Merchandise Planner

JIVARO Recruitment; City of Melbourne; On-site; AUD 85,000 - 115,000; Full time

Job summary

JIVARO Recruitment is seeking an experienced Merchandise Planner to join our retail business in Melbourne. The role focuses on forecasting, budgeting, and end-to-end inventory planning to ensure stock is optimized across stores and distribution centers.

You will collaborate with Buyers and the Planning team to drive performance across sales, profit and stock, supporting seasonal strategy, in-season trading and lifecycle planning with a strong analytical approach.

Qualifications

• Proven experience in Merchandise Planning or Demand Planning within retail.
• Strong background in forecasting, budgeting and in-season trading.
• Advanced Excel skills with strong numerical and analytical capability.
• Experience with merchandise planning systems.
• Solid understanding of stock flow, lifecycle planning and category management.
• A confident communicator who can influence Buyers and stakeholders.
• Genuine commercial impact and end-to-end planning ownership.
• Exposure to strategic planning, in-season trading and range development.
• A collaborative, fast-paced retail environment.

Responsibilities

• Support seasonal range reviews through detailed performance analysis and insights
• Develop weekly sales, profit and stock plans aligned to budget
• Build purchase and stock flow plans aligned to buying strategy and product lifecycle
• Analyse category performance to inform store grading and ranging decisions
• Manage in-season trading to optimise sales and gross profit outcomes
• Monitor inventory positions across DC and stores to maximise availability and efficiency
• Support markdown and stock optimisation decisions to protect margin
• Partner closely with Buyers, providing the analytical insight behind range strategy and stock decisions

Skills

Forecasting

Budgeting

In-season trading

Advanced Excel

Merchandise planning systems

Stock flow understanding

Lifecycle planning

Category management

Influence stakeholders

Tools

Merchandise planning systems

Excel

Job description

We're seeking an experienced Merchandise Planner to join our team.

This role plays a critical part in driving merchandise strategy through accurate forecasting, in-depth analysis and strong inventory planning, ensuring the right stock is in the right place at the right time.

You'll work closely with Buyers and the wider Planning team to deliver commercial outcomes across sales, profit and stock, supporting seasonal strategy, in-season trading and end-to-end planning processes.

What you'll be doing

• Support seasonal range reviews through detailed performance analysis and insights
• Develop weekly sales, profit and stock plans aligned to budget
• Build purchase and stock flow plans aligned to buying strategy and product lifecycle
• Analyse category performance to inform store grading and ranging decisions
• Manage in-season trading to optimise sales and gross profit outcomes
• Monitor inventory positions across DC and stores to maximise availability and efficiency
• Support markdown and stock optimisation decisions to protect margin
• Partner closely with Buyers, providing the analytical insight behind range strategy and stock decisions

What we're looking for

• Proven experience in Merchandise Planning or Demand Planning within retail
• Strong background in forecasting, budgeting and in-season trading
• Advanced Excel skills with strong numerical and analytical capability
• Experience with merchandise planning systems
• Solid understanding of stock flow, lifecycle planning and category management
• A confident communicator who can influence Buyers and stakeholders
• Genuine commercial impact and end-to-end planning ownership
• Exposure to strategic planning, in-season trading and range development
• A collaborative, fast-paced retail environment