GENERAL PURPOSE OF THE POSITION:

The principal purpose of this position is to provide guidance, direction and training to assortment planners to drive sales and margin by establishing appropriate assortments by dept, category, and/or subcategory.

ESSENTIAL ACTIVIES & RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Training best practices and standardized processes for assortment planning, including but not limited to:
• Cluster establishment by category
• Number of SKUs per category
• Number of SKUs per category per cluster
• Minimum presentation quantities for SKU / cluster
• Total SKU receipt quantities and flow by cluster
• Analysis for premarket
• Asst planning tool usage
• Tying back to the top down merchandise financial plan to the Department and Category level, which ties to corporate financial strategy and financial plans
• Overseeing the training and development of the Assortment Planning organization
• Implementing strategy to incorporate space and presentation standards into assortment process
• Partnering closely with Merchant partners to understand/drive category/product direction and sales plans
• Partnering with Inventory Management team to ensure receipt flow generated from assortment planning is smooth across weeks
• Partnering with Merchandise Planning to ensure plans and inventory management activities are aligned
• Participating in Category Level Merchandise Strategy Reviews
• Participating in the monthly performance review process

Specialized Experience, Education, Training, or Qualifications:

• Experience managing at least 3-5 direct reports
• Bachelor’s degree (BA / BS / BFA) or equivalent
• Assortment planning or merchandising background
• Relevant experience and understanding of key retail operations, such as Merchandising, Store Operations, Logistics, Finance, Information Systems, and Planning
• Proven and successful experience in the creation and presentation of item plans
• Ability to consolidate, analyze, and communicate data into actionable direction
• Ability to drive business decisions based on numerous data to drive sales, profit, and product assortment efficiencies, supporting business objectives
• Proven ability to lead others and function effectively in a team environment
• Possesses strong organizational skills
• Strong analytical skills
• Ability to be flexible and adapt to changing priorities
• Ability to train, manage, and motivate direct reports
• Excellent communication skills