Senior Gifts Buyer

We have an opening for a Senior Gifts Buyer. This is a partially remote position; however, there will be regular site visits to Powell’s locations in the Portland, Oregon area, as well as a weekly on-site meeting. Oregon residency is required.

The Senior Gifts Buyer is a key leadership role responsible for driving the development and execution of multi‑location buying strategies for non‑book products. This position serves as a team leader, mentoring the Gift Buying team and collaborating with the Gifts Purchasing Manager, Store Managers and logistics teams to ensure gift selections support promotional campaigns, sales goals, and assortment strategies. In addition to managing a select buying portfolio, this role ensures alignment between purchasing, inventory control, and visual presentation, contributing to overall business growth and engagement.

The Senior Gifts Buyer is also responsible for the strategy, development, and vendor management of all Powell’s branded logo.

Powell’s Books is known worldwide as a premier independent bookstore and an icon in the Portland community. We’re committed to fostering a culture and environment of inclusion, empowerment, and respect – a place where everyone can show up fully as themselves and do their best work every day.

Powell’s offers an extensive benefits package including:

• Generous healthcare plan (medical, vision, and dental)
• 401(k) savings plan
• Education benefit
• Childcare subsidy
• Substantial employee discount that is also available to your significant other, children, parents, and siblings
• Book borrowing privileges

Pay: $25 - $38 per hour, depending on experience.

Schedule:

Monday through Friday, 9am to 5pm, with some flexibility to start and end‑time possible, for a 37.5‑hour workweek

Closing Date:
Sunday, March 8th, 2026

Additional Information:
Please include a cover letter with a brief description of relevant skills and experience, and the reason why you’re interested in the position.

Position Title:

Senior Gifts Buyer

Location:

Industrial
Group: T3
Date: 02/2026

The Senior Gifts Buyer is a key leadership role responsible for driving the development and execution of multi‑location buying strategies for non‑book products. This position serves as a team leader, mentoring the Gift Buying team and collaborating with the Gifts Purchasing Manager, Store Managers and logistics teams to ensure gift selections support promotional campaigns, sales goals, and assortment strategies. In addition to managing a select buying portfolio, this role ensures alignment between purchasing, inventory control, and visual presentation, contributing to overall business growth and engagement.

The Senior Gifts Buyer is responsible for the strategy, development, and vendor management of all Powell’s branded logo. Reports to the Gifts Purchasing Manager.

• In conjunction with department management, coaches, trains, and educates the Gift Buying team on range and assortment strategies, seasonal planning and storytelling to optimize sell‑through and product presentation.
• Identifies and selects vendors for both branded and non‑branded gift products, negotiates competitive pricing, quality standards, and delivery timelines, and manages vendor relationships and ordering for multi‑store and individual store needs in alignment with company goals.
• Coordinates the go‑to‑market calendar, ensuring timely execution of display changes and product deliveries, and collaborates with stakeholders to align store and warehouse operations.
• Curates a distinctive, trend‑aware assortment across categories.
• Balances evergreen core products with trend‑forward and seasonal opportunities.
• Plans and manages seasonal gift programs and holiday assortments with long‑range forecasting.
• Owns sales, margin, inventory turn, and open‑to‑buy management for gifts, stationary, and logo categories.
• Analyzes weekly and seasonal sales performance and adjusts buying strategies accordingly.
• Identifies growth opportunities through category expansion and cross‑merchandising.
• Identifies emerging brands and independent makers aligned with each store’s identity.
• Collaborates on custom, exclusive, or private‑label product…