Junior Planner

Humankind Group; Cape Town; On-site; ZAR 360,000 - 540,000; Full time

Job summary

Humankind Group is seeking a Mid Planner to drive merchandise planning, stock optimization and profitability. You will work with Buying, Merchandise, Retail Operations, Finance and Supply Chain to ensure optimal product availability and investment across stores and channels.

The role requires strong data skills, advanced Excel, and a proactive approach to improve planning processes and performance.

Qualifications

• Degree in Commerce, Retail Management, Supply Chain, Statistics or Economics is required.
• Minimum 5 years in merchandise or retail planning in a commercial environment.
• Proven experience managing category plans and inventory investment.
• Retail experience is essential.
• Strong forecasting, stock analysis and planning skills.
• Advanced Excel and reporting skills.

Responsibilities

• Develop and manage annual, seasonal and monthly merchandise plans.
• Forecast sales and demand using historical data and current trading.
• Set and monitor sales, stock, margin and inventory targets.
• Optimize stock turns, sell-through and weeks of cover.
• Identify slow-moving or obsolete stock and reduce excess.
• Analyze category performance and identify opportunities/risks.
• Prepare planning reports, dashboards and forecasts for management.
• Provide insights and recommendations from data analysis.
• Guide junior Planners and support capability development.
• Drive continuous improvement in planning processes.

Skills

Merchandise planning

Forecasting

Stock analysis

Excel

Reporting

Data analysis

Stakeholder management

Mentoring juniors

Problem solving

Retail experience

Education

Degree in Commerce or related field

Tools

Excel

Merchandise planning systems

Job description

An exciting opportunity is available for a Mid Planner to join a well-established and growing retail business. This is a key commercial role for an analytical and commercially minded professional who can translate data into actionable insights and drive effective merchandise planning, stock optimisation and profitability.

You will work closely with Buying, Merchandise, Retail Operations, Finance and Supply Chain to ensure the right products are available at the right time, in the right quantities and at the right level of investment.

Key Responsibilities

• Develop and manage annual, seasonal and monthly merchandise plans .
• Develop accurate sales and demand forecasts based on historical and current trading performance.
• Set and monitor sales, stock, margin and inventory targets .
• Manage inventory investment and optimise stock turn, sell-through and weeks of cover .
• Identify and reduce aged, obsolete and slow-moving stock .
• Analyse category performance and identify commercial opportunities and risks.
• Monitor performance against plan and recommend corrective actions.
• Support promotional planning and markdown strategies .
• Provide direction on allocation and replenishment across stores and channels.
• Prepare planning reports, dashboards and forecasts for management.
• Translate complex data into clear commercial insights and recommendations .
• Participate in weekly and monthly trade reviews.
• Partner with Buying, Retail Operations, Finance and Supply Chain teams.
• Guide and support Junior Planners and contribute to the development of planning capability.
• Drive continuous improvement across planning processes and ways of working.

Requirements

• Degree in Commerce, Retail Management, Supply Chain, Statistics, Economics or a related field.
• Minimum 5 years' experience in merchandise planning, retail planning or a similar commercial planning environment.
• Proven experience managing category plans and inventory investment .
• Retail experience is essential.
• Strong experience with forecasting, stock analysis and merchandise planning .
• Advanced Microsoft Excel and reporting skills.
• Experience with merchandise planning systems will be advantageous.
• Strong commercial and financial acumen.
• Excellent analytical and problem-solving abilities.
• Strong stakeholder management and influencing skills.
• Experience guiding or mentoring junior team members will be advantageous.

What We're Looking For

We are looking for someone who is commercially astute, highly analytical and confident working with large volumes of data . You should be comfortable challenging performance, identifying risks and opportunities, and turning insights into practical actions.

If you enjoy combining retail strategy, data, forecasting and commercial decision-making , this could be an excellent opportunity to take your career to the next level.