Associate Merchandise Planner - BEAUTY (906668)

1. Core Experience & Education

• The Baseline: You need 4+ years of Merchandise Planning experience .
• The Pedigree: A Bachelor’s degree is preferred, specifically in Supply Chain Management, Finance, Business , or a related field.

2. Technical & Analytical "Must-Haves"

This is the meat of the role, making up the vast majority of your daily and strategic focus:

• Open to Buy (OTB) Mastery (20%): You must be able to independently own monthly, in-season OTB projections (sales, gross margin %, receipts, and inventory adjustments) and reconcile them with Demand Planning forecasts.
• Brand Launch Strategy (20%): Experience developing strategies for new brands, including calculating projected sales, SKU-level inventory needs, and order flow setups.
• Advanced Analytics (15%): A proven ability to interpret complex data to forecast promotional needs, analyze key initiatives, and conduct seasonal hindsight reviews.
• Excel Proficiency: Excellent technical proficiency in MS Excel is non-negotiable for synthesizing data into actionable business decisions.
• Inventory Management: Practical knowledge of balancing SKU in-stock rates with DOH (Days on Hand) targets to maintain a healthy inventory flow.

3. Collaboration & Communication (The "Partnership" Aspect)

You aren't working in a silo; you are the financial backbone for multiple teams:

• The Merchant Dynamic: Act as the strategic financial partner to the Merchant to drive business growth.
• Cross-Functional Alignment: Ability to collaborate closely with Inventory Directors, Vendors, and Demand Planning to align forecasts and strategies.
• Vendor & Team Management:
• Strong communication skills to manage vendor relationships regarding performance and outstanding issues (10%).
• Leadership capability to guide and prioritize workload for Merchandise Planning Assistants (5%).

4. Operational Agility & Execution

• Assortment & Liquidation Lifecycle: Ability to validate productive assortments (knowing what to discontinue vs. what to develop) and build exit strategies for overstock or leaving brands.
• Fast-Paced Adaptability: Comfort working in a rapidly changing environment, handling multiple competing priorities with high attention to detail.
• Schedule Flexibility: Willingness to occasionally work evenings or weekends to meet critical deadlines, with potential on-call duties for urgent troubleshooting.

Summary Blueprint: To land and thrive in this role, you need to be a seasoned retail math pro (4+ years) who can seamlessly pivot from deep Excel data modeling (OTB, Brand Launches) to cross-functional meetings where you confidently present financial strategies to Merchants and Vendors.