Assistant Planner

jcrew; New York (NY); On-site; USD 35,000 - 41,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health & Well-being

Associate Discount

Summer Fridays

Community Impact

Winter Break

Job summary

As an Assistant Planner, you’ll support your manager in developing financial plans balancing sales, margin, and inventory goals. Leverage data to understand performance, identify opportunities, and make recommendations to strengthen results.

This role blends analytical curiosity, collaboration, and strategic thinking to bring product and financial strategies to life. Responsibilities span preseason planning of sales, margin, and inventory by department and style, plus in-season recaps,

Qualifications

• 0–2 years of experience, recent college grad with internship experience or retail store experience preferred.
• Strong analytical and financial skills, with proficiency in Excel and retail math.
• Excellent written and verbal communication and presentation abilities.
• Highly organized with the ability to manage multiple priorities and deadlines.
• Curious, proactive, and detail-oriented in a fast-paced environment.
• Collaborative team player eager to learn and grow within Planning.

Responsibilities

• Preseason: Support the creation of preseason sales, margin, and inventory plans by department, class, and style.
• Preseason: Analyze historical and current business trends to identify key learnings, risks, and growth opportunities.
• Preseason: Summarize key financial metrics — such as markup, margin rate, and average unit cost — to inform planning assumptions.
• Preseason: Partner with manager to align on seasonal investment strategy and product flow recommendations.
• Preseason: Collaborate with cross-functional partners to prepare financial presentations for line reviews and buy meetings.
• In Season: Provide weekly and monthly business recaps that highlight performance trends and variances to forecast.
• In Season: Update and reforecast sales, margin, and inventory plans based on current results and market shifts.
• In Season: Partner with manager and cross-functional teams to identify in-season opportunities and risks, proposing actions such as receipt reflows, pricing adjustments, or markdowns.
• In Season: Participate in OTB meetings and inventory reviews, ensuring alignment with departmental goals.
• In Season: Maintain accuracy of all reports and tools to support data-driven decision-making.

Skills

Analytical skills

Financial skills

Excel

Retail math

Communication skills

Organizational skills

Team collaboration

Education

Bachelor's degree in Business, Merchandising, or related field

Tools

Excel

Job description

Our Story

J.Crew gets you dressed every day, for every occasion.

Since 1983, we’ve been creating classics that feel familiar and refreshingly new, crafted with unbeatable quality and distinctive point of view—it’s no wonder we’ve been in your closet for four decades and counting.

Today, we continue to do the classics our way, inspiring not only how you shop but how you define your personal style. Our commitment runs deeper than just making great clothes—we’re proud of our role in getting you dressed with confidence, character, and celebrating a distinctly American sensibility that makes us who we are.

Our dedication to Diversity, Equity, Belonging & Sustainability has been celebrated with industry recognition, reflecting our commitment to fostering an inclusive and sustainable workplace.

The Role + Purpose

As an Assistant Planner, you’ll support your manager in developing and executing financial plans that balance sales, margin, and inventory goals. You’ll use data to understand performance, identify opportunities, and make recommendations that strengthen results. This role builds the foundation for a career in Planning — blending analytical curiosity, collaboration, and strategic thinking to bring product and financial strategies to life.

Responsibilities:

Preseason

• Support the creation of preseason sales, margin, and inventory plans by department, class, and style


• Analyze historical and current business trends to identify key learnings, risks, and growth opportunities


• Summarize key financial metrics — such as markup, margin rate, and average unit cost — to inform planning assumptions


• Partner with manager to align on seasonal investment strategy and product flow recommendations


• Collaborate with cross-functional partners to prepare financial presentations for line reviews and buy meetings

In Season

• Provide weekly and monthly business recaps that highlight performance trends and variances to forecast


• Update and reforecast sales, margin, and inventory plans based on current results and market shifts


• Partner with manager and cross-functional teams to identify in-season opportunities and risks, proposing actions such as receipt reflows, pricing adjustments, or markdowns


• Participate in OTB (Open-to-Buy) meetings and inventory reviews, ensuring alignment with departmental goals


• Maintain accuracy of all reports and tools to support effective, data-driven decision-making

Qualifications:

Required:

• 0–2 years of experience, recent college grad with internship experience or retail store experience preferred


• Strong analytical and financial skills, with proficiency in Excel and retail math


• Excellent written and verbal communication and presentation abilities


• Highly organized with the ability to manage multiple priorities and deadlines


• Curious, proactive, and detail-oriented in a fast-paced environment


• Collaborative team player eager to learn and grow within Planning

Preferred:

• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Merchandising, or a related field


• Exposure to planning, buying, allocation, or financial analysis within a retail or consumer goods organization

*This role follows our in-office work model, requiring associates to work from our New York office Tuesday through Thursday each week, effective September 8, 2026.

Benefits + Perks

• Health & Well-being -Eligible associates and family members receive medical, dental, prescription and vision insurance,family planning (fertility, adoption & surrogacy support), fitness discounts, medical travel and more.


• Associate Discount -We love our products just as much as you do! That’s why we offer a great associate discount across all of our brands (J.Crew, J.Crew Factory, and Madewell).


• Summer Fridays -In addition to our hybrid work model, we also close our office at 1:00 PM every Friday during the Summer months.


• Community Impact -We support the communities where we live and work through our philanthropic efforts and the J.Crew Cares Program.


• Winter Break -In addition to our PTO package, J.Crew Group offers a winter break at the end of December to eligible full-time associates at the Home Office to provide time to refresh and recharge.

Note: Availability of these benefits and perks may be subject to work location & employment type and may have certain eligibility requirements.

Hourly Range: $25.48 - $29.74

At J.Crew Group (JCG) we aim to pay competitively for our company’s size and industry. The base salary offered will take into account internal equity and may vary depending on the candidate’s geographic region of work premises, job-related knowledge, skills, and experience among other factors. The base salary is just one component of J.Crew Group’s competitive total rewards strategy that also includes the opportunity for bonus, competitive benefits and perks.

One of our core focuses here at JCGis creating a community and culture that builds belonging. We are deeply committed to our Diversity, Equity and Inclusion efforts, and we warmly welcome job applicants of all backgrounds.

JCG is proud to affirmatively provide equal opportunity to all associates and qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, national origin or citizenship, age, sex, marital status, ancestry, legally protected physical or mental disability, veteran status, gender identity, sexual orientation or any other basis protected under applicable law.