Job Description:

Position Title: Buyer

Position Type: Full-Time

FLSA Classification: Exempt

Division: Business Services

Department: Retail

Reports to: Director of Retail

Compensation Range: $79,400-119,200

Date Reviewed: 11/1/2024

About Crystal Bridges & The Momentary:

Crystal Bridges is a museum of American art located in Bentonville, Arkansas. We explore the unfolding story of America by actively collecting, exhibiting, interpreting, and preserving outstanding works that illuminate the American heritage and artistic possibilities. Founded by Alice Walton in 2005, the museum opened in 2011 and is a public, non-profit charitable organization with free admission.

The Momentary is a new contemporary art space that opened to the public on February 22, 2020, in downtown Bentonville, Arkansas. A satellite to Crystal Bridges, the Momentary presents visual, performing, and culinary arts. The mission of the Momentary is to champion contemporary art’s role in everyday life and explore the unfolding story of contemporary American arts in an international context by actively commissioning and exhibiting outstanding works that explore new ideas and inspire action.

Position Summary

The Buyer will play a key role in shaping the retail offering at Crystal Bridges and the Momentary, involved in all the buying operations across in-store, online, exhibition, and event platforms. Working closely with the Director of Retail, the Buyer will lead the buying team, manage product sourcing, vendor relationships, and assortment planning to ensure a curated and profitable selection aligned with the museum’s mission and audience. This role requires a highly organized, proactive individual with a passion for retail, excellent market knowledge, and the ability to balance creativity with financial accountability.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities:

Product Selection & Assortment Planning

• Develop assortment strategies across multiple categories (e.g., gifts, books, apparel, exhibition-specific merchandise) for in-store, online, and event-based retail channels.
• Identify and select unique products that reflect the museum’s mission, exhibitions, and audience preferences.
• Collaborate with the Director of Retail to ensure buying aligns with sales goals, merchandising strategies, and brand positioning.
• Stay ahead of trends by attending domestic and international retail markets, trade shows, and industry events to discover new products and emerging suppliers.
• In collaboration with Associate Buyer plan and maintain a seasonal calendar, ensuring timely product launches and replenishments.
• Lead visual merchandising plans and execution for in-store and online and collaborate with Retail Operations Manager to coordinate training for operations team.

Vendor Relations & Negotiation

• Establish and maintain strong relationships with vendors, designers, and artists, negotiating favorable terms.
• Evaluate and onboard new suppliers to expand the museum’s offerings with exclusive and high-quality merchandise.
• Partner with vendors to develop custom products and exclusive collaborations that enhance the museum’s retail identity.
• Monitor supplier performance to ensure timely delivery, quality standards, and pricing agreements are met.

Team Leadership & Development

• Lead and manage the buying team, fostering a positive and collaborative work environment.
• Recruit, train, and develop team members to ensure a high level of engagement and performance.
• Provide ongoing coaching and feedback to staff, conducting regular performance reviews.
• Ensure the buying team is aligned with strategic plans and operational expectations, celebrating successes and addressing performance challenges promptly.

Inventory Management & Forecasting

• Work closely with the Retail Operations Manager to manage inventory levels and ensure optimal stock availability across all channels.
• Forecast demand for core and seasonal products based on sales data, market trends, and exhibitions, ensuring stock turnover targets are met.
• Monitor sell-through rates, making recommendations for markdowns, reorders, or discontinuations as needed.
• Collaborate with the Stockroom Specialist to coordinate product receiving and distribution.

Financial Planning & Reporting

• Manage the buying budget in alignment with financial goals, balancing creativity with fiscal responsibility.
• Track purchase orders, vendor invoices, and payment schedules to ensure accurate financial reporting.
• Provide regular performance updates to the Director of Retail, including analysis of buying trends, category performance, and sales opportunities.
• Work closely with cross-functional teams, including Marketing, and Exhibition teams, to coordinate product launches and promotions ensuring that product selections align with marketing strategies, events, and exhibition themes.
• Communicate effectively with the Director of Retail, providing clear updates on buying activities and recommendations for assortment improvements.

Qualifications and Skills:

Education, Training, and Traits

• Proven ability to plan, source, and manage multiple assortments across retail platforms (brick-and-mortar, online, and events).
• Experience attending and buying from trade shows and retail markets.
• Strong vendor management skills, with expertise in negotiation, product development, and relationship building.
• Proficiency with retail management systems (e.g., POS, inventory, and reporting tools).
• Knowledge of inventory management and forecasting tools and practices.
• Excellent budgeting and financial management skills, with the ability to track buying performance.
• Passion for art, design, and cultural experiences is a plus.

Work Experience

• 5+ years of buying experience in retail, preferably in museum, cultural, or specialty retail environments.

Skills and Abilities

• Strong interpersonal and communication skills, with the ability to collaborate and align with multiple stakeholders.

Physical Demands and Work Environment:

The physical demands and work environment characteristics described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this position. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

• Physical demands: Bending, lifting, carrying, and reaching stock shelves at least 5’ in height and up to 25 lbs. and pushing or pulling more than 25 lbs. Standing 4+ hours at a time. Ability to use a step ladder to reach merchandise on 6’ high shelves. Ability to sit for long periods of time. Additionally, this position requires meeting the public and the organization in a professional and courteous manner. Frequently, while performing the duties of this job, the employee is required to travel independently domestically.

• Visual demands: Visual acuity to review written materials is required for this job.

• Work environment: Work will be performed in the stores, museum spaces and stockrooms. The physical arrangement of the office may require the position to work in an open environment within close proximity to other colleagues. Workspace must be organized and reflect efficiency.

• Schedule: Must have flexibility and an open availability work schedule - Sunday through Saturday, daytime, evenings, weekends, holidays, and/or on-call for emergencies. Travel is required.

Exposure: The physical arrangement of the office may require the position to work in an open environment within close proximity to other colleagues. Workspace must be organized and reflect efficiency. The noise level in the museum work environment is usually low to moderate.