Senior Merchandise Planner

SUMMARY

At Magnolia, the Senior Merchandise Planner is responsible for forecasting, analysis, and inventory management across a diverse portfolio of departments and categories. This leadership role provides opportunities to work onsite, in a hybrid environment, or remotely. It reports to the Director of Merchandise Planning, has supervisory responsibilities.
ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

• Develop retail assortment sales plans and manage inventory to meet targets for assigned department(s).
• Meet department(s)' sales, gross margin, and inventory targets through data-driven decisions*
• Develop weekly, monthly and seasonal sales forecasts, leveraging sales history, market trends, and business insights to identify opportunities and make focused investment recommendations within approved financial targets.
• Manage inventory and order plans to support sales forecasts, ensuring purchase orders and inventory investments align with demand, financial targets, and assortment needs.
• Analyze historical performance and current trends to identify promotional opportunities, risks, and category insights, providing recommendations for promotional strategies and markdowns to optimize sales, margin, and inventory. *
• Report to upper management and cross- functional partners on business performance for areas of ownership (sales, gross margin, and inventory)
• Lead key financial and business meetings throughout the season, including season hindsight, assortment and collection reviews, and investment reviews, providing insights and recommendations to inform strategy.
• Partner with cross-functional teams in Merchandising, Ecommerce, Visual Merchandising, Store Operations, Warehouse to manage performance and inventory within assigned areas*
• Manage, develop, train, and coach direct reports and team members to drive individual and team performance and strengthen cross-functional collaboration. *
• Review stock-to-sales ratios to optimize inventory levels, monitor inventory turnover and make recommendations accordingly
• Manage and optimize open-to-buy (OTB) and inventory investment to align receipts and inventory levels with sales, margin, and financial plans.
• Partner with Merchandising to develop and optimize assortments, balancing newness, core/continuing items, and category needs based on customer demand and financial performance
• Partner with Product Development, Supply Chain, and external vendors to manage third-party and direct-sourced products, ensuring alignment on order placement, delivery timelines, inventory flow, and performance.
• Perform other duties as assigned

*Metrics evaluated on Performance Review
COMPETENCIES

• Teamwork: Foster a team environment supporting diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging. Effectively evaluate team members' strengths and ensure members are operating in their strengths. Identify, communicate to, and train employees whose performance needs to improve.
• Critical Thinking: Evaluate and address problems quickly, efficiently, and effectively. Have an analytical and unbiased approach. Understand financial metrics, budgeting, and resource allocation to make decisions.
• Expertise: Maintain a thorough understanding of your area and each role in it to ensure all work is completed accurately and on time. Stay current on trends and advances in your field. Foster employees' abilities to become experts by connecting them with the resources and training needed.
• Communication: Actively engage in listening to teammates and guests and be open to feedback from guests, peers, and management. Establish communication channels between employees, management and guests. Utilize written and verbal communication skills to convey information effectively.
• Guest Focus: Establish and uphold a culture of exceptional guest engagement and service, setting a standard through exemplary leadership.
• Strategy and Goal Setting: Approach change with positivity and curiosity, leading through ambiguity. Break down team goals into daily or weekly goals, establish metrics, and communicate what actions employees must take to contribute to achieving these goals.
• Hard skills: Proficiency in Microsoft Excel required, business acumen and knowledge of retail math required.

ELIGIBILITY QUALIFICATIONS

• Bachelor's degree from a 4-year college or university preferred
• 1-3 years of management experience and/or 5+ years of related work experience or a combination preferred

PHYSICAL DEMANDS

While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to sit; use hands and arms to reach, handle, feel; utilize fine motor dexterity of fingers; talk or hear and taste or smell. The employee is frequently required to stand and walk. The employee is frequently required to climb or balance and stoop, kneel, crouch, or crawl. The employee must frequently lift and/or move up to 10 pounds and occasionally lift and/or move up to 25 pounds. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, color vision, peripheral vision, depth perception, and ability to adjust focus. Reasonable accommodation may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This job description has been designed to indicate the general nature and level of work performed by an employee in this classification. It is not to be interpreted as a comprehensive inventory of all duties, responsibilities, and qualifications of employees assigned to this job. Management has the right to add to, revise, or delete information in this description at any time.