Planner

Jivaro Recruitment; New Zealand; Hybrid; NZD 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

Client Retail Group in New Zealand seeks a commercially minded merchandise planner to own release assurance across planning tools and manage a planning portfolio grounded in live trade.

The role transitions from release testing to a BAU platform function, balancing testing workload with ongoing planning responsibilities in a rare hybrid setup.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of merchandise planning experience in retail.
• Hands-on experience testing complex business systems, including UAT and end-to-end testing.
• Experience triaging and managing defects and change requests through to resolution.
• Confidence working with external software vendors and documenting business requirements.

Responsibilities

• Assess each monthly platform release for impact on trading, then approve, defer or upscale it within an agreed risk framework.
• Build, document and maintain version-controlled regression test packs across all planning modules.
• Coordinate hands-on, feature, end-to-end and user acceptance testing with Merchandise, Data and Project teams.
• Own the change request pipeline from logging through to vendor scoping, delivery and resolution.
• Partner with the software vendor on release content, defects, environments and acceptance criteria.
• Train and support a deputy tester so no module depends on one person.
• Build 18-month rolling merchandise financial plans, OTB recommendations and forecasts for your categories.
• Work with Buying, Marketing, Store Operations, Supply Chain and Finance to plan promotions, markdowns and stock flow.

Skills

Merchandise planning

Test coordination

Stakeholder communication

Vendor collaboration

Analytical judgement

Education

Degree in business or supply chain

Tools

Impact Analytics

Oracle RPAS

Blue Yonder

o9

Anaplan

Job description

Are you a merchandise planner who is the first to spot when a system update could affect trade? This role puts that strength at the centre of the job.
Our client is a leading multi-brand retail group with well-known homewares and sporting goods banners. They are investing in their merchandise planning platform and need a commercially minded planner to own its stability, governance and continuous improvement, while also running a planning portfolio of their own.

The opportunity

This is a rare hybrid role. Reporting to the Group Head of Merchandise Planning, you will be the business owner of release assurance across a suite of Impact Analytics planning tools. You will also keep a planning portfolio, so your decisions are grounded in live trade. The role has two phases. In the first, you will take over release testing from the Head of Planning, build reusable regression packs for each module and carry around 20% of a planning workload. Once that is complete, you will move into a BAU platform role and carry around 40% of a planning workload.

What you will do

• Assess each monthly platform release for impact on trading, then approve, defer or upscale it within an agreed risk framework
• Build, document and maintain version-controlled regression test packs across all planning modules
• Coordinate hands-on, feature, end-to-end and user acceptance testing with Merchandise, Data and Project teams
• Own the change request pipeline from logging through to vendor scoping, delivery and resolution
• Partner with the software vendor on release content, defects, environments and acceptance criteria
• Train and support a deputy tester so no module depends on one person
• Build 18-month rolling merchandise financial plans, OTB recommendations and forecasts for your categories
• Work with Buying, Marketing, Store Operations, Supply Chain and Finance to plan promotions, markdowns and stock flow

What you will bring

• 5+ years' merchandise planning experience in retail, with strong judgement on sales, margin, stock and trading impacts
• Hands-on experience testing complex business systems, including UAT and end-to-end testing
• Experience triaging and managing defects and change requests through to resolution
• Confidence working with external software vendors and documenting business requirements
• Clear, decisive communication and the ability to influence without direct authority
• A degree in business, supply chain or a related field

Experience with Impact Analytics or a comparable planning platform (Oracle RPAS, Blue Yonder, o9, Anaplan or similar) will be highly regarded. Release management, production support or change management experience is also a plus.

Why apply

• Shape how a major retailer manages and protects its planning technology
• Broaden your career beyond traditional planning into systems and governance