Vice President, Assortment Planning

Dollar Tree•Chesapeake, VA

9d•Onsite

About The Position

Your strategic mindset, leadership capabilities, and analytical expertise make you a great fit for our Vice President, Assortment Planning position. Join our dynamic team and help shape the future of retail through data-driven assortment strategies, inventory optimization, and cross-functional collaboration that directly impacts customer experience and business performance. About Your Role: As the Vice President, Assortment Planning at Dollar Tree, you will lead the strategy, execution, and continuous improvement of assortment planning across the enterprise. This highly visible leadership role is responsible for optimizing sales, margin, and inventory productivity through effective forecasting, assortment planning, and inventory management practices. You will lead a high-performing team while partnering closely with Merchandising, Inventory Management, Finance, Operations, and Marketing to drive profitable growth and support Dollar Tree’s evolving go-to-market strategy.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, Merchandising, Finance, or related field required; Master’s degree preferred.
12+ years of progressive experience in merchandise planning, assortment planning, retail buying, or related retail functions.
Strong understanding of retail planning processes, demand forecasting, inventory management, and assortment optimization.
Proven leadership experience managing and developing high-performing teams in a fast-paced retail environment.
Demonstrated success operating within a matrixed organization and leading organizational change initiatives.
Strong analytical and financial acumen with the ability to interpret complex business data and drive actionable insights.
Excellent communication, collaboration, and stakeholder management skills.
Experience with merchandise planning systems and tools such as Anaplan preferred.

Nice To Haves

Strategic thinker with the ability to balance long-term planning and operational execution.
Results-driven leader who thrives in a dynamic and evolving retail environment.
Innovative and adaptable mindset with the ability to navigate changing market trends and consumer behaviors.
Strong business partnership and influencing skills across all levels of the organization.
Passion for developing talent and building collaborative, high-performing teams.

Responsibilities

Develop and execute assortment planning strategies aligned with Dollar Tree’s financial objectives, customer demand, and overall merchandising strategy.
Navigate assortment complexities across geographies, channels, pricing strategies, seasonality, and varying store formats to drive profitable sales and improve inventory productivity.
Establish and evolve world-class assortment planning capabilities, processes, and systems that support long-term enterprise growth.
Identify opportunities to improve sales performance, reduce stock-outs, minimize inventory liabilities, and optimize inventory turnover.
Lead and develop a team of 30+ assortment planning professionals, including Directors, Managers, and individual contributors.
Foster a collaborative, high-performing, and results-oriented culture focused on accountability, continuous improvement, and talent development.
Mentor and develop future leaders while promoting cross-functional partnership and innovation.
Partner closely with Merchant teams to develop comprehensive assortment plans that align with customer needs, brand strategy, and financial goals.
Collaborate with Inventory Management teams to optimize inventory levels and allocation strategies across stores and channels.
Drive effective in-season inventory management practices to maximize sales opportunities while mitigating excess and obsolete inventory risks.
Lead enterprise assortment forecasting strategies through a combination of traditional planning methodologies, predictive analytics, and advanced data science capabilities.
Oversee and develop the Advanced Analytics function within Assortment Planning, including analysts focused on leveraging data science, AI/ML tools, and predictive modeling to improve item forecasting, incrementality analysis, and cannibalization insights.
Partner closely with Merchandising to utilize historical data, customer behavior, market trends, and analytical insights to drive more accurate forecasting and assortment decisions.
Translate complex analytical outputs into actionable business strategies that improve sales, margin, inventory productivity, and overall assortment performance.
Drive continuous improvement in forecasting accuracy, planning effectiveness, and analytical capabilities across the organization.
Partner and influence cross-functional teams including Merchandising, Inventory Management, Marketing, Finance, Sales, and Operations to ensure alignment and execution of assortment strategies.
Lead organizational alignment around planning priorities, inventory strategies, and business initiatives in a matrixed environment.
Support enterprise transformation initiatives and drive adoption of new tools, processes, and capabilities.
Lead the evolution and optimization of assortment planning tools, systems, and technologies to support scalable, data-driven decision making across the enterprise.
Drive the integration of advanced analytics capabilities within Assortment Planning, including the use of Google Cloud Platform (GCP), AI/ML tools, and modern forecasting technologies to enhance assortment optimization and inventory planning.
Partner cross-functionally with Technology, Data, and Merchandising teams to advance planning automation, predictive analytics, and next-generation forecasting capabilities.
Champion innovative planning solutions that improve visibility, automation, forecasting precision, operational efficiency, and decision-making effectiveness.
Leverage planning technologies such as Anaplan and other merchandising systems to enable best-in-class assortment planning capabilities.