Senior Buyer-Toy & Plush

YOUR FUTURE BEGINS AT THIS PREMIER DESTINATION
At Event Network, we believe the experience matters. As the leading operator of retail experiences at some of the most iconic and inspiring destinations across the United States, we infuse passion, creativity, and purpose into everything we do. Our team is dedicated to providing engaging and memorable retail environments that enhance the guest experience, while reflecting the unique mission and values of each location we serve.

Summary
The ideal candidate will be an experienced, highly motivated, results-oriented merchant who excels at executing a product vision and delivering against an established strategy. Equipped with Toy and Plush industry experience, they will bring a solid understanding of sourcing and product development, ability to create and foster strong vendor relationships, and courage to bring new ideas and innovative product solutions for our guests and Cultural Attraction partnerships. They will bring creativity and drive to sourcing exceptional products and managing high-performing teams. This role is focused on flawless execution, proactive issue-spotting, and thoughtful collaboration with team members and leadership. The Senior Merchant will work closely with the PVP to ensure the buying team’s execution supports our partner and guest needs and supports our company’s core values


Key Responsibilities and Accountabilities
Leadership & Team Management
• Lead and develop a team of buyers and/or assistant buyers, fostering growth, accountability, and performance
• Execute product strategy across multiple adjacent departments, ensuring alignment with broader business objectives
• Provide input into department product focuses and assortment planning, balancing departmental KPI’s with company-wide priorities
• Identify and articulate team and business priorities, proactively surface issues, and make suggestions to improve execution and outcomes
• Assess team structure and resource needs, identifying synergies and communicating requirements to drive efficiency and business impact
• Build strong, collaborative relationships across internal teams (e.g., stores, finance, planning, purchasing operations) and vendors to ensure alignment and shared execution

Business and Financial
• Drive top vendor negotiations and purchasing decisions with financial targets in mind, ensuring COGS and margin goals are maintained
• Facilitate competitive line review assessment of core product lines, determining best product solution for our guests, meeting or exceeding sales and margin requirements
• Ensure sales, SKU count, inventory, and margin goals are met or exceeded through effective execution and follow-through
• Track and analyze sales and COGS performance; surface issues and partner with cross-functional teams to make proactive adjustments
• Identify and articulate key business drivers and priorities that support revenue and profitability goals. Share with Planning and other key stakeholders to ensure alignment on key priorities
• Partner with Planning and Allocation to monitor inventory health, manage markdowns, and reduce overstock or stockouts
• Review weekly/monthly financial reports to ensure alignment with goals; make recommendations to optimize product mix, pricing, or delivery timing
• Proactively communicate risks and opportunities to leadership, making suggestions to enhance business performance


Qualifications and Skills
• Toy and or Plush Buying and/or Product Development experience
• Minimum 10+ years of experience in retail product buying and product development
• Experience traveling to Asia and working with overseas manufacturers/factories a strong plus
• Experience leading others to flawlessly execute business objectives
• Strong executor with a passion for driving results through operational excellence
• Highly organized, proactive, and detail-oriented; able to identify and act on priorities independently
• Advanced proficiency in Microsoft Excel (pivot tables, VLOOKUP, conditional formatting, forecasting, and trend analysis).
• Reliable, deadline-driven, and accountable for delivering high-quality work
• Team-oriented with excellent communication and relationship-building skills
• Able to effectively surface issues and make thoughtful suggestions to improve business outcomes


Physical Demands
The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodation may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. While performing the duties of this job, the employee is frequently required to stand; walk; and use hands. The employee is occasionally required t