Rip Curl Senior Merchandise Planner

Rip Curl; Torquay; On-site; AUD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

Rip Curl in Torquay is seeking an experienced Senior Planner to lead global merchandise planning across divisions, aligning customer demand with brand priorities and shaping financial, inventory and assortment strategies that drive sustainable growth.

You will forecast and reforecast, manage inventory investment and seasonal buys, and collaborate with Buying, Product Management, Retail, Digital and regional teams to optimise performance.

Qualifications

• Significant merchandise planning experience in global retail or consumer products.
• Advanced Excel capability and planning systems experience.
• Strong financial and commercial acumen with knowledge of retail metrics.
• Ability to turn data and market trends into clear commercial recommendations.
• Experience coaching or mentoring others in planning.
• Excellent communication and presentation skills.
• Experience in fashion, lifestyle or vertically integrated retail would be advantageous.

Responsibilities

• Lead global merchandise planning strategies across product divisions and channels.
• Own sales, margin, inventory and markdown planning.
• Lead forecasting and reforecasting, identifying risks and opportunities.
• Develop inventory investment and seasonal buy strategies.
• Analyse global trade, customer trends, product performance and regional market dynamics.
• Partner with Buying, Product Management, Retail, Digital, Supply Chain, Finance, Allocation and regional Planning teams.
• Lead post-season and hindsight analysis to strengthen planning decisions.
• Provide coaching, mentoring and technical support to Planners and junior team members.

Skills

Merchandise planning

Forecasting

Open-to-Buy

Excel

Stakeholder management

Communication

Planning systems

Mentoring

Financial acumen

Data analysis

Tools

Excel

Planning systems

Job description

Founded in Torquay in 1969, Rip Curl is The Ultimate Surfing Company, born from a relentless pursuit for waves, adventure, and freedom, called ‘The Search’. Today, The Search continues to inspire all that we do, from the products we make, the events we run, the athletes we support, and the values we strive to uphold. Built by surfers, for surfers, Rip Curl is a global company that has been leading the surf industry for over 50 years. As a certified B Corp, we aim to prioritise people and planet in everything we do. The Search is calling…

This is an opportunity for an experienced merchandise planning professional to step into a senior role with genuine global scope at Rip Curl.

As Senior Planner, you'll lead the global planning strategy for a significant product division, bringing together customer demand, commercial objectives and market opportunities to shape financial, inventory and assortment plans that support sustainable growth. You'll partner across Buying, Product Management, Retail, Digital and regional teams, using commercial insight to influence decisions across global markets

The role

Reporting to the Head of Planning and based at Rip Curl's Torquay office, you'll take a strategic view of merchandise planning while staying close to global trade performance.

You will be responsible for:

Leading global merchandise planning strategies across your product division, aligning customer demand with brand and commercial priorities.

Owning sales, margin, inventory and markdown planning across allocated product divisions and channels.

Leading forecasting and reforecasting, identifying risks and opportunities and recommending actions to improve commercial performance.

Developing inventory investment and seasonal buy strategies that optimise stock productivity and profitability.

Analysing global trade, customer trends, product performance and regional market dynamics to identify growth opportunities.

Partnering closely with Buying, Product Management, Retail, Digital, Supply Chain, Finance, Allocation and regional Planning teams.

Leading post-season and hindsight analysis to strengthen future planning and investment decisions.

Providing coaching, mentoring and technical support to Planners and junior team members while helping lift planning capability and consistency across the team.

About you

You'll bring significant merchandise planning experience gained within a global retail or consumer products environment, together with strong financial and commercial acumen.

Ideally, you'll have:

Advanced merchandise planning and forecasting expertise.

Strong knowledge of retail financial metrics, inventory productivity and commercial drivers.

Experience developing financial and inventory strategies across categories, channels or regions.

Advanced inventory management and Open-to-Buy capability.

A demonstrated ability to turn complex data and market trends into clear commercial recommendations.

Strong stakeholder management and influencing skills, with experience partnering across Buying, Product Management and Supply Chain.

Advanced Excel capability and experience with planning systems.

Experience coaching or mentoring others within a planning environment.

Excellent communication and presentation skills.

Experience within fashion, lifestyle or vertically integrated retail will be highly regarded.

The impact you'll have

Success in this role will be reflected in the quality of global sales and margin outcomes, forecast accuracy, inventory productivity and health, Open-to-Buy effectiveness, category profitability and the quality of commercial insight provided to the business. The role also contributes to strengthening planning capability across the team.

If you're an experienced planner ready to bring strategic thinking, commercial curiosity and global perspective to an iconic surf brand, we'd love to hear from you.