Purpose

Lidl US is looking for our next Junior Buyer (Internal: Assistant Category Manager) to join our Non-Food Buying team! Are you obsessed with what goes into a shopping cart? Do you have an analytical mind and an eye for the next big trend?

Lidl is one of the largest retailers in the world, and we didn't get there by accident. We got there by having the best Buying Team in the business. We are currently expanding our Purchasing team and looking for ambitious individuals with an interest in buying to join our latest team. This isn't a "shadowing" role where you sit on the sidelines. This is a fast-paced, high-impact path where you will learn to negotiate, analyze, and innovate alongside our Senior Category Managers. If you want to learn what best-in-class retail looks like from a global leader, we’re ready for you!

Responsibilities

• Manages projects, work processes, systems, and/or procedures to ensure efficient workflow.
• Update guidelines, standard operating procedures, and instructional materials.
• Identify, develop, and propose opportunities for business and process improvement.
• Support in national and international projects, producing business requirements, performing business system tests and technical improvements.
• Master the Data: Analyze various KPIs in coordination with Category Managers and Senior Category Managers to drive informed buying decisions.
• Think Globally: Support national and international product development, defining quality, shaping business requirements, and testing the technical improvements that power our global scale.
• The Art of the Deal: Prepare and collect the critical information needed to process major purchase agreements and contracts.
• Build Relationships: Support negotiations and maintain ongoing coordination with our diverse network of domestic and international suppliers.
• Trend Forecast: Prepare category, quality control, and trend analyses to keep Lidl ahead of the retail curve.
• Monitor the Landscape: Analyze retail prices and the competitive landscape to ensure our value remains unbeatable.
• Quality Guard: Lead the way in product testing and quality assurance for negotiated item; if it’s on our shelves, it passed through you.
• Own Your Growth: Commit to and complete a personalized Individual Development Plan designed to enhance your skills and grow your career.
• Collaboration and Stakeholder Management:  Coordinate across multiple teams and ensure deadlines are met, as well as managing relationships with domestic suppliers and international business partners.

About You

Required Knowledge, Skills, Abilities

• Ability to manage multiple projects and meet deadlines.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Excellent organizational and time management skills.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Ability to work independently with excellent follow-through skills.
• Proficient in Google Workspace, Microsoft Office Suite, or related software.

Required Education/Certifications/Licenses, Related Experience

• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Supply Chain, Retail, Fashion Merchandising, or a related field.
• 0-2 years of experience in a related field.
• In lieu of degree, 4+ years of experience in related field will meet the education and related experience requirements listed above.

Preferred Education, Certifications/ Licenses, Related Experience

• 1–6 months of purchasing experience in a grocery retail setting.
• Fluency in German (written and spoken).
• Experience in negotiating supplier agreements, pricing and commercial terms.
• Experience managing supplier relationships, including performance, quality, and delivery expectations.
• Experience developing and optimizing non-food and/or near food assortments through market analysis, product selection, and performance review. 

Physical Requirements

• Ability to travel up to 25% of the time, which may include weekends and evenings, as needed.
• Most work is performed in a temperature-controlled office environment.
• Must be able to sit for prolonged periods of time at a desk or computer terminal.
• May use keyboards, telephone, and standard office equipment in the course of a normal workday.
• Stooping, bending, twisting, and reaching may be required in the completion of job duties.
• Must be able to lift up to 25 pounds at times.

Competencies

• Personal Competencies: Stays up to date with modern guidelines, talent trends, and recruitment processes within their area of expertise. Implements planned operational changes effectively, resolves talent pipeline problems by flexibly applying approach solutions, and reflects regularly on performance feedback.
• Business Competencies: Maintains a structured overview of all active reqs and organizational responsibilities, prioritizing tasks based on urgency and headcount importance. Understands how sourcing processes interconnect across human resources, manages resources efficiently, and completes projects within defined constraints.
• Social Competencies: Communicates recruitment content clearly, understandably, and persuasively to candidates and executives. Nurtures trusting cross-departmental relationships, shares candidate pipeline metrics transparently, and addresses stakeholder conflicts or differing hiring opinions early in a diplomatic, solution-oriented manner.

Our Values

Ability to demonstrate, understand, and continuously apply our workplace values:

• Performance: We thrive together to passionately pursue ambitious goals, constantly develop ourselves, and turn complex organizational challenges into opportunities.
• Respect: We put people at the center of what we do by treating each other fairly, ensuring equal opportunities, and valuing diversity as a key cultural strength.
• Trust: We believe in each other, communicate openly and honestly, remain completely reliable, and treat mistakes as valuable learning opportunities.
• Grounded: We dream big while staying down to earth, remaining approachable, choosing simplicity over complexity, and focusing firmly on meaningful results.
• Belonging: We are stronger together than we are alone, standing up for one another, leveraging our collective strengths, and focusing on sustainable, long-term relationships.

Scope

• Number of team members directly supervised: None
• Number of team members indirectly supervised: None
• Annual budget/expenditures: Monitors the day-to-day efficient use of financial and material resources within the team. Applies established cost-reduction initiatives while actively identifying new local opportunities for optimization and weighing costs vs. benefits in the immediate work environment.

What You’ll Receive

At Lidl, we know that in order for our people to do their best, they must be at their best. That’s why as a company, we offer one of the most generous benefits packages in the industry.

All our Lidl employees are eligible to receive the following benefits:

• Starting pay of $90,000 (with potential to earn $100,000 in the future)
• 10% employee-only discount on purchases made at Lidl stores
• Medical & Prescription | Dental | Vision coverage
• Paid Holiday & Paid Time Off (PTO) to use for sickness or vacation
• Dedicated training plans to ensure you are set up for success
• 401K Plan (+ 5% company match)
• Voluntary Term Life & AD&D Insurance
• Total Well-Being Program
• DailyPay, a voluntary benefit to offer employees access to their pay on their own schedule

Lidl US views our Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) through a lens of actions that are Good for the Environment, Good for People, and Good for You.

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