Lead Merchandise Financial Planner - Wellness & Clean Up

Petco; United States; On-site; USD 120,000 - 160,000; Full time

Job summary

Petco is seeking a Lead Merchandise Financial Planner to drive comprehensive financial planning, open‑to‑buy governance, and margin management for assigned categories. You will own the pre‑season architecture, scenario modelling and in‑season OTB decisions, while mentoring a pod of 2–4 planners in a matrix environment.

You will balance hands‑on planning (60%), with strategic oversight of planning cadence, governance and model quality (40%), ensuring optimal inventory turns and profitability.

Qualifications

• Role requiring strong financial discipline and planning for multi‑category portfolios.
• Experience in open‑to‑buy governance, margin optimization and pricing.
• Mentorship and leadership of planning teams within a matrix structure.

Responsibilities

• Lead hands‑on merchandise financial planning and OTB governance.
• Own 52‑week multi‑channel MFP development for top categories.
• Model scenarios, cost shocks, elasticity and ROI for promotions.
• Direct 2–4 planners, guiding cadence and quality of models.
• Serve as financial authority across the planning pod.

Skills

Financial planning

Open‑to‑Buy

GMROI

Pricing strategy

Forecasting

Mentorship

Leadership

Cross‑functional collaboration

Education

Finance degree

MBA (beneficial)

Tools

Profit Mind

Job description

Want to help pets live their best lives?

We’re proud to be where the pets go and where thepet peoplego. If you want to make a real difference, create an exciting career path, feel welcome to be your whole self and nurture your wellbeing, Petco is the place for you.

Our core values capture that spirit as we work to improve lives by doing what’s right for pets and people.

• Pet First – Protect & Empower. All pets should Live their Best Life. We put the needs of pets and pet parents at the center of everything we do.

• Foster the Fun – Connect & Bond. Our Passion for pets brings us together! We celebrate the journey of pet parenthood through distinct experiences, products, and services.

• Let’s Go! Own & Commit. We are stronger as One Petco team. We bring our unique superpowers and champion authenticity in everyone to drive success.

About Petco:

We’re proud to be “where the pets go” to find everything they need to live their best lives for more than 60 years — from their favorite meals and toys, to trusted supplies and expert support from people who get it, because we live it. We believe in the universal truths of pet parenthood — the boundless boops, missing slippers, late night zoomies and everything in between. And we’re here for it. Every tail wag, every vet visit, every step of the way. We are 29,000+ strong and together we nurture the pet-human bond in more than 1,500 Petco stores across the U.S., Mexico and Puerto Rico, 250+ Vetco Total Care hospitals, hundreds of preventive care clinics and eight distribution centers. In 1999, we founded Petco Love. Together, we support thousands of local animal welfare groups nationwide and have helped find homes for approximately 7 million animals through in-store adoption events.

Lead Merchandise Financial Planner

Position Summary

A role in Petco’s Merchandise Planning division means applying your specialized, financially disciplined point of view to what we commit to, how much capital we deploy, and how profitably we grow. This is a player/coach role : you personally own and execute the most complex financial plans and OTB decisions for your assigned categories, while also directly coaching, assigning, and reviewing the work of Merchandise Planners and Analysts on your team.

This is a strategic introductory leadership role designed as a “Player-Coach” bridge between senior individual contributor financial modeling work and formal people management.

In this role, you will spend approximately 60% of your time delivering hands‑on, high‑impact merchandise financial planning, open‑to‑buy governance, and margin optimization solutions, while dedicating 40% of your focus to pod direction, planning‑cycle orchestration, financial model quality enforcement, and planner mentorship. Operating within a matrixed leadership framework, you will serve as the financial authority for 2–4 Merchandise Planners , driving end‑to‑end execution while partnering closely with Merchandise Planning Managers, Merchants, and Inventory Management counterparts across the Category Triad.

Hands‑On Execution (≈60%)

Pre‑Season Financial Architecture & Scenario Modeling (15%)

• Personally build the 52‑week multi‑channel MFP for your highest‑complexity categories — Sales ( and %), Inventory Turns, Receipt Phasing, and GMROI.
• Own high‑volatility sensitivity and scenario models (cost shocks, elasticity shifts, promotional depth) that inform executive commitments.

In‑Season Open‑to‑Buy Governance & Capital Deployment (20%)

• Directly control the category OTB checkbook; personally authorize receipt releases, mid‑month freezes, and capital re‑deployment decisions.
• Reconcile receipt flow against Inventory Management’s physical PO timing to protect working capital.

Profit Mind Pricing, Elasticity & Markdown Governance (15%)

• Configure margin floors, price‑ladder guardrails, and elasticity boundaries directly in Profit Mind.
• Model promotional ROI, cross‑elasticity, and cannibalization; set terminal clearance reserve budgets and liquidation cadences.

Assortment Economics & Consensus S&OP Gap Closure (10%)

• Set option‑count, sales‑per‑linear‑foot, and GMROI hurdles ahead of merchant line reviews.
• Personally lead commercial gap‑closing levers when unconstrained demand falls short of financial plan.

Pod Direction & Planning‑Cycle Orchestration (≈20–25%)

• Workload Orchestration: Assign, sequence, and prioritize pre‑season build, in‑season reforecast, and OTB maintenance work across your 2–4 planner pod against the monthly/quarterly planning calendar.
• Cadence Ownership: Prepare and run the pod’s inputs into Weekly Business Reviews (WBR), Monthly OTB Reviews, and Consensus S&OP; ensure deliverables land accurate and on time.
• Model Quality Enforcement: Define and enforce standards for plan hierarchy integrity, formula governance, version control, and reconciliation discipline across all pod‑produced models.
• Escalation Authority: Serve as first point of escalation for plan discrepancies, OTB variances, and cross‑functional friction before manager involvement is required.

Mentorship & Quality Assurance (≈15–20%)

• Methodology Reviews: Conduct mandatory financial, pricing, markdown, and OTB reviews for all pod members to maintain high financial accuracy, margin integrity, and plan sustainability.
• Technical Mentorship: Lead 1‑on‑1s focused on financial problem‑solving, modeling skill advancement, and Profit Mind / planning engine best‑practice adoption for junior and mid‑level planners.
• Onboarding & Skill Building: Onboard new planning partners and foster a collaborative, continuous‑learning pod culture