Assistant Planner

Position Overview

Our client is seeking an Assistant Planner to support Direct-to-Consumer (DTC) planning and buying functions across both eCommerce and retail channels. This role plays a key part in day-to-day operations, ensuring accurate reporting, effective inventory flow, and data-driven decision-making. The position offers the opportunity to develop a strong foundation in sales performance analysis, inventory strategy, and planning processes.

Key Responsibilities

• Contribute to in-season business management by preparing reports, maintaining inventory and purchase order tracking, and assisting with business reviews.
• Produce and distribute recurring performance reports, ensuring accuracy and timeliness of weekly and monthly business insights.
• Support pre-season and quarterly planning efforts through hindsight analysis, identifying trends and opportunities to inform future strategies.
• Assist with forecasting, replenishment planning, and allocation activities to maintain appropriate inventory levels and support sales goals.
• Utilize planning tools and systems (such as Anaplan or similar platforms) to monitor sales trends, weeks of supply (WOS), and inventory performance.
• Partner with cross-functional teams including Buying, Allocations, and eCommerce to align on objectives and provide analytical support.
• Develop actionable insights from data analysis and present findings to planning leadership, including Directors and senior stakeholders.
• Support ad hoc analysis, reporting requests, and special projects to drive continuous improvement across planning functions.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Business, Finance, Mathematics, Accounting, or a related field preferred.
• 1-2 years of relevant experience in retail planning, finance, or a similar analytical role (internship experience considered).
• Advanced proficiency in Microsoft Excel, including data manipulation, pivot tables, and lookup functions.
• Strong analytical and quantitative skills, with the ability to interpret data and translate findings into meaningful recommendations.
• Solid understanding of retail math concepts such as Open-to-Buy (OTB), forecasting, and sales trend analysis is a plus.
• Excellent organizational skills with strong attention to detail, particularly when working with data sets.
• Effective communication skills, both written and verbal, with the ability to collaborate across teams.

Preferred Experience

• Familiarity with planning and reporting systems such as Anaplan or Business Objects.
• Exposure to data analytics tools or principles within a retail or financial environment.

Personal Attributes

• Self-motivated and proactive, with a strong sense of ownership and accountability.
• Quick learner who can adapt to new systems and evolving business needs.
• Naturally curious with a problem-solving mindset and a focus on continuous improvement.
• Team-oriented, with a positive attitude and ability to collaborate effectively across functions.