Date Posted: 10/08/2026
Hiring Organization: Rose International
Position Number: 508879
Industry: Consumer Goods
Job Title: Merchandise Planner - Retail Planning, Inventory & Assortment
Job Location: Reynoldsburg, OH, USA, 43068
Work Model: Onsite
Shift: 9AM to 5PM EST
Employment Type: Temporary
FT/PT: Full-Time
Estimated Duration (In months): 3
Min Hourly Rate($): 30.00
Max Hourly Rate($): 35.00
Must Have Skills/Attributes: DATA MANAGEMENT, Inventory analysis, Microsoft Excel
Experience Desired:
Retail merchandise planning experience (5-7 yrs),
Hands-on experience with retail inventory optimization (5-7 yrs),
Advanced experience using Excel and retail planning/analytics systems (5-7 yrs)
Required Minimum Education: Bachelor’s Degree
**C2C is not available**
Job Description
***Only qualified Merchandise Planner candidates located near Reynoldsburg, OH to be considered due to the position requiring an onsite presence. ***
Required Education:
• Bachelor’s degree in finance, operations, economics, business, statistics.
Required Skills, Experience, & Abilities:
• 5-7 years of retail planning, demand forecasting experience, inventory management, allocation, assortment planning, or replenishment experience, financial planning or financial analysis experience
• Requires strong problem-solving and analytical skills; strong aptitude with numbers; retail math skills
• Strong technical skills in Microsoft Excel or related planning, finance or analytical systems
• Experienced in data management systems, like JDA Enterprise Software Enterprise Planning suite
• Merchant or merchandising experience a plus
• Positive business influence skills
• Able to identify and influence critical stakeholders, proactively problem solve, and recommend solutions
• Strong communication and presentation skills: concisely presents complex information and recommendations in terms meaningful to a variety of audiences
• Demonstrated leadership capability and executive presence
• Optimization Mindset - designs and develops models/plans to optimize decisions
• Builds collaborative partnerships cross-functionally; identifies/influences critical stakeholders
• Ability to articulate detailed action plans to successfully accomplish goal
• Understands and executes against business strategy and goals
• Makes decisions with limited information but also able to synthesize large quantities of data to drive business decisions
• Ability to meet deadlines and handle multiple tasks/projects
Role:
Merchandise Planner serves as the business manager for a book of business and is primarily responsible for translating the Merchants vision into viable plans and profitable results. The Planner is responsible for developing and maintaining sales, inventory and margin plans that tie to financial targets for an assigned Sub-Brand or Category. Plans will begin at the Sub-Brand or Category level and will drive to choice-level (Style/Color) plans, creating targeted assortments by cluster of stores with similar selling characteristics. In partnership with the Merchant, the Planner drives to additional value through optimizing the assortment for these store clusters. In collaboration with the Demand Forecaster, the Merchandise Planner generates demand plans, which incorporate statistically-based forecasts, merchandise plans and business knowledge. Demand plans provide the basis for future merchandise plans, as well as a forward-looking expectation of sales to inform the distribution process.
Responsibilities:
Pre-Season
• Build and refine a class/sub-class plan based on guidance from Category and Attribute plans created by Strategic Planning - the class/sub-brand plan is a weekly dollar and unit merchandise plan by class, sub-brand and potentially subclass
• Partner with Merchants to create and maintain a seasonal theme-based assortment list and volume targets by store grouping (format, cluster, etc)
• Develop assortment plans for sales, margin and inventory to the style/choice level by store groupings (cluster/format, etc) in support of productivity and financial targets
• Use demand forecast, pattern after items, targets from attribute and category plans, test results and historical trends
• Incorporate impact of events and entrance/exit strategies
• Propose initial and promotional pricing by item Participate in consensus planning with demand planner; collaborate to drive to one number sales plan with recommendations for events, based on class plan and forecast
• Communicate merchandise plans to other functional groups as follows:
• Logistics for their review from a capacity standpoint. Information gained is then reconciled with the plan; issues reviewed and discussed together
• Finance to inform their rolling business plan; together review and discuss any related issues
• Stores to inform their labor estimates
• Compliance to inform of possible categories for new product quality, testing and regulatory considerations
• Customer Marketing to give strategic direction for the development/refinement of their seasonal campaign plans
• Support the Sales & Operations Planning process by assisting in the preparation of materials for purposes of evaluating and resolving supply/demand imbalances
• Identify test candidates that fit with merchandise strategy
In-Season
• Analyze and reflect current trends in performance of strategy based on actual sales performance; revise in-season plans for sales and profitability, control inventory levels
• Partner with Merchant to develop and propose tactics in response to current business trends
• Manage and execute promotional and liquidation strategy
• Manage the assortment to approved inventory targets
• Communicate revisions both within the team and cross functionally
• Work with Demand Forecaster to formulate alternate event options
• Actively manage inventory levels pulling up, pushing back or cancelling orders; and by working with Inventory Deployment to recommend reorders
• Reporting/Analytics
• Analyze performance for area of responsibility relative to performance of plan and trend for both period and season sales, margin and inventory
• Prepare recommendations and alternatives for key financial meetings/decisions in order to maximize sales and margin and optimize inventory productivity, in partnership with Merchant.
• Perform trade-off analysis on impact of new items to the assortment identified at a sub-brand level and provide financial planning recommendations
• Integration Points
• Partner with Strategic Planning to inform, reconcile and revise financial targets based on the category and attribute plans
• Participate in consensus planning with Demand Forecasters; collaborate to drive to one number plan and recommendations for event modeling
• Partner with Inventory Deployment to establish and implement short- and long-term inventory management objectives and review order quantities
• Work with cross-functional partners to make informed decisions on promotional events and season planning, exit strategies, new item launches and collections; provide recommendations in response to financial targets
• Assist Merchandising, Logistics and Production to optimize flow of goods from suppliers to warehouses, distribution agents and fulfillment centers.
• Work with demand forecasting to improve reliability through demand plan accuracy
• Integrate with Space Planning to represent the opportunities and constraints that the physical environment creates at store level, monitor results from tests, launches and edits
- **Only those lawfully authorized to work in the designated country associated with the position will be considered.**
- **Please note that all Position start dates and duration are estimates and may be reduced or lengthened based upon a client’s business needs and requirements.**
Benefits:
For information and details on employment benefits offered with this position, please visit here. Should you have any questions/concerns, please contact our HR Department via our secure website.
California Pay Equity:
For information and details on pay equity laws in California, please visit the State of California Department of Industrial Relations' website here.
Rose International is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender (expression or identity), national origin, arrest and conviction records, disability, veteran status or any other characteristic protected by law. Positions located in San Francisco and Los Angeles, California will be administered in accordance with their respective Fair Chance Ordinances.
If you need assistance in completing this application, or during any phase of the application, interview, hiring, or employment process, whether due to a disability or otherwise, please contact our HR Department.
Rose International has an official agreement (ID #132522), effective June 30, 2008, with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, Employment Verification Program (E-Verify). (Posting required by OCGA 13/10-91.).
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I had a very positive experience working for Rose. The entire process is very efficient and easy.
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My on-boarding with Rose was outstanding. The packets of information, the process, and great attention to detail each person gave me allowed me to get started quickly.I appreciated each person's friendly and helpful attitude.
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