(USA) Senior Manager, Merchandising Planning

Walmart • Bentonville, AR

13d

About The Position

The Senior Manager, Merchandising Planning leads category forecasting and financial planning to inform strategic merchandising decisions. The role uses data analysis and visualization to develop actionable insights and support budgeting and promotional planning, while aligning forecasts with business objectives and customer demand trends. It also oversees team development, operational excellence, and continuous improvement to enhance category performance and profitability.

The Merchandise Planning team partners with Merchandising as the strategic finance and planning resource for categories. It supports decisions through financial forecasting, item-level planning, operating plans, line reviews, and store-specific distribution guidance. Working closely with Merchandising and Replenishment, the team analyzes financial information, challenges assumptions, identifies risks and opportunities, builds models, and turns complex data into recommendations. The team also focuses on continuous improvement and automation.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Marketing or a related field and 4 years of experience in retail, merchandising, forecasting, or a related area; alternatively, 6 years of experience in retail, merchandising, forecasting, or a related area.
• Extensive experience in merchandise planning and category management, with strong financial forecasting skills.
• Proficiency in data analysis and visualization tools.
• Expertise in member demand planning and understanding member behavior across multiple channels.
• Ability to lead budgeting processes, including category-level financial target setting and markdown management.
• Strong communication and influencing skills for effective collaboration with cross-functional teams and stakeholders.
• A track record of driving forecasting accuracy and supporting item-level and category-level financial forecasts.
• Leadership experience mentoring and developing team members while promoting ethical standards and integrity.

Nice To Haves

• Experience negotiating terms and costing.
• Profit and Loss (P&L) responsibility.
• Retail Link experience.
• Supervisory experience.
• Master’s degree in Marketing.

Responsibilities

• Use data analysis and visualization tools to develop insights that influence merchandising decisions.
• Develop and manage category-level financial targets, forecasts, and budgets aligned with business objectives.
• Collaborate cross-functionally on category strategy, assortment planning, and promotional initiatives.
• Support vendor negotiations with financial analysis and risk assessments.
• Lead sales, inventory, and item-level forecasting to optimize product availability.
• Drive continuous improvement in line reviews.
• Mentor and develop team members and foster a high-performance work environment.

Benefits

• Medical, vision, and dental coverage.
• 401(k), stock purchase, and company-paid life insurance.
• Paid time off, including PTO and/or PPTO, parental leave, family care leave, bereavement leave, jury duty leave, and voting leave.
• Short-term and long-term disability.
• Company discounts.
• Military Leave Pay.
• Adoption and surrogacy expense reimbursement.
• Live Better U company-paid education benefit program for eligible associates.
• Performance-based bonus awards.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior