance, paid vacation and sick days, paid holidays, tuition reimbursement and 401(k) with company match. In addition, associates of SBH may take advantage of our in house salon with complementary services and a varied selection of food options at our corporate campus. Also, featured at our corporate campus, is both a Sally Beauty and CosmoProf Professional onsite store, where associates enjoy a great merchandise discount!