GENERAL PURPOSE:
Partner with cross functional teams including Planning, Allocation, Forecasting, IT, and other operational and strategy teams to understand how to best align IT capabilities to achieve critical business outcomes. Responsible for running Product management for Planning & allocation projects, lead the team that translates business needs into system requirements and drive delivery with ownership of the overall IT solution. Lead a team of business analysts and Product Owners as they work with business stakeholders and technical resources to groom and prioritize requirements backlogs and ensure alignment to key business objectives and milestones.
Build relationship with key executive stakeholders and partner with them to align IT roadmaps and projects with their business and operational strategies. Serve as the go-to person for the business for new requests, IT projects, and demand – developing an understanding of targeted outcomes and value expectations for each. Highly visible role with the senior business executives and a member of the IT Leadership Team
ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS:
• Lead & mentor a team of business analysts, Product Managers, and IT delivery leaders to evolve the Planning & Allocation portfolio team to support upcoming large IT initiatives
• Act as Product Manager or Solution Manager for Planning or Allocation IT projects including large, multi-year initiatives; manage portfolio product roadmaps, resource, scope and timeline commitments
• Assess value and develop business cases associated with new capability requests and then prioritize against existing demand for delivery on key projects
• Represent Planning & Allocation Delivery as a key participant in the IT 5-year planning and road mapping process and manage ongoing business demand; establish process and cadence for prioritization and status of demand items with key business stakeholders in the context of assigned products
• Build a high performing team of business analysts / product owners with iterative project delivery (Agile) skills and planning & allocation business acumen; partner across broader IT organization and business teams to optimize NYBO project delivery methodology
• Help influence and set strategic direction for the Planning & Allocation IT portfolio roadmap; work with business and IT leadership to ensure roadmap alignment and business commitment
• Consult with senior business leadership to align priorities with broader strategic IT initiatives
• Consult with IT stakeholders on planning of upcoming programs
• Ensure that individual project teams are constructed and staffed to effectively deliver commitments
• Provide ongoing support and leadership to align projects with our data governance principles
• Ensure the team works affectively across IT and follows processes and engagement models with cross functional IT partners
• Act as an expert of what is happening in the retail planning, forecasting and allocation landscape, and bring that expertise into business discussions
COMPETENCIES:
People
• Building Effective Teams (for managers of People and/or Projects)
• Developing Talent (for managers of People)
• Collaboration
Self
• Leading by Example
• Communicates Effectively
• Ensures Accountability and Execution
• Manages Conflict
Business
• Business Acumen
• Plans, Aligns and Prioritizes
• Organizational Agility
QUALIFICATIONS AND SPECIAL SKILLS REQUIRED:
• Undergraduate degree in information systems, business administration, or a related technical discipline. Advanced degree in a similar field preferred.
• At least 15 years of experience within IT delivery (either from IT or business working with IT on project delivery) with progressive responsibility and influence. Experience leading projects that involved cloud migration or business transformation is preferred.
• At least 5 years of retail IT experience, with specific systems knowledge of major retail applications, with demonstrated depth in planning, forecasting and allocation systems
• Demonstrated experience partnering with business teams to translate pain points or opportunities into capability needs with targeted, measurable outcomes, preferably in a Portfolio or Product Management leadership capacity
• Demonstrated experience in the development and prioritization of business requirements, coordination of business testing, and partnering with delivery teams for business programs/projects
• Demonstrated experience in delivering custom development projects using an iterative, incremental delivery methodology such as Agile processes
• Strong analytical ability, business acumen, judgment and problem-solving skills
• Strong communication skills, both written and verbal, and able to work effectively with VP and above executives
• Strong interpersonal skills with the ability to work effectively in a matrixed organization
• Ability to build and lead teams that are geographically distributed and work across different time zones
• Motivated by the desire to make a difference in the business, to work with a highly talented set of peers, and to work on interesting projects
• Leadership skills; able to supervise and inspire team members
• Demonstrated ability to execute financial analysis, such as estimating and managing cashflow
• Nice to have: Experience in either MDM platforms, merchandising systems, Product Lifecycle Management, Assortment Planning
SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITIES:
Director IT, Planning & Allocation Delivery
IT Manager II, Planning
IT Manager II, Allocation
Solution Architect III – Planning & Allocation
Lead, Planning Delivery
