Senior Merchandise Planner

Role Overview

Join a profitable company with over 35 stores as a Senior Merchandise Planner. You will be responsible for strategic assortment planning, store-specific allocation, reliable forecasting and replenishment processes, and maintaining healthy inventory turnover. Your role is critical in launching products in new stores and markets, and shaping the overall planning function by establishing key processes, tools, and reports.

Key Responsibilities

• Develop assortment strategies for collections, including design, pricing, and depth, leveraging data and personal insight when data is limited.
• Analyze and allocate inventory effectively across different stores based on distinct sales patterns.
• Create and maintain dependable forecasting and replenishment schedules to ensure popular items remain stocked and slower movers are managed.
• Monitor inventory health by tracking stock turnover, ageing, and budget adherence to enhance efficiency.
• Coordinate launch assortments for new stores and markets, often relying on limited historical data.
• Design and implement planning processes, tools, and reports essential for the growth of the planning function at the brand.

Candidate Profile

• Analytical thinker who tests hypotheses when data is scarce rather than waiting for clear answers.
• Proactive and accountable, ensuring ownership of outcomes and completion of tasks.
• Self-motivated individual who identifies needs and acts independently without external prompting.
• Outcome-focused with attention to metrics like sell-through rates, stock turnover, and availability over just report completion.
• Problem solver who prioritizes identifying solutions when challenges arise.

Experience and Qualifications

• 5 to 8 years of merchandise planning experience, ideally in the jewellery sector, with fashion or apparel experience acceptable given relevance to seasonal and store-level assortment planning.
• Experience working in startups or rapidly expanding businesses where process building was involved, not just execution.
• Strong analytical proficiency including advanced Excel capabilities.
• Retail insight to correlate numerical data with real-world store operations.
• Jewellery domain knowledge is preferred but curiosity and eagerness to master solitaires specifically is highly valued.

Technical Skills

• Proficiency in advanced Excel functions (pivot tables, lookups, array formulas) and managing multi-store planning workbooks.
• Understanding of inventory allocation concepts such as sourcing hierarchies, rules to prevent duplication, and fulfilment standards, acquired through work experience or self-learning.
• Familiarity with at least one automation or querying tool like SQL, Python, or Google Apps Script to streamline recurring planning tasks.
• Hands-on experience using ERP/POS or inventory management systems like SAP, Oracle Retail, Increff, or Vinculum.
• Capability to design and review complex multi-sheet reports (allocation, purchase order trackers, ageing dashboards) that are accessible for non-planning stakeholders such as retail teams and leadership.