Sr. Buyer, Merchandise - Human

Senior Buyer

Want to help pets live their best lives?

We're proud to be where the pets go and where the pet people go. If you want to make a real difference, create an exciting career path, feel welcome to be your whole self and nurture your wellbeing, Petco is the place for you.

Our core values capture that spirit as we work to improve lives by doing what's right for pets and people.

• Pet First – Protect & Empower. All pets should Live their Best Life. We put the needs of pets and pet parents at the center of everything we do.
• Foster the Fun – Connect & Bond. Our Passion for pets brings us together! We celebrate the journey of pet parenthood through district experiences, products, and services.
• Let's Go! Own & Commit. We are stronger as One Petco team. We bring our unique superpowers and champion authenticity in everyone to drive success.

About Petco:

We're proud to be "where the pets go" to find everything they need to live their best lives for more than 60 years — from their favorite meals and toys, to trusted supplies and expert support from people who get it, because we live it. We believe in the universal truths of pet parenthood — the boundless boops, missing slippers, late night zoomies and everything in between. And we're here for it. Every tail wag, every vet visit, every step of the way. We are 29,000+ strong and together we nurture the pet-human bond in more than 1,500 Petco stores across the U.S., Mexico and Puerto Rico, 250+ Vetco Total Care hospitals, hundreds of preventive care clinics and eight distribution centers. In 1999, we founded Petco Love. Together, we support thousands of local animal welfare groups nationwide and have helped find homes for approximately 7 million animals through in-store adoption events.

The Senior Buyer is a senior-level omnichannel merchandise leader responsible for end-to-end ownership and performance of 2-4 departments across all channels. This elevated role drives category strategy, trend and innovation leadership, and commercial performance through strong ownership of product, price, promotion and placement. The Senior Buyer delivers differentiated assortments, a steady flow of newness, and customer-relevant innovation that fuels sales and margin growth. The role operates with high autonomy and executive presence, regularly leading product style-outs and walks with the Chief Product & Customer Office and senior leadership. The Senior Buyer builds long-term strategic vendor partnerships, negotiates best-in-class costs and terms, leads and develops talent and partners cross-functionally to deliver results that meet and exceed financial and customer goals.

Key Responsibilities

• Category Ownership & Strategy
• Own the omnichannel category strategy and performance for 2-4 departments, including complex or high-growth categories.
• Develop and execute annual and seasonal strategies aligned to DMM vision and enterprise priorities.
• Translate customer insights, trend signals and competitive intelligence into actionable assortment and pricing strategies.
• Define category roles, product architecture, and price ladders across good/better/best tiers.
• Drive Innovation, exclusivity and the differentiation across the assortment.
• Product, Assortment & Trend Leadership
• Lead product direction and assortment curation across store and digital channels.
• Identify and act on emerging trends and white space opportunities through continuous competitive market analysis and competitive shopping.
• Champion product newness and innovation pipelines with vendors and owned brand partners.
• Regularly present category product in executive style-outs, line reviews, and product walks.
• Ensure assortments are customer first, channel-relevant and space-aware.
• Financial & Business Performance
• Own and deliver to sales, margin, inventory turn, and contribution targets.
• Partner with Merchandising Planning and Demand Planning to build and manage forecasts and OTB.
• Monitor weekly/monthly performance and lead course-correction actions quickly.
• Use deep KPI fluency to drive decisions and performance conversations.
• Lead promotional and price strategies that balance growth, competitiveness and profitability.
• Vendor Strategy & Negotiation
• Lead strategic vendor selection and portfolio management across departments.
• Negotiate best total value including costs, terms, funding, and innovation access.
• Build long-term, strategic partnerships with key vendors focused on growth and differentiation.
• Drive join business planning and accountability with top partners.
• Partner closely with Owned Brands, Sourcing, QA, and Product Development partners where applicable.
• Omnichannel Execution (Product, Price, Promotion, Placement)
• Align product strategies across store and digital channels for cohesive customer experience.
• Partner with Digital and Store Operations to optimize launches, storytelling, and conversion.
• Collaborate with Space Planning and Visual teams on placement, flow, and presentation strategies.
• Ensure coordinated execution across channels and touchpoints.
• Cross-Functional Leaderships
• Serve as senior category leader across cross-functional partners including Merchandising Planning, Demand Planning, Space & Visual Planning, Owned Brands, Product Development, Store Operations, Digital, Marketing, Sourcing, and QA.
• Team Leadership & Talent Development
• Lead, coach and develop at least two direct reports (Associate Buyer and Assistant Buyer)
• Set clear goals, accountability and development plans.
• Build high-performance, high ownership team culture.
• Elevate team capability in financial acument, trend awareness and product judgement.

Qualifications

Experience

• 7-10+ years of merchandising or buying experience in a retail environment.
• Proven success owning multiple or complex categories with P&L responsibility.
• Demonstrated track record of driving sales, margin and assortment productivity.
• Strong experience in omnichannel retail strongly preferred.
• Deep experience in negotiation and managing strategic vendor partnerships.

Skills & Capabilities

• Advanced trend, product and assortment judgement.
• Strong financial and analytical capability with command of category KPIs.
• Executive presence and confidence presenting to senior leadership.
• Excellent negotiation and vendor management skills.
• Strong cross-functional collaboration and influence.
• High ownership mindset with bias for action and results.
• Customer-obsessed and competitive — energized by market and store insights.
• Strong organizational and prioritization skills in a fast-paced environment.

Leadership Profile

The ideal candidate:

• Acts a true business owner of the category portfolio.
• Brings energy, urgence and commitment to delivering results.
• Stays close to stores, customers and competitors.
• Balances creativity and innovation with operational excellence.
• Builds strong partnerships internally and externally.
• Continuously raises the bar on product newness, value and differentiation.