Museum Store Buyer Manager, Andy Warhol Museum

The Warhol is one of the four Carnegie Museums, and a collaborative project between Carnegie Institute, Dia Art Foundation, and The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc. Plans to house The Warhol in Pittsburgh were announced in 1989, and the museum opened its doors during a 24-hour celebration on May 13, 1994. Originally built in 1911 as a distribution center for products sold to mills and mines, The Warhol was redesigned by architect Richard Gluckman and features seven floors of gallery and exhibition space as well as an underground level that houses The Factory education studio and the conservation lab. Carnegie Museums is interested in candidates who, through their experience and collaborations, will contribute to diversity and excellence of the Carnegie Museums community.
 

This Full-Time position is eligible for the Carnegie Museums' many Benefits. 

Please scroll to the bottom of this page to see information on the starting pay rate.

The Museum Store Buyer

• Leads the execution of the Store’s mission of enhancing the visitor experience and producing revenue for the museums through engaging product offerings and excellent customer service.
• Identifies customer preferences and forecasts consumer trends
• Analyzes sales and market trends and applies this knowledge to make insightful buying decisions
• Discovers & purchases new products and checks the quality and popularity of those already on our shelves.
• Evaluates supplier options and negotiates with suppliers to secure competitive prices, quality and terms to deliver value to our customers
• Directs merchandise placement and maintenance of product displays
• Maintains oversight of the day to day functions of the store through direction of store staff. Includes hiring, training, developing, supervising and coaching of staff
• Achieves financial objectives by driving sales and service through trained & motivated staff, controlling budget expenditures, analyzing variances, initiating corrective action and maintaining inventory control
• Maintains professional & technical knowledge by attending trade shows & fairs, educational workshops & conferences, reviewing professional publications and establishing personal networks

QUALIFICATIONS:

EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE:

• Proven experience as a retail buyer or relevant role.
• Bachelor’s degree required. Degree in Business Administration or relevant field preferred.
• Minimum of two years’ managerial experience, preferably in a high volume retail or museum store setting.  
• Familiarity with market research, data analysis & forecasting techniques
• Excellent knowledge of MS Office, Excel, PowerPoint
• Experience in personnel management and motivation, merchandising and adherence to inventory control. 

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, AND ABILITIES:

• Excellent customer service skill required, including problem resolution.
• Demonstrated success in generating maximum profit while providing outstanding customer service.
•  Outstanding communication abilities and interpersonal skills with ability to interact and present to Museum Upper Management, donors and customers with tact and diplomacy. 
• Excellent organizational skills. Timely follow through and attention to detail.
• Exercise independent judgment, creative thinking and problem solving. Ability to handle a variety of tasks simultaneously.
• Ability to work a varied schedule including some holidays, weekends and evenings.

PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS: Mental, emotional and physical stamina required to deal with simultaneous demands and varied personalities. The ability to lift and transport boxes (up to 30 pounds), climb ladders, stoop, bend, work in confined tight spaces, handle stock and stand for long periods of time. 

EMPLOYMENT TRAINING: Three Months

PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTABILITIES:

1. Supervises all store staff positions including hiring, training, coaching,  scheduling, motivating as well as conducting performance evaluations.  Manage these staff to assure attainment and adherence to the highest professional standards.  Promotes effective communication between store staff to ensure well informed and responsive associates.  Demonstrates leadership and provides information regarding the merchandise for staff to provide outstanding customer service.  Motivate staff to proactively engage with customers.
2. Researches, selects and purchases product assortment for the store and ecommerce site to match museum’s collections and exhibitions. Keeps current on museum visitor profile and preferences and industry trends. Analyzes cost versus retail price opportunities and sales performance to maximize return on investment.
3. Directs placement and maintenance of merchandise on selling floor. Directs creation of exciting visual displays and ensures visibility of merchandise to maximize sales and profits. Trains staff on new product and in keeping store shelves stocked appropriately.
4. Adds and maintains products and product photos to ecommerce channels or directs staff to do so. Includes placing products in appropriate categories and sub-categories and identifying appropriate products for marketing initiatives.
5.  Possess and maintain a working knowledge of all receiving, inventory control systems and online order fulfillment process in order to direct Merchandising/ Receiving associates in the receiving, order fulfillment and shipping processes. Verifies count and quality of merchandise deliveries to stores. Verifies product priced according to receiving documents. Monitors timely fulfillment of online orders and requests. Maintains documentation for product purchases. Assures all CMP Store bills and invoices are processed in a timely manner.
6. Analyzes sales performance of items and categories to maximize return on investment.
7. Develops branded product relating to permanent collections and exhibitions. Establishes relationships with Museum Directors, curators, educators and marketing for input in product development and marketing of store. Works closely with all CMP staff using tact and diplomacy to execute projects in a timely manner, insuring quality and branding.
8. Develops, seeks out, creates and manages product related special events.
9. Ensures compliance of trained staff on completion of daily sales deposits, audits or safe counts on a regular basis and maintains tight cash control.
10. Assures all operating systems such as POS computers are well maintained and functioning at full capacity, promptly reporting issues to IT service desk.
11. Conducts and manages physical inventories for the store, reconciling differences between the physical count and general ledger levels. Assists in physical inventories at all CMP stores.
12. Oversees maintenance of store back office stock rooms in an orderly fashion, help determine and maintain proper storage of merchandise in stockroom areas.
13. Performs all functions of the Sales Associate Position as needed including open and close registers and daily settlement
14. Oversite of all ecommerce sale, fulfillment and customer service including maintenance of content and inventory.
15. Required travel to attends trade shows, fairs and conferences.
16. Other duties as assigned.