Retail Merchandising and Planning - Strategy Senior Manager

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Retail Merchandising and Planning – Strategy Senior Manager

We Are

Accenture's Retail Merchandising and Planning practice helps the world's leading retailers reinvent how they buy, plan, allocate, and manage product across the value chain. We work at the intersection of merchandising strategy, planning process design, and AI-enabled decision making, helping clients across apparel, hardlines, grocery, and specialty retail modernize their operating models and improve performance in demand forecasting, assortment planning, and inventory productivity.

You Are

A retail merchandising and planning professional who combines deep functional expertise with strong program leadership. You've spent your career close to the buy, whether in category management, merchandise financial planning, assortment, allocation, replenishment, or demand/supply planning, and you understand how these functions connect end-to-end. You translate that expertise into operating model redesign, process reinvention, and capability roadmaps clients can execute against. You are accountable to realizing value, and you have experience rolling up your sleeves to ensure high adoption of new processes and systems. You're equally comfortable leading a workstream, coaching a team, and standing in front of a client steering committee.

The Work

As a Senior Manager, you will lead transformation engagements for retail clients, working directly with client executives and Accenture leadership to shape strategy, drive execution, and activate results.

Engagement Leadership

• Lead large, transformational programs with multiple concurrent workstreams and stakeholder groups
• Orchestrate delivery across cross-functional teams spanning strategy, process, data / technology, and change management
• Own client relationships, including executive sponsors, and manage alignment across disparate points of view, escalations and ambiguity as they arise
• Ensure engagement quality, timeliness, and profitability

Merchandising & Planning Transformation

• Lead assessments of current-state merchandising, planning, and inventory management capabilities against industry-leading practices
• Design future-state operating models spanning category management, merchandise financial planning, assortment planning, allocation, replenishment, demand planning, and supply planning
• Develop capability strategies, transformation roadmaps, and value cases that quantify the impact of change
• Apply sub-industry nuance across apparel, hardlines, and/or grocery to tailor recommendations to client-specific dynamics

AI & Technology Enablement

• Bring current knowledge of AI, analytics, and emerging planning technologies to identify where they can solve merchandising and planning business problems
• Help clients evaluate and adopt planning platforms and AI-enabled decision-making tools as part of broader transformation
• Support the design and delivery of GenAI- and agentic-enabled planning capabilities where applicable to client roadmaps

Business Development & Practice Growth

• Contribute to proposal development, solutioning, and the broader business development cycle for consulting engagements
• Support the growth of the Retail Merchandising and Planning practice through asset development, thought leadership, and recruiting
• Coach, mentor, and develop junior team members; contribute to staffing and performance management

Basic Qualifications

• Minimum of 8 years of relevant professional experience with demonstrated expertise in one or more of the following domains: Category Management, Merchandise Financial Planning (MFP), Assortment Planning, Allocation, Replenishment, Demand Planning, or Supply Planning
• Minimum of 2 years in professional services at a consulting firm (or equivalent internal consulting experience)
• Bachelor's degree

Preferred Qualifications

• Ability to lead large, transformational programs with multiple workstreams and stakeholders
• Strong client management skills, including with senior stakeholders
• Ability to coach, mentor, and develop junior team members
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills
• Strong problem-solving ability and sound business judgment
• Comfort operating in ambiguous, fast-moving situations
• Ability to resolve issues and manage risk proactively
• Ability to manage and prioritize multiple workstreams in a dynamic environment
• Familiarity with the operational nuances of one or more retail sub-industries, including apparel, hardlines, or grocery
• Experience designing or supporting operating model design, process reinvention, capability assessments, roadmaps, and value case development
• Experience solutioning approaches to client problems and supporting the business development/proposal cycle
• Working knowledge of current trends in technology, analytics, and AI, and how they apply to merchandising and planning business problems
• Prior industry experience in Buying, Planning, or Product Development
• Hands-on experience leveraging AI tools such as Claude, ChatGPT, Copilot, or Gemini in a professional environment
• Familiarity with leading planning platforms such as o9, Blue Yonder, Anaplan, Oracle, or RELEX
• MBA or equivalent advanced degree

Compensation at Accenture varies depending on a wide array of factors, which may include but are not limited to the specific office location, role, skill set, and level of experience. As required by local law, Accenture provides a reasonable range of compensation for roles that may be hired as set forth below.

We anticipate this job posting will be posted until 08/29/2026.

Accenture offers a market competitive suite of benefits including medical, dental, vision, life, and long-term disability coverage, a 401(k) plan, bonus opportunities, paid holidays, and paid time off. See more information on our benefits here:

U.S. Employee Benefits | Accenture

Role Location Annual Salary Range

California $122,700 to $317,200

Cleveland $122,700 to $317,200

Colorado $122,700 to $317,200

District of Columbia $122,700 to $317,200

Illinois $122,700 to $317,200

Maine $122,700 to $317,200

Maryland $122,700 to $317,200

Massachusetts $122,700 to $317,200

Minnesota $122,700 to $317,200

New York $122,700 to $317,200

New Jersey $122,700 to $317,200

Virginia $122,700 to $317,200

Washington $122,700 to $317,200

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