Merchandise Planning Manager
Market-Leading Fashion & Lifestyle eCommerce Business
Now Hiring in Sydney
The Brand I
This is a market-leading fashion and lifestyle eCommerce business operating at significant scale across Australia and New Zealand.
Built around a digital-first retail model, the business offers an extensive and constantly evolving product assortment spanning fashion, kids and lifestyle categories, supported by a highly sophisticated approach to merchandise planning, trading, data and customer behaviour.
With a high-volume SKU environment, multiple categories, brands and price points moving through the platform at any one time, planning sits at the heart of commercial decision-making. The business is fast-paced, analytical and highly customer-led, requiring its planning teams to interpret large volumes of product and performance data and turn this into decisive commercial action.
As the business continues to evolve, an opportunity has arisen for an experienced Planning Manager to lead planning across a key multi-category portfolio.
The Role |
Reporting to the Planning Director, this is a senior merchandise planning opportunity with responsibility for driving the commercial performance of a significant eCommerce assortment across multiple categories.
Operating within a large-scale, high-SKU digital retail environment, you will lead the planning strategy across the portfolio, balancing longer-term financial planning with the pace and responsiveness required to trade an extensive online assortment.
You will take ownership of sales, stock, margin and profitability, using product and customer data to identify opportunities, address underperformance and ensure inventory is positioned effectively across categories.
Your remit will include:
Developing and driving the merchandise planning strategy across a large, multi-category eCommerce portfolio
Managing a high volume of SKUs, using detailed product-level analysis to optimise sales, stock, margin and availability
Building mid-to-long-term financial plans aligned with broader business growth and profitability targets
Forecasting sales, inventory requirements and product performance across categories
Closely monitoring trading performance and taking decisive action around underperforming product, stock opportunities and emerging trends
Identifying opportunities to maximise seasonal performance and deliver category KPIs
Partnering with Buying and Category teams to ensure the right product, stock depth and commercial strategy is in place
Managing promotional activity with a strong focus on sales performance and margin retention
Using customer, product, economic and market trends to anticipate future opportunities and potential risks
Supporting broader company and global planning, reporting and commercial initiatives
Leading cross-functional projects and identifying opportunities to improve planning processes, reporting and efficiency
Working closely with fellow Planning Managers to create a consistent and commercially aligned approach across the wider business
Building strong relationships across Buying, Marketing and other key business functions
Leading, coaching and developing the planning team, creating clear expectations and accountability around performance and delivery
The Skillset I
We are looking for an established merchandise planning leader who is genuinely comfortable operating within the scale, complexity and pace of eCommerce retail.
Importantly, you will understand that planning an extensive online assortment requires a different level of agility, can confidently work across large SKU counts, significant volumes of data and constantly changing product performance, while maintaining a clear view of the bigger commercial picture.
You will ideally bring:
5+ years’ merchandise planning experience, including established planning management or leadership experience
Strong experience within fashion eCommerce, digital retail or another high-volume online product environment
Demonstrated experience planning and trading large SKU volumes and broad product assortments
Advanced analytical capability with the ability to translate complex product and trading data into clear commercial actions
Strong financial planning, forecasting, inventory and margin management capability
Highly developed commercial acumen and instinctive trading skills
Advanced Excel capability
Experience identifying product opportunities and addressing underperformance within a fast-moving trading environment
Confidence partnering cross-functionally across Buying, Category, Marketing and wider commercial teams
Previous experience leading, coaching and developing merchandise planning teams
Strong communication skills with the ability to influence stakeholders at multiple levels
Exceptional organisation and the ability to manage competing priorities and deadlines
A proactive, improvement-focused mindset with the confidence to challenge existing processes and drive positive change
Above all, this role will suit a data-driven yet instinctive merchandise planning leader who understands the mechanics of large-scale eCommerce. Someone who can confidently navigate thousands of products and significant volumes of trading data without losing sight of the customer, product opportunity or overall commercial strategy.
Apply with Jordan |
If this sounds like you, reach out to Jordan for a confidential chat.
jordan@thetalentmill.com.au
The Talent Mill Recruitment division is a bespoke consultancy and talent acquisition specialist within the fashion, lifestyle and retail industries. With more than 10 years specialist expertise with luxury, lifestyle & fashion brands globally we discover, recognize, and connect inspiring individuals to the most desirable brands as a trusted support to founder-led start-ups, SME’s and multinational corporations within the fashion & retail industry.
Recruitment – but make it ethical not transactional. Quality over quantity – always. Truly consultative and delivered at pace. We hold a genuine passion and expertise for the industries we support, and offer a unique and modern recruitment proposition – one where we develop long term, meaningful connections, add value and deliver an unforgettable service.