• Location: New York, NY
• Type: Direct Hire
Hybrid
• Job #9440

The Director of Planning will be responsible for oversight, development and implementation of retail, merchandise and financial planning processes across a multi-branded business unit.

This role will direct a team of planners to develop and deliver overall account and product plans by strategically driving metrics including sales, margin and turn for current and future seasons, and will include oversight of a substantial replenishment business. Resourcefulness and agility will be key as you work with multiple business leads, planners and sales associates to analyze and incorporate retail trends, develop and manage complex plans, and deliver financial targets. 

Key Responsibilities:

Planning Strategy & Financial Leadership

• Own the planning framework across wholesale, retail and inventory planning, ensuring alignment to financial targets and growth strategies.
• Provide executive oversight of OTB, sales, margin, and inventory forecasts, ensuring accuracy, transparency, and timely risk identification.
• Lead the monthly Latest Estimate (LE) process across accounts, reviewing variances versus budget, prior projections, and last year, and driving mitigation plans as needed.
• Maintain visibility to risks and opportunities, synthesizing insights across planners and clearly communicating implications to senior leadership.

Retail & Account Planning Oversight

• Guide planners in developing seasonal and in-season sales, assortment, and door-level plans for Department Store accounts.
• Ensure best-in-class use of store matrices, clustering, and door performance analytics to optimize distribution strategies.
• Partnering with sales in the development of post-season hindsight analyses, ensuring insights are translated into actionable improvements for future planning cycles.
• Oversight of the digital marketplace forecasting and management of inventory, covering multiple accounts including Amazon.

Replenishment & Inventory Management

• Set standards and governance for replenishment planning, ensuring accurate demand forecasting and alignment across Demand Planning, Sales, and Retail Planning.
• Ensure inventory is purchased responsibly, with disciplined management of weeks of supply, case packs, lead times, and minimum order quantities.
• Oversee SKU rationalization and long-tail analysis strategies, approving eliminations and transitions to maximize assortment productivity.
• Partner with Sales on the plans for ATS inventory management and sell-off / disposition strategies at appropriate discount and dilution levels.

Merchandise & Line Planning

• Partner with Sales and Design leadership to guide seasonal line planning and SKU architecture across brands and channels.
• Ensure planners are driving SKU productivity through data-backed recommendations and hindsight-driven decision making.
• Align merchandise planning decisions with inventory, margin, and cash-flow objectives.

Analytics, Reporting & Process Improvement

• Set expectations for planning analytics, reporting cadence, and executive-level insights, ensuring the right information reaches the right audiences.
• Champion the use of Sigma dashboards and advanced analytics to improve planning visibility and decision quality.
• Identify opportunities to leverage automation and AI to improve efficiency, scalability, and accuracy across planning processes.

People Leadership & Cross-Functional Partnership

• Lead, coach, and develop a team of planners, setting clear goals, accountability, and career development paths.
• Establish consistent planning standards, tools, and best practices across the team.
• Serve as a senior planning partner to Sales, Finance, Production, Supply Chain, and Merchandising leadership, influencing decisions through data and insight.

Our Best Fit Candidate Would Have

• Bachelor’s or master’s degree in business, retail management, or a related field
• Minimum 10+ years of experience in retail planning, wholesale planning or merchandise planning
• Strong analytical, financial and business acumen, with the ability to interpret complex data and make informed decisions.
• Exceptional communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to influence and collaborate effectively across all levels of the organization.
• Ability to work in a fast-paced and dynamic environment.
• Highly proficient in Microsoft 365 Suite (advanced Excel abilities), SAP, SAP Analysis for Microsoft Office (aka AO) or similar business analytics and intelligence platforms
• Experienced with planning and merchandising applications
• Strong retail math and analytical skills with ability to analyze data, identify trends and develop insights to improve inventory position and forecasting
• Ability to think both strategically and execute tactically
• Ability to partner and collaborate at all levels with multiple areas of the business
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills to convey a point of view
• Entrepreneurial mindset and resourceful – Capable of problem solving
• Ability to lead and motivate a team, communicate effectively with leadership and influence decision making
• Previous experience within a Kids apparel business is a plus.
• Tillerman experience is a plus