Senior Manager - Merchandise Planning

J Crew

$120K — $155K *
Retail & Consumer Goods
8 - 10 years of experience
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • Bachelor's degree
  • 10+ years of experience in merchandise planning or financial analysis
  • Proven success leading planning strategy across multiple divisions
  • Advanced analytical and financial modeling skills
  • Executive-level communication and presentation skills
  • Experience building and developing teams of planning managers
  • Strong organizational and problem-solving skills

Responsibilities

  • Own strategic direction for sales, margin, and inventory plans across divisions
  • Synthesize business performance to identify enterprise-level drivers and risks
  • Serve as strategic partner to Merchandising leadership
  • Present financial recommendations to senior leadership
  • Build multi-division strategies for sales and inventory targets
  • Direct in-season sales and inventory analysis
  • Lead cross-functional collaboration for data-informed adjustments

Benefits

  • Eligible associates receive medical, dental, prescription, and vision insurance
  • Great associate discount across all brands
  • Office closes at 1:00 PM every Friday during the summer months
  • Support for communities through philanthropic efforts
  • Winter break at the end of December for refreshing and recharging
Full Job Description

The Role + Purpose

As Senior Manager, Merchandise Planning, you'll own the financial and strategic planning agenda across multiple divisions — setting the direction for sales, margin, and inventory productivity at a business-unit level. You'll be a key strategic partner to Merchandising, Allocation, and senior leadership, shaping enterprise-level financial strategy that informs long-range assortment investment, pricing architecture, and flow strategy. This role requires the judgment to operate at the enterprise level while staying close enough to the business to catch what matters — someone equally comfortable in a room with the C-suite and in the details of an OTB. You'll lead planning managers and their teams, build bench strength across the function, and drive the evolution of planning tools, processes, and financial discipline enterprise-wide.

Preseason

  • Own the strategic direction for sales, margin, and inventory plans across multiple divisions, setting the framework planning managers and their teams execute against

  • Synthesize business performance across divisions to surface enterprise-level drivers, risks, and opportunities that shape investment priorities

  • Serve as a key strategic partner to Merchandising leadership, aligning cross-divisional financial goals with product strategy and long-range assortment planning

  • Present strategy and financial recommendations directly to senior leadership and executive stakeholders, framing assumptions, risk, and opportunity in business terms

  • Build and evolve multi-division strategies that drive sales, margin, and inventory turn targets, with an eye toward enterprise-wide consistency and scalability

In Season

  • Direct the in-season analysis of sales, margin, and inventory trends across divisions, identifying variances and risks before they surface elsewhere

  • Set the standard for in-season forecasting, hindsight, and OTB management across teams, ensuring consistency, agility, and accuracy in financial decision-making

  • Lead cross-functional collaboration at the leadership level to drive data-informed adjustments to receipts, pricing, and promotions

  • Partner with Finance leadership on divisional and enterprise-level reforecasting, tying performance to broader financial goals

  • Lead hindsight and investment review discussions, translating planning insight into strategic recommendations for senior leadership

Qualifications

Required:

  • Bachelor's degree

  • 10+ years of experience in merchandise planning, financial analysis, or related fields

  • Proven success leading planning strategy across multiple divisions or a large business unit

  • Advanced analytical and financial modeling skills, with expert-level Excel proficiency

  • Executive-level communication, presentation, and influencing skills

  • Demonstrated success building and developing teams of planning managers, not just individual contributors

  • Strong organizational and problem-solving skills, with the judgment to balance enterprise strategy and hands-on execution

Preferred:

  • Experience in multi-category or multi-channel retail planning at an enterprise scale

  • Deep familiarity with enterprise-level planning tools and financial reporting systems

  • Track record leading large-scale, cross-functional business initiatives

  • Sophisticated understanding of retail KPIs and how they connect to enterprise profitability and growth

We welcome you to apply, even if you don't check all the boxes. Our passion is scouting life-long learners who are driven by curiosity, and who feel connected to our brands and share our desire to make an impact. We’re always seeking bright new talent who leverage their unique experiences to discover, grow and evolve with our teams.

Benefits + Perks

  • Health & Well-being - Eligible associates and family members receive medical, dental, prescription and vision insurance, family planning (fertility, adoption & surrogacy support), fitness discounts, medical travel and more.

  • Associate Discount - We love our products just as much as you do! That’s why we offer a great associate discount across all of our brands (J.Crew, J.Crew Factory, and Madewell).

  • Summer Fridays - In addition to our hybrid work model, we also close our office at 1:00 PM every Friday during the Summer months.

  • Community Impact - We support the communities where we live and work through our philanthropic efforts and the J.Crew Cares Program.

  • Winter Break - In addition to our PTO package, J.Crew Group offers a winter break at the end of December to eligible full-time associates at the Home Office to provide time to refresh and recharge.

Note: Availability of these benefits and perks may be subject to work location & employment type and may have certain eligibility requirements.

Salary Range: $120,800.00 - $155,400.00

At J.Crew Group (JCG) we aim to pay competitively for our company’s size and industry. The base salary offered will take into account internal equity and may vary depending on the candidate’s geographic region of work premises, job-related knowledge, skills, and experience among other factors.  The base salary is just one component of J.Crew Group’s competitive total rewards strategy that also includes the opportunity for bonus, competitive benefits and perks.

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