Senior Merchandise Planner

J.Crew • New York, NY

11d • $86,400 - $111,700 • Hybrid

About The Position

As a Senior Planner, you’ll drive the financial success of a critical department by developing and executing sales, margin, and inventory plans that balance strategy and execution. You’ll take ownership of preseason and in-season planning, providing insights that influence buying decisions, assortment strategies, and receipt flow. This role combines analytical strength with strategic foresight — requiring someone who can forecast with precision, identify opportunities, and communicate recommendations that drive profitable growth. You’ll partner closely with Merchandising, Allocation, and your Planning Manager, while also managing and developing a direct report.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree
• 5+ years of experience in merchandise planning, allocation, or financial analysis
• Proven ability to build strong cross-functional partnerships and influence decision-making
• Strong analytical, financial modeling, and forecasting skills with advanced Excel proficiency
• Excellent communication and presentation skills, with the ability to synthesize data into actionable insights
• Highly organized, detail-oriented, and able to balance multiple priorities in a fast-paced environment

Nice To Haves

• Experience managing or mentoring junior team members
• Familiarity with enterprise-level planning tools and reporting systems
• Strong understanding of retail metrics, including sell-through, turn, and inventory-to-sales ratios
• Demonstrated success driving financial results through strategic planning and in-season optimization

Responsibilities

• Partner with manager and merchant partners to develop high-level department strategy
• Lead the creation of preseason sales, margin, and inventory plans by department and class using historical performance and trend analysis to inform future investments and balancing department and class targets
• Develop bottoms-up style plan, in partnership with Merchandising, making recommendations on rank, depth of buy, and flow timing
• Analyze and summarize opportunities and risks across product categories based on key metrics such as markup, margin rate, and average unit cost
• Develop seasonal strategies that align with divisional goals and customer demand, ensuring optimized style counts, flow, and depth
• Present preseason financial recommendations and investment strategies to cross-functional teams and leadership
• Partner with cross-functional peers to refine planning tools, processes, and reporting that enhance financial visibility and efficiency
• Lead weekly and monthly business recaps, providing analysis of performance versus forecast and identifying drivers of variance
• Manage ongoing sales, margin, and inventory forecasts, reflowing receipts and adjusting plans to align with current business trends
• Collaborate with Merchandising and Allocation to determine optimal product flow, replenishment, and markdown strategies
• Drive OTB (Open-to-Buy) management, ensuring inventory positions align with financial goals and opportunities
• Recommend and communicate cross-channel inventory transfers or actions to maximize sales and profitability
• Partner with manager and cross-functional leadership to provide insights and recommend actions that drive profitable growth
• Manage a direct report, supporting the development of analytical and planning skills
• Support the creation and enhancement of reports and templates used across the planning organization

Benefits

• medical, dental, prescription and vision insurance
• family planning (fertility, adoption & surrogacy support)
• fitness discounts
• medical travel
• associate discount across all of our brands (J.Crew, J.Crew Factory, and Madewell)
• Summer Fridays (office closes at 1:00 PM every Friday during Summer months)
• philanthropic efforts and the J.Crew Cares Program
• winter break at the end of December for eligible full-time associates at the Home Office
• opportunity for bonus

What This Job Offers

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