Job DescriptionJob OverviewThe Head of Integrated Planning is responsible for leading UNRL's integrated planning function, ensuring the right product is available in the right place, at the right time, and in the right quantity while maximizing sales, profitability, inventory productivity, and customer service.
Reporting to the Chief Operating Officer, this leader oversees demand planning, inventory planning, buy planning, replenishment strategy, and supply planning while partnering closely with Product, Sales, Marketing, Finance andSupply Chain.
This role is responsible for building scalable planning processes, developing a high-performing team, and providing the insights and inventory strategies needed to support UNRL's continued growth.
Responsibilities- Lead the company's planning organization, including Demand Planning, Inventory Planning, Buying, and Merchandise Planning across all product categories.
- Develop demand forecasts, inventory investment strategies, and buy plans that optimize sales, margin, inventory productivity, and working capital.
- Own inventory health by balancing service levels, inventory turns, weeks of supply, and replenishment strategies across all channels.
- Partner with Product, Sales, Marketing, Finance, and Supply Chain to align inventory investments with seasonal product launches and business objectives.
- Lead the Sales & Operations Planning (S&OP) process, driving alignment around one demand plan and one inventory plan.
- Own Open-to-Buy (OTB) planning and inventory investment decisions, balancing financial objectives, demand forecasts, inventory health, and capacity constraints.
- Own inventory health through proactive management of Weeks of Supply, inventory turns, aging inventory, and excess/obsolete inventory.
- Develop replenishment strategies that balance service levels, inventory productivity, and inventory investment across DTC, Wholesale, and Marketplace channels.
- Partner with Supply Chain to translate demand plans into executable supply plans, ensuring production capacity, purchase orders, and inventory flow support customer demand.
- Build scalable planning processes, reporting, dashboards, and forecasting capabilities that improve business visibility and decision-making. (hindsight, pre-books, etc.)
- Establish inventory allocation strategies that maximize sales, service levels, and inventory productivity across all channels.
- Oversee inventory purchasing decisions and purchase order execution in partnership with Supply Chain.
- Own forecasting performance, including Forecast Accuracy, Forecast Bias, Forecast Value Add (FVA), and continuous forecast improvement.
- Deliver actionable insights and recommendations that improve forecast accuracy, inventory performance, and commercial results.
- Build and develop a high-performing planning organization focused on accountability, collaboration, and continuous improvement.
What Good Looks LikeSuccess in this role means building a planning organization that is proactive, data-driven, and trusted across the business. This leader anticipates opportunities and risks before they impact results, enabling better decisions that support profitable growth.
A successful leader will:
- Deliver highly accurate demand forecasts and inventory plans.
- Optimize inventory investment while maintaining exceptional service levels.
- Improve forecast accuracy, inventory turns, and inventory productivity.
- Establish disciplined planning processes that align cross-functional teams around one demand and inventory plan.
- Develop a high-performing planning team focused on collaboration, accountability, and continuous improvement.
- Serve as a trusted business partner whose insights influence strategic decision-making.
Success Measures- Forecast Accuracy
- Forecast Bias
- Forecast Value Add
- Fill Rate / In Stock %
- Inventory Turns
- Weeks of Supply
- Gross Margin Return on Inventory (GMROI)
- Inventory Health (Aging & Excess)
Requirements- Bachelor's degree in Business, Supply Chain, Finance, Merchandising, Operations, or a related field.
- 5+ years of progressive experience in demand planning, merchandise planning, inventory planning, supply planning, buying, or merchandise financial planning within an apparel, footwear, consumer products, or retail organization.
- 3+ years of leadership experience building, developing, and coaching high-performing planning teams.
- Demonstrated success leading demand forecasting, inventory planning, Open-to-Buy (OTB), replenishment, and inventory investment processes.
- Experience supporting an omnichannel business across Direct-to-Consumer (DTC) and Wholesale channels.
- Proven ability to improve forecast accuracy, inventory productivity, inventory health, and product availability through disciplined planning processes.
- Experience leading or participating in a Sales & Operations Planning (S&OP) or Integrated Business Planning (IBP) process.
- Strong financial acumen with experience balancing sales, gross margin, service levels, inventory investment, and working capital.
- Demonstrated ability to influence cross-functional teams and partner effectively with Product, Sales, Marketing, Finance, Supply Chain, and Commercial Operations.
- Proven success designing scalable planning processes, operating rhythms, reporting, and performance management systems.
Technical Expertise- Demonstrated expertise in demand forecasting, merchandise planning, inventory planning, replenishment, allocation, supply planning, and Open-to-Buy (OTB) principles.
- Strong understanding of inventory investment strategies, assortment planning, inventory segmentation, seasonal buy planning, and inventory optimization.
- Experience managing inventory health through service levels, safety stock, reorder points, lead-time planning, inventory turns, weeks of supply, and aging inventory.
- Proven ability to measure and improve forecast performance, including Forecast Accuracy, Forecast Bias, Forecast Value Add (FVA), and in-season forecast adjustments.
- Strong analytical and financial skills with experience evaluating gross margin, GMROI, inventory productivity, and profitability.
- Advanced proficiency in Microsoft Excel, including forecasting models, financial analysis, dashboard development, KPI reporting, and executive presentations.
- Experience working with ERP, merchandise planning, demand planning, and business intelligence platforms such as NetSuite, BlueCherry, Anaplan, Power BI, Tableau, or similar systems.
- Ability to translate complex business data into actionable insights and communicate recommendations that influence strategic decision-making.
Preferred Qualifications- Experience supporting a high-growth apparel, footwear, sporting goods, or premium consumer products brand.
- Experience leading planning for both seasonal product launches and replenishment-based businesses.
- Experience implementing or transforming planning processes, operating models, ERP systems, or planning technologies.
- Familiarity with Shopify and modern omnichannel commerce platforms.
- Experience partnering with global sourcing, production, logistics, and third-party logistics (3PL) organizations.
- Experience developing inventory allocation and replenishment strategies across multiple sales channels.
Our Leadership Principals- Lead with ownership, accountability, and integrity.
- Think like owners and make decisions that support long-term business success.
- Build trust through accountability, transparency, and follow-through.
- Use data to drive decisions while balancing speed and sound judgment.
- Develop high-performing teams through coaching and empowerment.
- Collaborate across functions to solve problems and deliver results.
- Challenge the status quo and continuously improve how work gets done.
Benefits- Health Insurance (Immediate Eligibility)
- Dental Insurance (Immediate Eligibility)
- Vision Insurance (Immediate Eligibility)
- Annual Performance Bonus (Immediate Eligibility based on Company and Individual Performance)
- 401(k) Profit Sharing Retirement Plan (Eligibility begins after 1 year of employment)
- 401(k) 4% Employer match (Eligibility begins after 1 year of employment)
- PTO (Immediate Eligibility)
- Employee Discount on UNRL product (Immediate Eligibility)
