Sr. Merchandise Planner

Five Below•Philadelphia, PA

About The Position

The Senior Merchandise Planner owns sales, margin, and inventory forecasting for a high-complexity department in an omni-channel environment. The role develops and maintains pre-season, in-season, and rolling 18-month financial plans, aligning forecasts and inventory strategies with divisional budgets, Merchant strategy, and the P&L calendar. Scope may expand to multiple categories or a broader division as business needs evolve. As a leader on the Planning team, the Senior Planner serves as a hands-on contributor and coach, mentoring planners and potentially managing direct reports. The role partners closely with Merchandising, Allocation, Finance, and field partners; leads the category planning work within a cross-functional pod; and regularly presents forecasts, business reviews, and strategic recommendations to senior and executive leadership. It also drives scenario analysis, risk mitigation, planning-process improvement, and effective use of planning systems and automation.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Business, Finance, Retail Merchandising, or a related field.
At least 5 years of progressive experience in retail planning, merchandise planning, or demand forecasting, consistent with Manager-level retail-industry experience benchmarks.
Demonstrated ability to own and deliver results for a large, complex, multi-category business, with strong command of retail math, including OTB, GMROI, turn, and sell-through.
Proven executive presence and a track record of building and presenting business cases and strategic recommendations to senior leadership.
Advanced Excel skills, including automation using macros/VBA and Power Query.
Proficiency with AI-enabled tools to improve efficiency in redundant tasks and enhance data visualization.
Expert-level PowerPoint skills for creating polished, executive-ready presentations.
Experience mentoring, coaching, or directly managing junior planners, and ability to perform as both a hands-on contributor and people leader.
Excellent communication and influencing skills, including ability to build consensus with cross-functional partners and executive stakeholders.
Ability to manage multiple categories and priorities, lead through ambiguity, and work in a fast-paced, matrixed environment.
High attention to detail balanced with strategic, big-picture thinking; sound retail-industry knowledge and understanding of customer behavior.
Must be based in Philadelphia or willing to relocate.

Nice To Haves

MBA.
Experience with planning or ERP systems such as o9, Blue Yonder/JDA, Oracle Retail, or SAP.

Responsibilities

Own and lead end-to-end pre-season and in-season sales, margin, inventory, and OTB planning for an assigned department across brick-and-mortar and digital/DTC channels.
Set financial targets by department and category, and recalibrate forecasts with cross-functional and field partners according to the P&L calendar.
Maintain a rolling 18-month financial plan that aligns with divisional budgets and Merchant strategy, alongside seasonal and in-season planning.
Conduct weekly business reviews, identify positive and negative trends, prepare regular reports and analysis for senior management, and partner with Finance to reconcile actuals to plan monthly and quarterly.
Mentor Associate Planners and Planners; where the role has direct reports, manage their performance and growth and provide training, career development, and talent-retention support.
Lead the category’s financial plan and inventory strategy within a cross-functional pod, align Merchandising and Allocation partners on forecast changes and inventory strategies, and serve as the primary planning contact.
Determine style-color and depth targets by attribute and store group; manage SKU/style-intensive and location-intensive assortments; and develop buys aligned with Merchant strategies, store volume, and regional preferences.
Communicate financial business impacts and present business reviews, forecasts, and recommendations to executive management.
Manage the open-to-buy budget to fund sales and margin plans; lead markdown and end-of-life strategy, including pricing and liquidation decisions; and partner with Allocation/Replenishment to optimize inventory turnover.
Conduct scenario and sensitivity analysis to test plans against demand volatility, competitive activity, and supply disruption, and develop contingency recommendations.
Identify, evaluate, and communicate business risks and opportunities to senior planning leadership, and contribute to quarterly and rolling 18-month financial strategy.
Drive continuous improvement in the planning organization, serve as a planning-systems subject-matter expert and power user, partner on enhancements and testing, and use automation and AI-enabled tools to streamline reporting and improve forecasting accuracy.
Monitor industry trends and the competitive landscape, adapting plans to emerging trends and unexpected events to maximize opportunities and mitigate risk.