Lead - Merchandise Planner

On; New York (NY); On-site; USD 130,000 - 160,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Growth mindset

Professional development tools

Supportive team

Personal well-being

Purpose-driven culture

Job summary

Global Sports Jobs Limited is seeking an experienced planning professional to forecast demand, develop seasonal merchandise plans, and align with omnichannel objectives across the Americas region. You will partner with regional and global teams to translate brand vision into actionable commercial plans for profitable growth.

The role emphasizes data-driven storytelling, cross-functional collaboration, and driving efficiency through new tools and processes while navigating market uncertainty and

Qualifications

• 6+ years of progressive experience in merchandise planning or a related analytical role.
• Experience analysing and reviewing consumer trends and marketplace data to forecast a holistic story across product categories and channels.
• High proficiency with planning, forecasting, and data visualisation tools, and the ability to analyse data to build clear narratives and actionable recommendations for senior audiences.
• Demonstrated ability to manage end-to-end projects, comfortable making decisions with input from others, and delivering solutions to multi-faceted problems.
• Proven ability to navigate uncertainty and ambiguity, working to define a challenge and building plans to tackle the problem.
• Success in making wise and measured decisions despite the lack of a predefined path.
• Skilled at building effective relationships with individuals from diverse backgrounds, fostering collaborative networks across teams, and influencing outcomes through strong relational intelligence.
• Experience in building and implementing tools and/or processes to increase effectiveness and efficiency.

Responsibilities

• Develop comprehensive seasonal merchandise plans, ensuring strategic alignment with omnichannel commercial objectives, regional market trends, and global product strategies.
• Manage forward-looking demand forecasts to drive brand vision, optimal sell-through, product efficiencies, and profitability for assigned categories.
• Analyse current sales performance, market and consumer trends to identify future opportunities and risks, recommending proactive adjustments to merchandise strategies well in advance of product creation finalisation.
• Collaborate cross-functionally with sales, marketing, operations, and merchandising teams to ensure seamless go-to-market execution and efficient product lifecycle management for new collections.
• Contribute to strategic planning by providing data-backed recommendations on assortment architecture, pricing, and promotional activities across the omnichannel for upcoming seasons.
• Support the implementation of new tools and processes to enhance planning efficiency, reporting capabilities, and overall team effectiveness, identifying underlying issues and root causes for long-term improvement.

Skills

Merchandise planning

Forecasting

Data visualisation

Job description

About the Role

This role forecasts forward-looking demand for future product assortments across the Americas region, reporting to the Head of Planning within the Americas Merchandising team. Though not a people-leader role, it requires high autonomy and cross-functional leadership with regional and global partners, leveraging data-driven insights to transform brand vision into actionable commercial plans and drive profitable growth. The Americas Merchandising team incorporates Merchandising and Merchandise Planning, acting as trusted advisors that set the vision and direction for products across the region. The team serves as a bridge between Global Product and Commercial teams and regional business leaders, driving cross-functional interaction with a market-relevant, consumer-focused mindset. As the Americas team continues to grow, the role is key to driving that journey.

Key Responsibilities

• Develop comprehensive seasonal merchandise plans, ensuring strategic alignment with omnichannel commercial objectives, regional market trends, and global product strategies.
• Manage forward-looking demand forecasts to drive brand vision, optimal sell-through, product efficiencies, and profitability for assigned categories.
• Analyse current sales performance, market and consumer trends to identify future opportunities and risks, recommending proactive adjustments to merchandise strategies well in advance of product creation finalisation.
• Collaborate cross-functionally with sales, marketing, operations, and merchandising teams to ensure seamless go-to-market execution and efficient product lifecycle management for new collections.
• Contribute to strategic planning by providing data-backed recommendations on assortment architecture, pricing, and promotional activities across the omnichannel for upcoming seasons.
• Support the implementation of new tools and processes to enhance planning efficiency, reporting capabilities, and overall team effectiveness, identifying underlying issues and root causes for long-term improvement.

Required Experience & Qualifications

• 6+ years of progressive experience in merchandise planning or a related analytical role at a premium or performance-oriented global retailer, or in other categories with frequent product launches and seasonal complexity.
• Experience analysing and reviewing consumer trends and marketplace data to forecast a holistic story across product categories and channels.
• High proficiency with planning, forecasting, and data visualisation tools, and the ability to analyse data to build clear narratives and actionable recommendations for senior audiences.
• Demonstrated ability to manage end-to-end projects, comfortable making decisions with input from others, and delivering solutions to multi-faceted problems.
• Proven ability to navigate uncertainty and ambiguity, working to define a challenge and building plans to tackle the problem.
• Success in making wise and measured decisions despite the lack of a predefined path.
• Skilled at building effective relationships with individuals from diverse backgrounds, fostering collaborative networks across teams, and influencing outcomes through strong relational intelligence.
• Experience in building and implementing tools and/or processes to increase effectiveness and efficiency.

Preferred Skills

• Experience within the footwear or apparel industries.
• Experience incorporating and utilising AI in tools and/or processes.

Workplace

• Americas region

Salary

• Typical cash compensation range for this position inclusive of base + bonus + equity: $130,000-$160,000. Individual compensation packages are based on various factors unique to each candidate including experience, industry knowledge, qualifications, skill set, and location.

Benefits & Perks

• Environment centred around growth and progress.
• Tools to develop holistically – to stay active, to learn, explore and innovate.
• Supportive, team-oriented atmosphere.
• Access to personal self-care for both physical and mental well-being.
• Each person is led by purpose.