Manager, Global Merchandise Planning

Lululemon Athletica; Vancouver; Hybrid; CAD 140,000 - 184,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Extended health and dental benefits

Paid time off

Retirement plan matching

Parenthood top-up

Development courses

Mentorship programs

Leadership series

Job summary

lululemon Athletica is seeking a Planning Manager for Global Merchandise Planning to lead a team in developing inventory plans across categories and regions. You will align with Merchandising, Sourcing, Logistics and omni-channel teams to realize the global line architecture and shell plans.

You will drive forecasting, demand planning and product flow, building seasonal roadmaps and partnering with cross-functional teams to optimize inventory, sales and profitability.

Qualifications

• College certificate or University degree in Commerce or Business Administration.
• 5-7 years of planning experience or equivalent financial analysis and reporting.
• Experience coaching, mentoring and leading a team of direct reports.
• Proven ability to work with and lead cross-functional teams.
• Expert knowledge of Excel is required.
• Excellent teamwork, communication, organization, and prioritization skills.
• Detail oriented, analytical and results driven.

Responsibilities

• Lead development of financial architecture and global category plans by class and activity.
• Collaborate with Global Merchandising to align on Global Line Architecture and shell plans.
• Build product strategies and manage alignment to support execution of strategies.
• Drive activities to maximize sales, profitability, and inventory productivity.
• Coordinate calendar timing and communicate across cross-functional partners.
• Coach and develop a high-performance planning team.
• Create Seasonal Product Roadmaps with Merchandising and regional inputs.
• Summarize global results and partner with regions to drive actions.

Skills

Planning leadership

Cross-functional

Forecasting

Communication

Analytical

Team management

Education

College certificate or University degree in Commerce or Business Administration

Tools

Excel

Job description

Business Unit: Store Support Centre (SSC)

lululemon is an innovative performance apparel company for yoga, running, training, and other athletic pursuits. Setting the bar in technical fabrics and functional design, we create transformational products and experiences that support people in moving, growing, connecting, and being well. We owe our success to our innovative product, emphasis on stores, commitment to our people, and the incredible connections we make in every community we're in. As a company, we focus on creating positive change to build a healthier, thriving future. In particular, that includes creating an equitable, inclusive and growth-focused environment for our people.

about this team

As a part of the Planning team, your purpose is to maximize guest demand by realizing the full potential of our inventory. As Planning Manager, you lead a team to develop and execute inventory plans for multiple categories, bringing-to-life the assortment strategies. Seeing the big picture, you navigate the team to targeted results, orchestrating activities that optimize inventory investment, demand forecasting, and product flow. You drive process, timelines, and communication mechanisms that support planning deliverables, collaborating closely with partners in merchandising, sourcing, logistics, and omni-channel operations.

core responsibilities

The Manager, Global Merchandise Planning partners with Manager, Global Merchandising to manage the development of the financial architecture, global category plans and supports in alignment on the Global Line Architecture (Sales, IMU, style count Targets). This person manages the financial framework, strategy and targets that support departmental/divisional merchandise strategies they own. The Manager, Global Merchandise Planning partners with Global Merchandising to incorporate relevant regional input to build and quantify shell plans and preliminary assortments, supporting both Global and Regional seasonal strategies. They must collaborate effectively with Global and Regional Planning, Sourcing, Production and the Go-to-Market Team to bring the product line to life.

• Interprets, communicates and coordinates execution of Departmental/Divisional Inventory flow strategies under the direction of Director/VP.
• Develop the Long Range financial architecture and global category plans by class, activity, franchise
• Partner with Global Merchandising to build the product strategies and manage alignment on the Global Line Architecture to support execution of strategies
• Leads team to execute business activities to drive financial results that maximize sales, profitability, and inventory productivity.
• Partners with cross-functional partners to communicate and negotiate calendar challenges to execution of "by-whens"
• Coaches and develops a high-performance team, providing clear and actionable feedback.
• Build and finalize Seasonal Product Roadmap in collaboration with Merchandising.
• Recap global business results and partner with merchandising and regions to take actions to impact future business.

