Senior Manager - Merchandise Planning

JCrew•New York, NY

5d•Hybrid

About The Position

As Senior Manager, Merchandise Planning, you'll own the financial and strategic planning agenda across multiple divisions — setting the direction for sales, margin, and inventory productivity at a business-unit level. You'll be a key strategic partner to Merchandising, Allocation, and senior leadership, shaping enterprise-level financial strategy that informs long-range assortment investment, pricing architecture, and flow strategy. This role requires the judgment to operate at the enterprise level while staying close enough to the business to catch what matters — someone equally comfortable in a room with the C-suite and in the details of an OTB. You'll lead planning managers and their teams, build bench strength across the function, and drive the evolution of planning tools, processes, and financial discipline enterprise-wide.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree
10+ years of experience in merchandise planning, financial analysis, or related fields
Proven success leading planning strategy across multiple divisions or a large business unit
Advanced analytical and financial modeling skills, with expert-level Excel proficiency
Executive-level communication, presentation, and influencing skills
Demonstrated success building and developing teams of planning managers, not just individual contributors
Strong organizational and problem-solving skills, with the judgment to balance enterprise strategy and hands-on execution

Nice To Haves

Experience in multi-category or multi-channel retail planning at an enterprise scale
Deep familiarity with enterprise-level planning tools and financial reporting systems
Track record leading large-scale, cross-functional business initiatives
Sophisticated understanding of retail KPIs and how they connect to enterprise profitability and growth

Responsibilities

Own the strategic direction for sales, margin, and inventory plans across multiple divisions, setting the framework planning managers and their teams execute against.
Synthesize business performance across divisions to surface enterprise-level drivers, risks, and opportunities that shape investment priorities.
Serve as a key strategic partner to Merchandising leadership, aligning cross-divisional financial goals with product strategy and long-range assortment planning.
Present strategy and financial recommendations directly to senior leadership and executive stakeholders, framing assumptions, risk, and opportunity in business terms.
Build and evolve multi-division strategies that drive sales, margin, and inventory turn targets, with an eye toward enterprise-wide consistency and scalability.
Direct the in-season analysis of sales, margin, and inventory trends across divisions, identifying variances and risks before they surface elsewhere.
Set the standard for in-season forecasting, hindsight, and OTB management across teams, ensuring consistency, agility, and accuracy in financial decision-making.
Lead cross-functional collaboration at the leadership level to drive data-informed adjustments to receipts, pricing, and promotions.
Partner with Finance leadership on divisional and enterprise-level reforecasting, tying performance to broader financial goals.
Lead hindsight and investment review discussions, translating planning insight into strategic recommendations for senior leadership.