Head of Merchandise Planning

Job description / Role

Head of Merchandise Planning
Reports to: Chief Operating Officer

Job Purpose

The Head of Planning is responsible for developing and implementing the strategic merchandise business plan in partnership with the Head of Buying and Commercial Heads. The HOP is responsible for driving the strategy for merchandise planning, budget planning, forecasting and effective in-season inventory management for all Department Stores, Luxury, Beauty, Home & Jewelry and digital stores. Partner across all buying and planning teams to establish processes, systems and collaborative relationships needed for effective delivery, replenishment, sell-through and mark downs across various categories and clusters. Ensure planning, buying and store teams are working in tandem to respond to customer trends to achieve sales, margin and stock turn targets.

Key Responsibilities

Strategic Responsibilities
• Partner with the Head of Buying and Commercial Heads to develop the merchandise strategy, budget and forecast, providing data-driven input from historical data, customer analytics, market conditions and supplier demands
• Align with the merchandising counterparts to define seasonal, annual and multi-year strategies that identify future opportunities, trends and produce competitive advantage and superior results
• Foster a comprehensive understanding of how the customer strategy translates to the financial and buy plans
• Provide input to the Finance team to support accurate business forecasting and areas that can be leveraged to achieve cost control and profitability
• Develop the framework and foundation for the entire Retail Planning function, including Digital commerce in coordination with relevant stakeholders and ensure successful implementation
• Act as a change leader to support company initiatives, actively participating in strategic decision making, proactively challenging status quo, presenting alternative approaches, and highlighting potential issues as needed
• Support the development and adoption of policies and procedures for the Planning function to effectively meet company objectives, targets in line with relevant controls and oversight

Functional Responsibilities
• Direct the timely creation, review and execution of the budget and open to buy plans, insuring that they meet financial sales and margin expectations
• Drive annual sales forecasts across the various categories for Department Stores, Luxury, Lifestyle, Beauty, Home, Jewelry and digital
• Ensure alignment on key business priorities and direction by partnering with key stakeholders across finance, commercial, stores and merchandising teams
• Approve quantification of the buy, ensuring planners create compelling assortment plans that execute the merchandise strategy, capture localization opportunities and maintain financial accountability
• Introduce advanced planning and continuous improvement tools/methodologies/systems to help the business deliver results in replenishment, distribution, allocation and inventory management.
• Partner with the appropriate functional groups to build a collaborative planning process to increase visibility, drive performance improvement to support short and long-term corporate objectives.
• Drive inventory optimization, through improved receipt planning, management and improved merchandise turnover
• Develop strong, unified leadership teams, promoting a culture of inclusivity, empowerment and accountability.

Key Internal and External Interactions

Internal
• CEO, COO
• Buying, Finance, Ecommerce & Commercial Heads
• Corporate Central Functions (e.g., Finance, HR, etc.)

External
• Brand Principals
• Industry Peers

Salary:
AED 75,000 to 85,000 per month inclusive of fixed allowances.

Requirements

Job Skills

Education
• A bachelor’s degree is required. An MBA or advanced degree is highly desired.

Required Qualifications
• 10+ years of experience, with at least 5 years in a Senior Merchandising Role within a multi-channel retail organization •
• Proven ability to build and maintain productive cross-functional relationships to drive business and create/lead teams
• Demonstration of leadership and talent development skills
• Ability to negotiate and influence effectively
• Strong communication and presentation skills
• Proven track record in managing a business to achieve financial targets
• Ability to review and develop financial modeling on new business opportunities

Functional Skills
• Leadership and interpersonal skills with the ability to lead, motivate and develop a large team
• Product / brand orientation with strong knowledge of fashion industry and benchmarks
• Expert knowledge of merchandise planning, allocation, replenishment and financial planning systems, tools and reporting
• Excellent/high level networking skills to build and maintain relationships with internal and external stakeholders
• Ability to evaluate new business opportunities and identify potential risks
• Proficient in the English language

About the Company

One of the leading Recruitment Agencies in UAE.