Lead, Regional Merch Planning

Under Armour•Baltimore, MD

6d•$90,000 - $120,000•Hybrid

About The Position

The Lead, Regional Merch Planning is responsible for tailoring financial and merchandise planning strategies to regional market conditions and consumer preferences. It facilitates the alignment between regional sales targets and overall business objectives and builds the Top-Down plan for the region. This role is expected to be proactive leveraging technology and data to drive strategic decisions and align closely with broader financial targets and business strategies. As consumer preferences shift rapidly, it will need to be agile in adapting strategies to meet changing demands, incorporating global trends into regional strategies more seamlessly.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in Business, Marketing, or a related field.
6+ years of experience in channel planning, marketing, or a related role.
Experience in the apparel or footwear industry is preferred.
Proficient in merchandise financial planning, scenario planning, and long-range forecasting using market trends, financial plans, consumer insights, and historical data.
Proficient in conducting comprehensive financial analyses and generating detailed reports that drive strategic decision-making.
Strong ability to collaborate across teams and expertly communicate complex data insights and algorithm-driven findings to non-technical stakeholders, aligning cross-functional priorities and ensuring understanding across diverse teams.
Skilled in using data analysis and visualization tools using data to guide strategic initiatives and solve complex business challenges.
Proficient in Blue Yonder or other major planning tools
Strong communication & change-readiness skills, with a proven ability to influence stakeholders, and communicate complex concepts clearly to senior leaders.

Responsibilities

Lead the development and execution of comprehensive regional financial plans across channels, incorporating global targets, regional consumer behaviors, and macro-economic factors.
Analyze market share data to drive insights that influence regional financial planning and strategy.
Lead the creation of the regional promotion strategy and communicate the plan to Channel teams, ensuring alignment with overall business goals.
Lead the planning of marketplace product transitions, building ladders, and coordinating with channel and supply teams to ensure smooth execution.
Partner with Regional Merchandising to provide financial leadership in assortment development, ensuring alignment with financial and market goals.
Present regional hindsight data and insights in key meetings, providing actionable recommendations for future strategy.
Continuously monitor and respond to performance against financial targets, making necessary adjustments to meet regional objectives.
Leverage analytics, and whenever possible artificial intelligence to derive meaningful insights for top-down financial planning and decision-making.
Collaborate with regional merchandising, global and regional planning teams, and finance departments to ensure integrated financial plans that drive overall business success.
Leads the synchronization of financial plans with demand and inventory management, ensuring proper inventory alignment with sales performance and forecasts both in season and preseason.
Partner with Regional Channel Planning teams to reconcile top-down and bottom-up plans, ensuring consistency and accuracy.
Drive regional assortment planning process by defining seasonal line architecture and SKU targets considering financial and productivity targets.
Foster collaboration and team development whilst ensuring alignment with organizational and team goals to drive successful outcomes.