Principal Associate - Planning

Position Overview:

We are seeking an experienced and analytical Principal Associate - Planning to own the end-to-end sales, inventory, and demand planning processes for our category portfolios. In this role, you will lead annual, seasonal, and monthly planning cycles, manage Open-To-Buy (OTB) budgets, and optimize assortment health across key business metrics. You will act as a strategic partner to business units, cross-functional teams, and senior leadership to drive revenue growth, maximize conversion, and mitigate operational risks.

Key Roles & Responsibilities:

Sales & Revenue Planning:

- Prepare and drive execution for Annual, Seasonal, and Monthly Operating Plan (MOP) sales targets. Structure hyper-granular revenue plans across diverse segments (e.g., Business Unit, fulfillment channel, gender, article level, and category-specific parameters).

OTB & Inventory Management:

- Actively track OTB utilization, set target opening inventory levels, manage inward logistics capacity, and implement timely course corrections to mitigate variance risks.

Monthly Realignment:

- Facilitate the monthly planning lifecycle to review performance against targets and realign sales forecasts to dynamic market demand.

Assortment Health & Conversion Optimization:

- Monitor portfolio health against key performance metrics (e.g., sell-through rates, stock turn, availability) and execute strategic interventions to boost conversions.

Cross-Functional Alignment & Stakeholder Management:

- Coordinate across business units to secure planning inputs on schedule, ensuring all plans are aligned and formally agreed upon before set deadlines.

Strategic Leadership:

- Actively participate in shaping, refining, and executing long-term category business strategies while mentoring and managing planning team members.

Analytics & Reporting:

- Build, implement, and maintain robust reporting frameworks that deliver a comprehensive 360-degree view of portfolio health and business drivers.

Key Qualifications & Skills:

- Experience: 5 - 10 years of core experience in Merchandising Planning, Demand Planning, Category Planning, or Business Analytics (Retail/E-commerce experience strongly preferred).

- Technical Skills: Advanced proficiency in Excel/Google Sheets, data modeling, data visualization tools (Power BI, Tableau), and ERP planning systems.

- Financial & Business Acumen: Strong understanding of retail math, top-down and bottom-up financial planning, OTB management, and supply chain logistics.

- Stakeholder Management: Exceptional communication skills with a proven track record of influencing cross-functional teams and aligning senior stakeholders.

- Problem-Solving: Strong analytical capability to identify performance gaps, diagnose root causes, and propose actionable solutions.

Education:

- Bachelor's degree in Business Administration, Statistics, Economics, Engineering, or a related field; MBA is a plus.