Senior Merchandise Planner & Supply Chain Manager

This position is listed on behalf of a partner company, who manages all applications and next steps. Our partner is looking for a Senior Merchandise Planner & Supply Chain Manager based in the United States. The Senior Merchandise Planner & Supply Chain Manager will lead end-to-end inventory planning, demand forecasting, and supply chain execution for a growing omnichannel retail business. This strategic and hands-on role connects merchandising strategy with financial performance, ensuring the right products are available at the right time while optimizing sales, margins, and inventory productivity. You will own the entire planning lifecycle, from open-to-buy management and seasonal forecasts to purchase orders, import logistics, and markdown strategies. Working closely with ecommerce, product development, sourcing, customer service, finance, and executive leadership, you will translate business trends into actionable inventory decisions. In a lean, fast-paced environment, you will have significant autonomy to build processes, improve operational efficiency, and influence commercial outcomes. This is an opportunity for an analytical, proactive leader to take full ownership of a brand's inventory strategy while contributing to broader business growth and operational transformation. Accountabilities: - Inventory Planning and Open-to-Buy Management: Own and manage the monthly open-to-buy (OTB) process in collaboration with executive leadership, ensuring inventory investments align with brand strategy, sales forecasts, and margin objectives. Deliver timely re-projections based on current business trends and changing market conditions. - Demand Forecasting and Financial Planning: Develop and maintain monthly and seasonal forecasts for sales, inventory receipts, gross margin, and inventory positions across sales channels, product categories, and warehouses.

- Inventory Optimization and Replenishment: Establish and maintain a reliable replenishment system for best-selling products to minimize stockouts. Monitor inventory health, seasonal sell-through targets, buying budgets, and purchase order receipt schedules to improve product availability and inventory efficiency. - Assortment Strategy: Partner with cross-functional teams to develop assortment recommendations, including brand-level and key-item projections, SKU counts, inventory depth, and product allocation strategies. - Purchase Order and Supply Chain Management: Manage the complete purchase order lifecycle, from order issuance and vendor coordination through shipment tracking and final delivery. Coordinate container bookings and import logistics to support timely and cost-effective product flow. - Trade Compliance and Cost Management: Navigate tariff classifications, import requirements, and applicable government trade regulations to maintain compliance and ensure accurate cost of goods sold (COGS). - Margin and Markdown Management: Develop pricing recommendations and strategies to protect gross margin, maximize sales, improve inventory turnover, and proactively manage excess or end-of-life inventory. - Business Performance Reporting: Prepare weekly business recaps, evaluate actual performance against forecasts and plans, investigate variances, identify emerging trends, and recommend corrective actions. - Executive Decision Support: Prepare data-driven recommendations for key financial and merchandising meetings, helping leadership make informed decisions about inventory investment, sales opportunities, profitability, and operational priorities. - Reporting and Process Improvement: Maintain accurate, consistent, and timely reporting deliverables while identifying opportunities to improve reporting efficiency, standardize best practices, and strengthen planning processes.