Director of Demand Planning

Skims•Los Angeles, CA

3d•Onsite

About The Position

The Director of Demand Planning leads the end-to-end demand planning function across all categories, with a foundational focus on core products. This role is responsible for building and leading a team of demand planners, owning the integrity of the demand forecast, and driving cross-functional alignment that connects planning to the commercial and financial goals of the business. The Director serves as the primary planning voice in OTB, merchandise financial planning, and channel strategy conversations — ensuring the forecast is actionable, accurate, and communicated with clarity across all stakeholder groups. As we continue to scale globally, our HQ teams play a critical role in shaping strategy, building world-class infrastructure, and driving sustainable growth across markets.

Requirements

8–12+ years of progressive experience in demand planning, merchandise planning, or supply chain
At least 3–4 years in a leadership or managerial role
Experience at a high-growth consumer brand, apparel, or retail company strongly preferred
Proven track record managing complex, multi-category forecasts in a fast-paced, trend-driven environment
Hands-on experience with demand planning tools (e.g., o9, Blue Yonder, Anaplan, Relex, or similar); ability to configure, interpret, and evolve tool outputs
Experience leading cross-functional planning processes including OTB, merchandise financial planning, and PO management
Strong analytical and quantitative skills — comfortable working with large datasets, statistical forecasts, and financial plans simultaneously
Exceptional cross-functional communication and influencing skills; able to distill complex forecast dynamics into clear business narratives for senior stakeholders
Solutions-oriented mindset — able to identify risk early, pressure-test assumptions, and drive to aligned decisions even in ambiguous situations
High business acumen with an understanding of how demand planning connects to inventory investment, margin, and sell-through
Organized and process-driven, with the ability to manage multiple planning cycles, stakeholder groups, and priorities concurrently
People leader with a genuine passion for developing talent and building team capability

Responsibilities

Own the weekly demand forecast review process across all categories, leveraging the demand planning tool and aligned alert configurations to identify style/SKU-level risks and opportunities
Drive forecast accuracy improvement by partnering closely with Data Science to incorporate business intelligence — including promotional events, inventory transfers, new product launches, and cannibalization risk — into the statistical model
Establish and maintain a cadence of forecast review that is disciplined, scalable, and actionable for downstream planning teams
Define and evolve the processes, configurations, and governance standards within the demand planning tool to ensure alignment across the planning organization
Serve as the primary demand planning partner to Merchandising, ensuring the core forecast reflects awareness of new launches, assortment changes, and category-level dynamics that could shift baseline demand
Partner with Channel Planning leads across all categories to ensure the core forecast integrates cleanly with channel-level plans for sales and inventory, and that risks and opportunities are surfaced proactively
Build and maintain strong working relationships with Data Science, Merchandise Financial Planning, and Finance to ensure the forecast is both statistically sound and commercially grounded
Lead and facilitate alignment in cross-functional forums — bringing a clear point of view on trend, inventory health, and forecast deviation from plan
Lead the core product demand forecast within the Open-to-Buy (OTB) process — communicating trend versus pre-season plan, prior OTB, and inventory risk or opportunity with clarity and confidence
Proactively identify situations where inventory needs exceed available OTB funding; develop aligned, solutions-oriented recommendations in partnership with Channel Planning
Ensure final PO sign-off meetings are well-prepared, with all relevant stakeholders informed and risks clearly articulated prior to commitment
Partner with Merchandise Financial Planning to ensure the demand forecast is reflected accurately in financial plans and that deviations are explained and resolved in a timely manner
Collaborate closely with Data Analytics to ensure the forecast reflects the full context of business nuances — including promotional performance, channel mix shifts, customer behavior trends, and external market signals — translating analytical insights into meaningful forecast inputs that drive accuracy
Build, lead, and develop a high-performing team of demand planners across core categories
Define clear roles, responsibilities, and RACI ownership across the planning team — including accountability for core products, impact of new launch products, and channel-level plans
Coach planners on both technical skills (tool proficiency, statistical thinking, OTB management) and soft skills (cross-functional communication, stakeholder influence, business acumen)
Foster a culture of proactive risk identification, continuous improvement, and accountability
Partner with Data Science and IT/Systems teams to continuously improve the demand planning tool — including model inputs, alert logic, and reporting capabilities
Define KPIs for forecast accuracy, bias, and planning effectiveness; establish regular reporting cadences to track performance and drive improvement
Lead the evolution of demand planning processes as the business scales across categories and channels