Planner

Primary Purpose

The Planner is responsible for driving sales, margin, and inventory productivity through strategic financial planning, data analysis, and cross-functional collaboration. This role partners closely with Buying and Allocation to develop and execute plans that optimize business performance across channels.

Analytical/Financial Skills

• Analyzes historical business trends on an ongoing basis to understand business drivers, identify opportunities and risks, while partnering with key stakeholders to take action appropriately.
• Supports hindsight and market preparation: sets up planning files and partners with the Buying team on pre-season key strategies.
• Participates in seasonal purchase budget process, partnering with manager to develop category and channel sales, margin and inventory plans aligning with business strategies.
• React to in-season business trends with timely recommendations (pricing, markdowns, flow adjustments).
• Supports presentation of financial plans, forecasts, and recaps to leadership.
• Maintains and manages aging inventory, recommending markdowns and promotional strategies.
• Manages weekly product reporting package for cross-functional team.
• Runs ad-hoc analysis when needed to provide clear conclusions and actionable next steps.

Qualifications

• Exceptional analytical/retail math skills; ability to analyze retail business at a macro/micro level.
• Excellent time-management and organizational skills.
• Strong listening, communication, and presentation skills.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Excel and aptitude to learn technical applications quickly.
• Flexibility to multi-task and able to thrive in a fast-paced environment.

Education and Experience

• Bachelor’s degree.
• 2-5+ years of prior planning and/or financial analysis experience.

Competencies

• Courage: Doesn’t hold back anything that needs to be said; provides current, direct, complete, and “actionable” positive and corrective feedback to others; lets people know where they stand; faces up to people problems on any person or situation (not including direct reports) quickly and directly; is not afraid to take negative action when necessary.
• Creativity: Comes up with a lot of new and unique ideas; easily makes connections among previously unrelated notions; tends to be seen as original and value-added in brainstorming settings.
• Customer Focus: Is dedicated to meeting the expectations and requirements of internal and external customers; gets first-hand customer information and uses it for improvements in products and services; acts with customers in mind; establishes and maintains effective relationships with customers and gains their trust and respect.
• Dealing with Ambiguity: Can effectively cope with change; can shift gears comfortably; can decide and act without having the total picture; isn’t upset when things are up in the air; doesn’t have to finish things before moving on; can comfortably handle risk and uncertainty.
• Drive for Results: Can be counted on to exceed goals successfully; is constantly and consistently one of the top performers; very bottom-line oriented; steadfastly pushes self and others for results.
• Interpersonal Savvy: Relates well to all kinds of people, up, down, and sideways, inside and outside the organization; builds appropriate rapport; builds constructive and effective relationships; uses diplomacy and tact; can diffuse even high-tension situations comfortably.
• Learning on the Fly: Learns quickly when facing new problems; a relentless and versatile learner; open to change; analyzes both successes and failures for clues to improvement; enjoys the challenge of unfamiliar tasks; quickly grasps the essence and the underlying structure of anything.

Benefits

• Medical insurance
• Dental insurance
• Vision insurance
• 401(k)
• Paid Paternity and Maternity leave
• Commuter Benefits
• Disability insurance
• Tuition assistance