Associate Merchandise Planner - BEAUTY (210960)

Aquent; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 95,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

Aquent is seeking a seasoned Merchandise Planning professional in San Francisco to own Open to Buy projections, coordinate brand launches, and drive financial strategy across Merchants, Vendors, and Demand Planning.

Candidates should have 4+ years of experience in merchandise planning, strong MS Excel skills, and a proven track record in inventory management and analytics to optimize in-stock levels and DOH targets.

Qualifications

• 4+ years of Merchandise Planning experience.
• Bachelor’s degree preferred in Supply Chain Management, Finance, or Business.
• Own monthly Open to Buy projections and align with Demand Planning forecasts.
• Develop brand launch strategies with SKU-level inventory planning.
• Advanced analytics to forecast promotions and analyze initiatives.
• Excel proficiency to translate data into financial decisions.
• Inventory management balancing in-stock and DOH targets.
• Vendor relationship management and performance review.

Responsibilities

• Own monthly OTB projections and reconcile with Demand Planning forecasts.
• Collaborate with Merchants, Inventory Directors, and Vendors to align forecasts and strategies.
• Support cross-functional alignment on forecasts and strategic initiatives.
• Guide and prioritize workload for Merchandise Planning Assistants as needed.
• Adapt quickly to a fast-paced retail environment with deadlines and high attention to detail.

Skills

Merchandise Planning

OTB Mastery

Brand Launch Strategy

Advanced Analytics

MS Excel

Inventory Management

DOH (Days on Hand)

Vendor Relationships

Education

Bachelor’s degree preferred in Supply Chain Management, Finance, or Business

Tools

MS Excel

Job description

• The Baseline: You need 4+ years of Merchandise Planning experience.
• The Pedigree: A Bachelor’s degree is preferred, specifically in Supply Chain Management, Finance, Business, or a related field.

2. Technical & Analytical "Must-Haves"

This is the meat of the role, making up the vast majority of your daily and strategic focus:

• Open to Buy (OTB) Mastery (20%): You must be able to independently own monthly, in-season OTB projections (sales, gross margin %, receipts, and inventory adjustments) and reconcile them with Demand Planning forecasts.
• Brand Launch Strategy (20%): Experience developing strategies for new brands, including calculating projected sales, SKU-level inventory needs, and order flow setups.
• Advanced Analytics (15%): A proven ability to interpret complex data to forecast promotional needs, analyze key initiatives, and conduct seasonal hindsight reviews.
• Excel Proficiency: Excellent technical proficiency in MS Excel is non-negotiable for synthesizing data into actionable business decisions.
• Inventory Management: Practical knowledge of balancing SKU in-stock rates with DOH (Days on Hand) targets to maintain a healthy inventory flow.

3. Collaboration & Communication (The "Partnership" Aspect)

You aren't working in a silo; you are the financial backbone for multiple teams:

• The Merchant Dynamic: Act as the strategic financial partner to the Merchant to drive business growth.
• Cross-Functional Alignment: Ability to collaborate closely with Inventory Directors, Vendors, and Demand Planning to align forecasts and strategies.
• Strong communication skills to manage vendor relationships regarding performance and outstanding issues (10%).
• Leadership capability to guide and prioritize workload for Merchandise Planning Assistants (5%).

4. Operational Agility & Execution

• Assortment & Liquidation Lifecycle: Ability to validate productive assortments (knowing what to discontinue vs. what to develop) and build exit strategies for overstock or leaving brands.
• Fast-Paced Adaptability: Comfort working in a rapidly changing environment, handling multiple competing priorities with high attention to detail.
• Schedule Flexibility: Willingness to occasionally work evenings or weekends to meet critical deadlines, with potential on-call duties for urgent troubleshooting.

Summary Blueprint: To land and thrive in this role, you need to be a seasoned retail math pro (4+ years) who can seamlessly pivot from deep Excel data modeling (OTB, Brand Launches) to cross-functional meetings where you confidently present financial strategies to Merchants and Vendors.