Sr. Planning Manager

Purpose and ObjectiveThe Sr. Planning Manager is responsible for leading merchandise planning, sales forecasting, and business analytics to drive data-informed decisions across product categories and sales channels. This role plays a critical part in aligning financial goals with merchandising and operational strategies, ensuring that inventory investments maximize profitability, customer experience, and growth. The ideal candidate is a strategic thinker and hands-on executor, who blends analytical depth with strong cross-functional communication and possess the ability to work collaboratively with cross-functional teams in a dynamic environment.

Job Responsibilities and Duties:

• Lead the development of seasonal and annual financial plans including sales, margin, inventory, and receipt forecasts across retail, e-commerce.
• Manage inventory ladders and projections on a weekly basis for core and carryover styles and submit reorder needs at the SKU level to ensure never-out-of-stock in key portions of the business
• Omnichannel financial forecasting through short and long term lenses
• Maintain and optimize open-to-buy processes, reforecasting based on sales trends and current business realities. Ensure procurement of material guidance aligns to financial ambitions.
• Partner with Merchandising, Finance, and Buying teams to ensure plans align with product strategies and company objectives.
• Own weekly, monthly, and seasonal business reporting; analyze performance by door, category, style, and channel to identify risks and opportunities.
• Develop dashboards, KPIs, and ad hoc analyses to support executive-level decision-making.
• Identify trends in sales, profitability, and consumer behavior to inform future buys and assortment planning.
• Monitor inventory levels and aging across channels to ensure healthy stock flow and efficient use of working capital.
• Partner with Allocation and Logistics to support in-season inventory shifts and replenishment strategies.
• Support markdown and end-of-life inventory strategies to improve margin recovery.
• Manage and develop a team of planners and analysts, fostering a culture of accuracy, curiosity, and continuous improvement.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams including Collection Merchandising, Buying, Finance, Wholesale, and E-commerce to support alignment across planning inputs and outputs.
• Lead planning milestones and business recaps for seasonal reviews, market meetings, and strategic initiatives.

Knowledge, Skills, and Ability Requirements:

• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Finance, Data Analytics, or a related field preferred.
• 5–7 years of experience in merchandise planning, FP&A, or retail analytics; experience in fashion or consumer goods strongly preferred.
• Advanced Excel skills required; proficiency in Tableau, Looker, Power BI, or similar analytics platforms is a strong plus.
• Strong financial acumen and data modeling capabilities.
• Excellent communication and storytelling skills; able to simplify complex insights for business audiences.
• Able to shift between high-level strategy and detailed execution.
• Comfortable working with ambiguity and managing multiple priorities in a fast-paced environment.
• Collaborative, solutions-oriented mindset with a strong sense of ownership.