Senior Manager-Planning

Job Description

Responsible for managing the daily operations of the Planning team across Kids, Household, and Furniture categories, while collaborating with department heads to shape long-term business strategy. The role focuses on driving improvements in processes and initiatives to enhance the overall Home Centre customer experience.

Key Responsibilities

• Develop and agree on Concept/Territory strategic guidelines in collaboration with senior leadership
• Oversee daily operations of the Planning team (Kids, Household, Furniture), ensuring the right products are in the right place at the right time
• Coach and develop the planning team to understand fundamentals of planning and use them to drive business strategy
• Collaborate with heads of Buying, Supply Chain, Marketing, and Visual Merchandising to develop process efficiencies and support long-term strategy
• Work with Concept Planning and LMIT to implement system solutions that improve planning efficiency aligned with Home Centre strategy
• Develop and manage seasonal budgets, ensuring financial targets for sales, profit, margin, and stock levels are met
• Partner with Buying and Supply Chain to create cost-effective sourcing strategies
• Manage stock flow to meet sales targets while optimizing inventory levels
• Ensure availability of all critical items across territories in line with buying strategy
• Define Concept Strategic Plan Targets with CEO and Finance, covering sales, margin, stock, promotions, new stores, and merchandise strategy
• Develop and maintain a business calendar, ensuring adherence to key deadlines
• Conduct post-seasonal analysis at Concept/Territory and department levels down to Class/Sub-Class and item levels
• Propose seasonal strategies for sales, price points, suppliers, brands, sizes, colors, and assortment dimensions in collaboration with Buyers
• Prepare and validate seasonal budgets and store grading to determine range width/depth for stores of all sizes
• Share theoretical range plans with Buyers and finalize buy plans (OTB, inflows, quantities, suppliers, prices)
• Monitor and report actual performance against plans, ensuring adherence to merchandise standards
• Monitor orders against Open-to-Buy targets and ensure timely placement according to assortment plans
• Conduct weekly forecasting to identify exceptions in sales, stock holdings, and inflows, recommending corrective actions
• Track performance of good and slow-selling items, recommending reorders or price adjustments
• Ensure replenishment items are available and allocated to stores efficiently
• Review monthly seasonal budget performance and collaborate with Buyers on necessary adjustments
• Present updates and actions at monthly management trading meetings
• Visit stores and territories regularly to assess product performance and local requirements
• Monitor competitor offerings, range, and pricing; report findings and coordinate action plans with Buyers
• Ensure planning systems and reports accurately track performance and support decision-making
• Maintain data integrity and communicate additional system requirements to the central planning department
• Recruit, mentor, and develop the planning team
• Set responsibilities, conduct performance appraisals, and provide regular feedback
• Drive team motivation, engagement, and skill development

Skill & Experience

• Graduate or Postgraduate degree in Business, Retail Management, Supply Chain, or a related field
• 8+ years of relevant experience, with a minimum of 5 years specifically in a Planning role within the home retail or home furnishing industry
• Strong understanding of retail planning processes, including assortment planning, stock allocation, Open-to-Buy management, and seasonal budgeting
• Proven experience in analyzing sales performance, forecasting demand, and aligning stock levels to business strategy
• Exposure to cross-functional collaboration with Buying, Supply Chain, Marketing, and Visual Merchandising teams in a retail environment