What are the responsibilities and job description for the Buying & Inventory Strategist position at Purpose Boutique?
About the Role
Do you love fashion, organization, and being the person who keeps everything running smoothly behind the scenes?
Purpose is looking for a Buying & Inventory Strategist to drive product and inventory operations across our growing multi-brand retail company.
This is not a support role — it's a strategic one. You'll work directly alongside our Buying & Inventory Manager to shape inventory decisions, optimize product flow, and help fuel the continued growth of three distinct retail brands. We're looking for someone who has been in the trenches of retail buying and inventory planning and has the results to show for it.
If you've helped a retail business or brand grow through smart buying decisions, tight inventory management, and data-driven planning — and you're ready to do it again at a company with real momentum — we want to hear from you.
About Purpose
Purpose is a growing fashion retailer with eight locations across Washington, operating three distinct brands:
- Purpose Women
- Purpose Men
- Sincere by Purpose
Our mission is simple: We create a personalized styling experience with products that change lives.
Every purchase supports organizations fighting human trafficking, hunger, and poverty. We believe how you shop can change, and that great product paired with great people creates something truly meaningful.
As our company continues to grow, we are building strong operational teams behind the scenes to support our stores and customers.
What You'll Do
Inventory Tracking & Order Oversight
- Maintain and update buying trackers across all three brands
- Monitor purchase orders, shipping timelines, and inventory levels
- Flag discrepancies between invoices and received product
- Help track reorders, cancellations, and RTVs with the buying team
- Identify inventory gaps or low stock opportunities
Vendor Communication
- Manage the buying email inbox and respond to vendor communication
- Communicate with vendors regarding order updates, shipping timelines, and product issues
- Help track invoices and support accounts payable coordination
Reporting & Data Tracking
- Prepare weekly and monthly inventory reports
- Track metrics such as sell-through, inventory turns, and product performance
- Maintain visibility into what product is currently "on order"
Team Collaboration
- Support weekly cross-department meetings
- Help prepare meeting notes and summaries
- Collaborate with store teams on product needs and inventory movement
What We're Looking For
Experience & Track Record
- 2–5 years of hands-on experience in retail buying, inventory planning, or merchandise planning
- A demonstrable track record of contributing to brand or retail business growth through buying and inventory strategy
- Experience managing open-to-buy (OTB), analyzing sell-through and inventory turns, and making data-backed reorder or exit decisions
- Familiarity with multi-location or multi-brand retail environments is a strong plus
- Experience working directly with vendors — managing orders, timelines, and product issues with professionalism and follow-through
Skills & Qualities
- Strong analytical mindset — you're comfortable in spreadsheets, you trust data, and you know how to turn numbers into action
- Exceptional attention to detail — you catch discrepancies before they become costly problems
- Highly organized with the ability to manage competing priorities across multiple brands simultaneously
- Clear, professional written communication skills for vendor and cross-team correspondence
- Proficiency in retail systems (Lightspeed or similar POS a plus) and willingness to learn new tools quickly
- A collaborative, low-ego approach — you work well with a team and you're as comfortable executing as you are strategizing
Additional Benefits
- Generous employee discount across Purpose Women, Purpose Men, and Sincere
- Paid time off
- SIMPLE IRA retirement plan with company match
- Health benefits (details provided during interview process)
- Performance bonus eligibility after 6 months
- Opportunities for growth within our buying and inventory teams
- A positive culture built on humility, generosity, positivity, energy, flexibility, and development
Compensation: $25 - $28/ hourly, dependent on experience
Job Type: Full-Time, Monday - Friday
Location: Silverdale, WA (primarily based in Silverdale with regular travel to store locations)
Salary : $25 - $28