Director, Global Merchandise Planning

Levi Strauss•San Francisco, CA

7d•Hybrid

About The Position

The Director, Global Merchandise Planning is responsible for setting global planning strategy, leading leaders, and shaping financial and inventory architecture across direct-to-consumer (DTC) and Wholesale channels. Reporting to the VP, Center Demand and Operations, the role translates long-term brand and consumer strategy into scalable, profitable, inventory-efficient plans that support sustainable growth across regions, categories, and channels. The Director sets the global merchandise planning vision and operating model across categories and product tiers; owns long-range planning, seasonal frameworks, and investment guardrails; and provides enterprise leadership for forecasting, financial rollups, and milestone governance. The role leads multi-season product lifecycle strategy and advises senior leadership on strategic tradeoffs. This position leads and develops Managers and Senior Planners, builds succession and organizational capability, and fosters a high-performance culture. It partners with Global Merchandising, Product Development, Regional/Cluster Planning, Supply Chain, and Finance to shape product, assortment, and investment decisions, align global and regional execution, and represent Global Merchandise Planning in senior leadership forums. The Director establishes best-in-class planning practices, integrates DTC and Wholesale planning models, champions improvements in tools, processes, and systems, and embeds in-season read-and-react and post-season hindsight into planning. The role also communicates complex planning and financial information to executive stakeholders, presents strategies and risks, and facilitates discussions that drive alignment and action. The position follows a hybrid schedule based at the San Francisco headquarters, typically requiring three days in the office per week, Tuesday through Thursday. In-office requirements may vary based on business needs.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in Finance, Business, Retail Management, or a related field, or equivalent experience.
10–15+ years of experience in merchandise planning, financial planning, or inventory management.
5+ years of experience leading leaders.
Proven ability to operate at a global, enterprise level, set strategy, lead transformation, and influence senior stakeholders.
Deep understanding of planning metrics, financial levers, and inventory economics, with the ability to translate insights into action.
Strong experience presenting to and partnering with senior leadership.
Advanced Excel skills.
Experience with planning systems and comfort driving adoption of new tools and capabilities.
Must be legally authorized to work in the United States at the time of hire and must not require current or future employment visa sponsorship.

Responsibilities

Set the global merchandise planning vision and operating model across multiple categories and product tiers, aligned with brand strategy, consumer insights, and market dynamics.
Own and influence long-range planning, seasonal frameworks, and investment guardrails while balancing growth, profitability, and inventory health.
Lead forecasting, financial rollups, and milestone governance across the global planning organization.
Lead multi-season product lifecycle strategy and invest/divest decisions to maximize assortment productivity and respond to consumer demand.
Advise senior leadership on strategic tradeoffs, including growth versus margin, breadth versus depth, and speed versus efficiency.
Lead, coach, and develop Managers and Senior Planners; build a succession pipeline and establish performance standards and development pathways.
Foster a high-performance culture grounded in curiosity, accountability, collaboration, results, integrity, and inclusivity.
Partner with Global Merchandising, Product Development, Regional/Cluster Planning, Supply Chain, and Finance.
Influence product, assortment, and investment decisions through data-driven insights, scenario planning, and executive storytelling.
Align global and regional teams on integrated execution, decision rights, and tradeoff resolution.
Represent Global Merchandise Planning in senior leadership forums and drive alignment.
Establish best-in-class global planning practices and integrate DTC and Wholesale planning models.
Improve tools, processes, and systems to increase planning accuracy, speed, and scalability.
Embed in-season read-and-react and post-season hindsight practices to inform future strategies and investment decisions.
Lead change initiatives that evolve planning from executional support to strategic advantage.
Translate complex financial and planning data into clear narratives and present strategies, risks, and opportunities to VP- and SVP-level stakeholders.
Facilitate discussions that drive enterprise alignment, accountability, and action.