Associate Manager, Product Development

The Associate Buyer partners with the Buyer to develop and execute the strategic vision, business strategy, product roadmap, and assortment plan for assigned categories or programs. At more experienced levels, this role may independently manage a category of business under the Buyer’s guidance.

Hands-on  apparel product development experience is required . The ideal candidate has experience managing the full product lifecycle, from trend and concept development through design, sourcing, costing, fabric and trim selection, sampling, fit and construction reviews, approvals, production, and final execution. Experience partnering with designers, vendors, sourcing teams, and factories to commercialize apparel is essential.

The Associate Buyer translates  consumer trends, brand direction, and business opportunities into commercially viable apparel products and collections . Responsibilities include identifying product opportunities, developing seasonal concepts and briefs, partnering on design and development, managing costing and margin objectives, reviewing samples and fit, providing product feedback, managing approvals, and ensuring timely delivery to quality, aesthetic, and commercial standards.

A key focus of the role is building and strengthening  cruise line brand partnerships . The Associate Buyer serves as a day-to-day merchandise and product development partner to assigned clients, developing a deep understanding of their brand, guest demographics, positioning, and business objectives. They build trusted relationships, identify opportunities, present recommendations, incorporate feedback, and ensure assortments align with both brand and commercial goals.

The Associate Buyer must be a confident  presenter and influencer , able to communicate assortment strategies, product concepts, business performance, and recommendations to clients, senior leaders, and cross-functional teams. Strong business acumen, product expertise, data-driven decision-making, and storytelling skills are essential.

The role partners closely with Planning to achieve  sales, gross margin, inventory, and weeks-of-supply objectives , while connecting financial strategies to assortment and product development decisions. The Associate Buyer evaluates performance, responds to in-season trends, and applies learnings to future assortments and product development.

The Associate Buyer collaborates cross-functionally with  Design, Planning, Sourcing, Production, Visual Merchandising, Marketing, vendors, factories, and cruise line partners  to drive successful product and assortment execution from concept through commercialization.

What you’ll be doing:

ESSENTIAL DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES:

Strategic Priorities:

• In partnership with Merchandise Manager, develop and execute strategic vision for areas of responsibility while supporting multiple cruise line profiles (Budget, Moderate, Upscale, and Luxury).
• Develop strategic vision for merchandising standards onboard and partner with visual and marketing teams to execute the vision to support assortment and drive sales.
• Source, develop and manage vendors and factories with strong product development capabilities. Lead the development of new and differentiated products from concept through commercialization, while negotiating cost, terms, gross margin, MOQ, lead times, exclusivity, and vendor support.
• Ideate and create execution strategy for customer centric retail experiences and product concepts relevant to each cruise line's brand, guest demographics, and itineraries. Translate trends, customer insights, and white-space opportunities into innovative products and collections.
• Consistently evolve strategic vision based on emerging trends, market updates, and white space opportunities. Maintain competitive market awareness in both domestic and travel retail channels and translate relevant trends into actionable product development concepts and commercial
• Regularly reviews strategies and current business (category, vendor, and ship performance) with Merchandise Manager.

Assortment Planning:

• Deliver relevant, profitable assortments driven by consumer trends, cruise line demographics, and data-based insights.
• Manage assortment mix to drive sales in key items, exclusives, and novelty items. Ensure strategy and assortment execution align with constantly changing guest demands through consistent and rigorous analysis of SKU level performance and maintaining relevancy with consumer trends.
• Responsible for creating a compelling pricing strategy that delivers a competitive price advantage and savings to consumer within each itinerary/market.
• Optimize SKU count within each area of business to ensure the appropriate breadth & depth in each program based on ship profile and volume.
• Work with brands on exclusive product and First at Sea assortment opportunities to provide points of competitive differentiation.
• Able to prepare for and conduct vendor meetings, independently.

Product Development & Innovation:

• Lead the end-to-end product development process for assigned categories, from concept and ideation through sourcing, costing, sampling, approvals, production, and final launch.
• Translate consumer trends, cruise line brand identities, guest demographics, itineraries, and business opportunities into commercially viable product concepts and collections.
• Partner directly with vendors, factories, designers, and internal teams to develop custom products, private-label merchandise, exclusive collections, and differentiated product opportunities.
• Create clear product briefs communicating design direction, target retail, target cost, margin expectations, quantities, quality expectations, and delivery timelines.
• Review and provide detailed feedback on CADs, artwork, colors, materials, samples, packaging, branding, and product specifications.
• Manage product development calendars and critical paths to ensure key milestones and launch dates are achieved.
• Proactively identify development risks related to cost, quality, MOQ, lead time, production capacity, or delivery and recommend solutions.
• Maintain a pipeline of newness and white-space opportunities that supports future assortment and growth strategies.
• Evaluate new product performance and incorporate learnings into future product development decisions.

