Director of Merchandise Planning

Rag & Bone•New York, NY

5d•$145,000 - $165,000•Onsite

About The Position

We are seeking a strategic and forward-thinking Director of Merchandise Planning to build and lead a best-in-class planning function across women’s apparel, men’s apparel, and non-apparel categories. This is a newly created role designed to establish the foundation for scalable, data-driven planning decisions across a growing, multi-category business. The Director will play a critical role in developing and implementing end-to-end planning processes, integrating global analysis, and driving disciplined category and financial planning. This leader will influence how product strategies are built - from line plan architecture through procurement forecasting - ensuring alignment with financial targets, margin goals, and overall brand strategy.

Requirements

Minimum 10 years in a planning function, 5-7 years in Merchandise Planning
Strong business acumen, financial analysis, technical and creative problem-solving skills
Resourceful and creative: develop new systems and procedures to address constant evolving business needs.
Strong organizational skills and excellent communication skills with ability to influence, present and defend a business argument both one- on- one and in a group setting
Ability to work in a fast-paced entrepreneurial environment
Ability to manage through competing priorities
Advanced Excel skills required

Responsibilities

Establish and operationalize the merchandise planning function, including tools, processes, and reporting frameworks.
Design and implement standardized planning cadences across seasonal and long-range time periods.
Introduce best practices in global analytics, forecasting, and merchandise financial planning.
Partner cross-functionally to introduce planning support into merchandising and financial planning function
Lead the development of top-down and bottom-up financial plans across women’s apparel, men’s apparel, and non-apparel.
Drive category-level strategies in partnership with merchandising including assortment planning, inventory optimization, and open-to-buy management.
Analyze historical performance and market trends to inform future product and investment decisions.
Build forecasting models that improve accuracy by channel, department, and category
Partner with merchandising and design to shape line plans that align with financial targets and brand strategy.
Evaluate the financial impact of assortment decisions, including pricing architecture, cost structures, and lifecycle planning.
Ensure line plans are grounded in data insights while maintaining creativity and brand integrity.
Drive assortment optimization, adoption rates/KPIs, development KPIs
Collaborate closely with sourcing and production to translate merchandise plans into vendor forecasts.
Partner with merchandising, supply chain, and production teams on supply forecasting and inbound planning
Lead and develop a high-impact team
Foster a collaborative, accountable, and high-performance team culture.
Lead the team through the rollout of new planning processes, tools, and systems as the function is built out, ensuring adoption and change management alongside day-to-day planning demands.
Provide clear direction, coaching, and professional development to build both analytical and operational excellence.
Serve as a key bridge between planning, merchandising, and commercial teams.