Senior Merchandise Planner

OptiRoi Media; Waco (TX); On-site; USD 50,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

Join a dynamic team as a Senior Merchandise Planner, where you will play a pivotal role in business forecasting, analysis, and inventory management. This position offers the opportunity to work closely with various departments, ensuring that sales and inventory targets are met through data-driven decisions. You'll lead a team, analyze trends, and present insights to management, all while fostering a culture of exceptional guest engagement. If you are passionate about retail and thrive in a collaborative environment, this role is perfect for you. Embrace the chance to make a significant impact in a vibrant workplace!

Qualifications

• 1-3 years of management experience or 5+ years of related work experience preferred.
• Strong analytical skills and understanding of financial metrics required.

Responsibilities

• Develop retail assortment sales plans and manage inventory to meet targets.
• Forecast monthly and seasonal plans to ensure financial targets are met.

Skills

Teamwork

Critical Thinking

Communication

Guest Focus

Strategy and Goal Setting

Retail Math

Education

Bachelor's degree from a 4-year college or university

Tools

Microsoft Excel

Job description

SENIOR MERCHANDISE PLANNER | JOB DESCRIPTION

SUMMARY

At Magnolia, the Senior Merchandise Planner is responsible for business forecasting, analysis, and inventory management in their assigned division, which encompasses multiple departments and categories. This position works from Magnolia Headquarters in Waco, Texas. It reports to the Director of Merchandise Planning and has supervisory responsibilities.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

• Develop retail assortment sales plans and manage inventory to meet targets for assigned division.
• Meet division’s sales, gross margin, and inventory targets through data-driven decisions.
• Forecast monthly and seasonal plans to ensure all orders fall within approved financial targets.
• Identify new trends and study sales history to make focused investment recommendations.
• Analyze successes and failures within historical data and current trends to identify risks and opportunities across division for multiple categories, amending forecasts and buys accordingly.
• Report upwards on business performance for division and categories to upper management (net sales, gross margin, weeks of supply).
• Lead quarterly hindsight analysis to present insights and future divisional strategy to management.
• Partner with cross-functional team leads in Merchandising, Ecommerce, Visual Merchandising, Store Operations, Warehouse, Marketing, and Finance to manage division performance and inventory.
• Manage, develop, train, and coach staff to provide the highest level of individual performance and cross-functional support.
• Review stock-to-sales ratios to optimize inventory levels, monitor inventory turnover, and make recommendations accordingly.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

*Metrics evaluated on Performance Review

COMPETENCIES

• Teamwork: Foster a team environment supporting diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging. Effectively evaluate team members' strengths and ensure members are operating in their strengths. Identify, communicate to, and train employees whose performance needs to improve.
• Critical Thinking: Evaluate and address problems quickly, efficiently, and effectively. Have an analytical and unbiased approach. Understand financial metrics, budgeting, and resource allocation to make decisions.
• Expertise: Maintain a thorough understanding of your area and each role in it to ensure all work is completed accurately and on time. Stay current on trends and advances in your field. Foster employees' abilities to become experts by connecting them with the resources and training needed.
• Communication: Actively engage in listening to teammates and guests and be open to feedback from guests, peers, and management. Establish communication channels between employees, management, and guests. Utilize written and verbal communication skills to convey information effectively.
• Guest Focus: Establish and uphold a culture of exceptional guest engagement and service, setting a standard through exemplary leadership.
• Strategy and Goal Setting: Approach change with positivity and curiosity, leading through ambiguity. Break down team goals into daily or weekly goals, establish metrics, and communicate what actions employees must take to contribute to achieving these goals.
• Hard Skills: Proficiency in Microsoft Excel required, business acumen and knowledge of retail math required.

ELIGIBILITY QUALIFICATIONS

• Bachelor's degree from a 4-year college or university preferred.
• 1-3 years of management experience and/or 5+ years of related work experience or a combination preferred.

PHYSICAL DEMANDS

While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to sit; use hands and arms to reach, handle, feel; utilize fine motor dexterity of fingers; talk or hear and taste or smell. The employee is frequently required to stand and walk. The employee is frequently required to climb or balance and stoop, kneel, crouch, or crawl. The employee must frequently lift and/or move up to 10 pounds, and occasionally lift and/or move up to 25 pounds. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, color vision, peripheral vision, depth perception, and ability to adjust focus. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

WORK ENVIRONMENT

While performing the duties of this job, the employee is occasionally exposed to outside weather conditions. The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Magnolia is an Equal Opportunity Employer that does not discriminate on the basis of actual or perceived race, color, creed, religion, national origin, ancestry, citizenship status, age, sex or gender (including pregnancy, childbirth and pregnancy-related conditions), gender identity or expression (including transgender status), sexual orientation, marital status, military service and veteran status, physical or mental disability, genetic information, or any other characteristic protected by applicable federal, state or local laws and ordinances.

This job description has been designed to indicate the general nature and level of work performed by an employee in this classification. It is not to be interpreted as a comprehensive inventory of all duties, responsibilities, and qualifications of employees assigned to this job. Management has the right to add to, revise, or delete information in this description at any time.