qualifications

• College certificate or University degree is required, preferably in Commerce or Business Administration
• 5-7 Years of Planning experience or progressive financial analysis and reporting experience, combination of people management and industry experience
• Experience and proven ability in coaching, mentoring and leading a team of direct reports
• Proven ability to work with and lead a cross functional team
• Expert knowledge of Excel is required
• Excellent team player as well as the ability to work independently.
• Effective communication skills (written & verbal) & extremely organized, thorough and able to prioritize
• Detail orientated & analytical
• Results oriented – strong sense of motivation
• Self directed problem solver, proactive and resourceful
• Capable of effective multiple demand management from a variety of sources and adapts well to change.
• Ability and willingness to accept and provide feedback.

must haves

• Acknowledge the presence of choice in every moment and take personal responsibility for your life.
• Possess an entrepreneurial spirit and continuously innovate to achieve great results.
• Communicate with honesty and kindness and create the space for others to do the same.
• Lead with courage, knowing the possibility of greatness is bigger than the fear of failure.
• Foster connection by putting people first and building trusting relationships.
• Integrate fun and joy as a way of being and working, aka doesn’t take yourself too seriously.

additional notes

Authorization to work in Canada is required for this role.

compensation and benefits package

lululemon’s compensation offerings are grounded in a pay-for-performance philosophy that recognizes exceptional individual and teamperformance. Thetypical hiring range for this positionis from $140,200-$184,000 annually; the base pay offered is based on market location and may vary depending on job-related knowledge, skills, experience, and internal equity. As part of our total rewards offering, permanent employees in this position may be eligible for our competitive annual bonus program, subject to program eligibility requirements.

At lululemon, investing in our people is a top priority. We believe that when life works, work works. We strive to be the place where inclusive leaders come to develop and enable all to be well. Recognizing our teams for their performance and dedication, other components of our total rewards offerings include support of career development, wellbeing, and personal growth:

• Extended health and dental benefits, and mental health plans
• Paid time off
• Savings and retirement plan matching
• Parenthood top-up
• Extensive catalog of development course offerings
• People networks, mentorship programs, and leadership series (to name a few)

Note: The incentive programs, benefits, and perks have certain eligibility requirements. The Company reserves the right to alter these incentive programs, benefits, and perks in whole or in part at any time without advance notice.

workplace arrangement

In-person collaboration and connection is important to our culture. Work is performed onsite, minimum 4 days per week.

Only those applicants under consideration will be contacted. Please accept our utmost appreciation for your interest. Lululemon is an Equal Employment Opportunity employer. Employment decisions are based on merit and business needs, and not on race, color, creed, age, sex, gender, sexual orientation, national origin, religion, marital status, medical condition, physical or mental disability, military service, pregnancy, childbirth and related medical conditions or any other classification protected by federal, state or provincial and local laws and ordinances. Reasonable accommodation is available for qualified individuals with disabilities, upon request. This Equal Employment Opportunity policy applies to all practices relating to recruitment and hiring, compensation, benefits, discipline, transfer, termination and all other terms and conditions of employment. While management is primarily responsible for seeing that Lululemon equal employment opportunity policies are implemented, you share in the responsibility for assuring that, by your personal actions, the policies are effective.

lululemon is committed to providing reasonable accommodation to applicants with disabilities. If you would like someone from our team to contact you for individualized support, email us [e-mail] . In your email, please include the position title, the location of the position and the nature of your request.

The use of AI tools, including but not limited to ChatGPT, Microsoft Copilot, Gemini, DeepSeek, or any other AI-assisted software, is strictly prohibited during the interview process. This includes, AI-generated responses, content creation, or any form of automated assistance in live interviews, case studies, technical assessments, or written submissions. At lululemon, we are committed to privacy, integrity, transparency, and ethical hiring practices. Our commitment to responsible AI ensures that proprietary information is protected and that all hiring decisions are based on an individual’s own skills, judgment, and expertise without AI assistance. Any use of AI during the interview process will result in immediate disqualification. lululemon reserves the right to use AI detection tools to verify the authenticity of candidate responses.