Financial Management:

• Position your area of responsibility to meet or exceed financial targets by leveraging business insights and retail intuition to successfully execute category initiatives.
• Consistently analyze, evaluate & reset to performance each business and brand by ship, focusing on opportunities within core, white space, and exclusive assortments.
• Direct and manage currency of inventory, processing markdowns & Sku optimization on a timely basis to keep inventories clean and maintain age standards.
• Achieve profitability goals by negotiating favorable margin and vendor support for key profit initiatives. Establish deliberate product life-cycles to better manage inventory flow…planned obsolescence
• Prepare for monthly OTB in partnership with MM and PM on the prep presentation of monthly overview of performance, areas of success and opportunities, and short-term forward-looking strategies to merchandising and planning leadership at monthly OTB meetings.

Interpersonal Management:

• Develop strong relationship with planning partner through teamwork and communication.
• Build relationships interdepartmentally within Starboard. Consistently act as a positive contributing force within Starboard in all interrelations and communication.
• Leverage relationships across the organization to ensure solid execution of strategic priorities and to more effectively synthesize scalable business opportunities.
• Drive cross-departmental initiatives through peer group collaboration
• Leads and develops one or more direct reports

What we’re looking for:

• QUALIFICATIONS:

  Education:

  • 4 to 6 Years of experience
  • Bachelor’s Degree

  Knowledge, Skills & Abilities:

  • Strong analytical and strategy-formulation skills
  • Demonstrated ability to be flexible and balance organizational prioritiesAbility to lead and drive results across large-scale initiatives within specified timeframes.
  • Exceptional partnering skills that supports efficient decision-making.
  • Demonstrated financial acumen.
  • Proficiency in Microsoft applications such as Outlook, Excel, Word, Power Point.Exceptional communication skills.
  • Strong negotiation skills.
  • Creative and innovative with a passion for trends.
  • Manages one or more employees within a departmentMakes recommendations and decisions independently. Some managerial guidance provided. Relatively high level of individual problem-solving ability required.
  • Participates in strategy development for areas of responsibility in alignment with category vision set by the Merchandise.
  • Hands-on apparel product development experience is required.
  • Demonstrated experience managing the end-to-end apparel development lifecycle , from concept through production.
  • Experience working with apparel design, fabrication, trims, color, graphics, fit, construction, costing, sampling, and approvals .
  • Experience partnering directly with designers, vendors, sourcing teams, production partners, and factories .
  • Strong understanding of apparel trends, competitive landscape, consumer behavior, and product positioning .
  • Ability to translate brand and consumer insights into commercially viable, differentiated apparel collections .

  Decision Making: 

  • Makes recommendations and decisions independently. Some managerial guidance provided. Relatively high level of individual problem-solving ability required. Participates in strategy development for areas of responsibility in alignment with category vision set by the Merchandise Manager.

  Travel Requirements:

  • Between 10-25% of time

  Key Competencies:

  • Customer Service
  • Relationship Management
  • Business Acumen
  • Drive for Results
  • Self-Development
  • Courage
  • Problem Solving
  • Communicating Effectively
  • Teamwork and Collaboration
  • Managing Conflict
  • Motivating Others
  • Adaptability
  • Decision Making
  • Managing and measuring work

Position Type/Expected Hours of Work:

Some flexibility in hours is permitted, employee must be available during the “core” work hours of 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday – Friday and must work 30 hours each week to maintain full-time status. Occasional evening and weekend work may be required as job duties demand.

Physical Demands: Office environment with frequent sitting, walking and standing, occasional climbing, stooping, kneeling, crouching and balancing. Frequent use of eye, hand and finger coordination enabling use of office machinery. This position requires the ability tooccasionally lift office products and supplies, up to 20 pounds. Oral and auditory enabling interpersonal communication as well as communication automated devise such as the telephone.

What we commit to:

At Starboard Group and Onboard Media curating a vibrant world can only be accomplished by vibrant and diverse teams. We are committed to nurturing a workplace where you can feel safe to show up authentically and thrive while being uniquely you. Our North Star guides us to deliver equal employment opportunities for all individuals and to providing employees with an equitable work environment free of discrimination and harassment. We also aim to extend this commitment to the partners we work with and the guests we serve. We are constantly listening, learning, and evolving to deliver on these promises.

We believe our differences make us stronger and are curious to see you leverage your lived experiences to strengthen our team, our culture and your career. At Starboard Group and Onboard Media we take action so that no one is discriminated against because of their differences, such as age, disability (physical, mental or sensory), ethnicity, gender, gender identity and expression, religion, sexual orientation, military/veteran status, genetic information, family care status or any other basis protected by federal, state or local laws. All employment decisions will be made based on business needs, job requirements and individual qualifications.

So come onboard with us and celebrate a culture that attracts top talent with shared values and forms the foundation for a great place to work.