Merchandising Assistant

Barnes Shop Merchandising and Buying Assistant The Barnes Shop Merchandising and Buying Assistant supports the Barnes and Calder Gardens retail operation with an in-depth knowledge of visual merchandising, ordering, receiving, inventory tracking and reporting, and online sales. The Merchandising and Buying Assistant is detail-oriented and thorough, and will assist with reconciling packing slips, purchase orders, and invoices. They will assist the Merchandise Manager with sales reports and inventory transfers. The Merchandising and Buying Assistant will also support the ecommerce sites. They participate in inventory assessment for additions and revisions to the online product offerings. They will help grow online sales by creating thematic product listings and collections for each of the shopping sites, coordinating product photographs, and generating copy for product listings. They demonstrate a clear understanding of the sales process and have experience with retail procedures. They will be trained in visual merchandising, and the delivery of consistent and superior customer service. Reports to the Merchandise Manager with support from the Retail Manager to assess inventory levels and evaluate sales reports to identify products for reorder, ecommerce, and promotion. Collaborates with Marketing department to promote e-commerce sites, including creating content (photos, text) for a variety of social media platforms. Duties also include inventory processing and receiving, location transfers, reorders, and processing and fulfillment of online orders through both Shopify sites. Sites for online retail for the Barnes Foundation include: shop.barnesfoundation.org and shop.caldergardens.org, both hosted by Shopify, prints.barnesfoundation.org, and prints.caldergardens.org hosted by our print partner ImageLab. Education/Training/Experience: High School diploma/equivalency with four years' work/volunteer experience or associate's degree with two years' experience or bachelor's degree. Relevant work/volunteer experience should be in retail, ecommerce, or marketing. Retail experience preferred, sales and/or inventory processing. Photo editing experience required (must be able to resize, crop, and do light touchup in Photoshop). Strong writing skills: must have excellent grammar, spelling and English language usage. Fluent with content management systems and digital file organization (Onedrive, Google Drive, WeTransfer, or Dropbox) Proficiency with a variety of social media sites, including but not limited to Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, and Pinterest. Online retail merchant experience: E-bay, Amazon, Etsy, Poshmark, or Depop seller account experience preferred. Must enjoy working with the public and demonstrate professionalism, enthusiasm, and a customer-centric approach. Must be proficient with Microsoft Word and Excel, Outlook, Basecamp or comparable project management software, as well as computerized point-of-sale and inventory systems. Excellent verbal, telephone, email, and general communication skills. Clearances: Criminal Background-National Physical Activities to Perform Essential Functions: To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential job duty satisfactorily. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable qualified individuals with disabilities to perform essential job functions. Moving: Approximately 80%+ of time is spent sitting while working at a desk. Ability to occasionally transport up to 35 lbs. of files, equipment or supplies. Ability to access files, equipment, or supplies. Vision Requirements: This position requires extended time on the computer. Communication Requirements: Clearly communicate in person, by phone, and by video conference. Communicate with others in conversational and written English. Working Conditions: Position operates in hybrid work setting comprised of the Barnes' Philadelphia campus and remote work setting indicated by the employee at their documented home address. Position requires extended time on the computer. Merchandising and Buying Assistant Job Specific Competencies: Assists with product reorders, receiving, transfers, and tracking. Assists with reconciling invoices to packing lists and purchase orders. Monitors inventory levels for items listed online and makes weekly adjustments to online product quantities. Assists with floor resets and visual merchandising and supports Shop team with interpreting and maintaining visual merchandising standards. Creates clean, edited copy consistent with the Foundation's institutional voice to accompany online merchandise listings. Coordinates with product photographers to produce finished, edited images for use on e-commerce platforms for a diverse range of products including jewelry, books, home goods, stationery, and accessories. Creates Shopify product listings following category, sub-category, alt text, and tagging standards. Maintains updated product photography files, including images resized for a variety of uses, both print and digital. Maintains roster of perennial and seasonal discount codes, and communicates with other departments (Membership, Digital Strategy, Marketing, etc.) to generate promotional offerings. Interprets sales reports to determine when remerchandising or repricing is necessary. Creates shipping profiles based on product size, value, and fragility to standardize in-store and online shipping fees. Some processing and fulfillment of online orders through the Shop's sites. Performs other duties as required by supervisor. Organization-Wide Competencies: 1. Accountability: a. Prepares for work assignments and meetings, b. Conducts thorough fact-finding, decision-making and/or follow through, c. Admits mistakes and errors and informs others when one is not able to meet a commitment. 2. Job Quality: a. Dependably demonstrates job knowledge necessary for the position, b. Produces timely, accurate, high quality work output, c. Prioritizes work responsibilities effectively and produces work quantity expected for the role. 3. Service: a. Identifies problems and collaborate with others to devise and create effective solutions. b. Interacts and communicates with fellow employees in a manner that promotes a harmonious and cooperative working environment in accordance with our Core Values. c. Facilitates open communication and keeps an open mind about new ideas. 4. Leadership: a. Sets a good example for others, b. Demonstrates ethical decision-making and communication, c. Makes decisions. Uses a solution-oriented, collaborative approach. 5. Collaboration: a. Seeks win-win outcomes in decision-making, b. Shows a proactive, inclusive, helpful, and respectful attitude to colleagues, guests and others, c. Takes initiative to contribute to diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility initiatives.