Head of DTC Planning & Allocation - Portland or LA

AIRWAIR INTL. LTD

$95K — $115K *
Retail & Consumer Goods
Less than 5 years of experience
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • 5-10 years of experience in DTC merchandise planning and inventory management.
  • Proven analytical skills to interpret KPIs and consumer insights.
  • Proficiency in planning and allocation tools and reporting platforms.
  • Strong ability to translate brand strategy into actionable plans.
  • Excellent communication and collaboration abilities across functions.

Responsibilities

  • Build and manage DTC seasonal and in-season inventory plans.
  • Partner with Merchandising to define demand signals informed by consumer insights.
  • Lead allocation strategy across various DTC channels for optimal stock levels.
  • Drive performance management in partnership with Retail Ops and Ecomm Trading.
  • Support omnichannel capabilities and consumer experience enhancements.

Benefits

  • 65% employee discount on footwear and 50% on accessories.
  • Early Friday finish during summer.
  • Hybrid work schedule.
  • Comprehensive Medical, Dental & Vision packages.
  • Paid volunteer hours promoting community support.
Full Job Description
WHERE YOU CONTRIBUTE

The Head of DTC Planning & Allocation ensures that the right product is in the right place at the right time across the Americas DTC fleet - maximizing full-price sell-through, elevating the consumer experience, and driving profitable growth. This role translates consumer, product, and commercial strategies into data-driven inventory and allocation plans that reinforce brand positioning, improve availability, and reduce markdown dependency.

Operating at the nexus of Merchandising, Retail Ops, Ecomm Trading, Demand Planning and Global Supply Chain, the role is critical in bringing to life a premium, consistent consumer experience while enabling regional financial performance. It achieves this by balancing product depth and breadth, improving inventory efficiency, strengthening allocation discipline, and enabling omnichannel capability across owned stores, outlets, concessions, and digital channels.

This role is open to candidates based in either Portland, OR (reporting into our downtown headquarters) or Los Angeles (reporting into our downtown LA showroom).

CORE ACCOUNTABILITIES

DTC Inventory Planning & Forecasting
  • Build and manage DTC seasonal and in-season inventory plans aligned to assortment, pricing, and commercial strategy.
  • Partner with Merchandising and Demand Planning to define demand signals per store/channel, informed by trends, consumer insight, historical performance, and planned trade activity.
  • Own size-curve, flow, and depth recommendations for DTC.
  • Identify risks and opportunities in inventory and recommend actions to optimize availability and margin.


Allocation, Replenishment & In-Season Management
  • Lead allocation strategy across DTC channels to ensure optimal stock levels reflecting store tiering, consumer profile, and product lifecycle.
  • Partner with Retail Ops and Ecomm Trading to manage in-season performance, reacting to demand shifts, sell-through trends, and promotional moments.
  • Drive allocation discipline for icons, power franchises and priority categories, ensuring consistency with global guardrails.
  • Support launch readiness by ensuring timely and accurate stock positioning for key stories, campaigns, and product drops.


Omnichannel Enablement & Consumer Experience
  • Strengthen availability and fulfilment outcomes that elevate the consumer journey across DTC touchpoints.
  • Support omnichannel capabilities including click-and-collect, ship-from-store and store-to-store transfers where applicable.
  • Leverage consumer insight to inform assortment localization, replenishment trigger points and product flow.
  • Ensure inventory availability supports premium service standards and storytelling.


Commercial Performance, Margin & Efficiency
  • Monitor performance KPIs (sell-through, full-price mix, markdown rate, conversion, inventory turn) and drive actions to deliver targets.
  • Recommend markdown and clearance actions within guardrails to optimize profitability while protecting brand equity.
  • Partner with Finance, Merchandising and Demand Planning on Open-to-Buy, pricing governance moments and scenarios.
  • Support reduction of aged stock through effective planning, lifecycle management and improved allocation.


Cross-functional Partnership & Ways of Working
  • Act as the DTC inventory expert for the region, ensuring alignment across Merchandising, Retail Ops, Ecomm Trading, GSC and Demand Planning.
  • Provide clear and timely communication on stock risks, opportunities, mitigations and required decisions.
  • Strengthen planning capability across DTC teams, supporting data-driven decision making.
  • Adopt standardised processes, tools and calendars that align with global ways of working.


KEY SKILLS & CAPABILITIES

Technical & Functional Expertise
  • Deep expertise in DTC merchandise planning, allocation, replenishment and inventory management.
  • Strong analytical capability with ability to interpret KPIs, consumer insight, demand data, traffic trends and store performance.
  • Proficiency in planning systems, allocation tools and reporting platforms.
  • Understanding of omnichannel operations and stock-flow requirements.


Consumer, Brand & Product Orientation
  • Ability to plan and allocate with a consumer-first mindset - supporting product storytelling, brand elevation and premium experience.
  • Appreciation of range architecture, franchise management and category roles.
  • Ability to translate brand and product strategy into actionable planning decisions.


Leadership & Collaboration
  • Skilled collaborator who can influence cross-functional partners to drive execution.
  • Strong communicator able to simplify complex data into clear actions.
  • Ability to coach others in planning and allocation best practices.


Data-driven & Strategic Thinking
  • Strong scenario planning, problem solving and decision-making skills.
  • Ability to operate at both strategic and detailed levels.
  • Comfortable managing trade-offs across inventory, margin and experience.


Work Environment & Role Requirements
  • Ability to work at a standard computer set up 40+ hours per week with or without accommodations.


WHAT'S IN IT FOR YOU?
  • Welcome to the brand pair of Docs
  • Employee discount of 65% off footwear and 50% on accessories
  • Early Friday finish in the summertime
  • Hybrid work schedule
  • Affordable & comprehensive Medical, Dental & Vision packages
  • Our Employee Assistance Program - for when times might get tough
  • 401(k) Pre-Tax and Roth Retirement savings plans
  • DM Foundation, supporting and empowering our communities around the world
  • Paid volunteer hours


PAY DETAILS
  • $95,000 - $115,000 per year.
  • Exact compensation may vary based on skills, experience, and location.


READY TO FILL YOUR BOOTS?

If you're excited to own your impact, shape the future of an iconic brand, and grow your career in a place that champions individuality - we'd love to hear from you.

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