Head - Merchandise Central Planning & Inventory - Retail

Role Purpose:

- The Head of Central Planning & Inventory is accountable for building and leading company Global's end- to end merchandise planning and inventory capability across rapidly scaling international markets. Operating with a startup mindset, this role designs scalable planning frameworks, systems, and ways of working that enable confident trading decisions, strong stock outcomes, and profitable global growth.

- Working cross-functionally across Merchandise, Category, Supply Chain, Finance, Technology and Data, the role interprets and helps shape commercial strategy, translating it into practical, system- enabled planning solutions for a fast- moving, evolving global business.

Key Responsibilities:

- Own global merchandise planning and inventory systems across forecasting, seasonal and in- season planning, allocation, replenishment and pricing.

- Build scalable planning frameworks, governance and rhythms suitable for a fast- growth, startup- style environment.

- Partner with senior stakeholders to turn commercial strategy into executable plans that drive sales, margin, availability and inventory productivity.

- Lead planning and inventory transformation initiatives, including system enhancements, change delivery and user adoption.

- Ensure high-quality planning data, reporting and insights to support strong decision- making.

- Lead and develop a specialist team (3 direct reports) while uplifting planning capability across the wider business.

Experience & Profile:

- 10-15 years' experience in retail merchandise planning, inventory or related commercial roles.

- Deep understanding of merchandise financial planning, forecasting and lifecycle management.

- Strong experience with planning or retail ERP systems in complex or transformation- led environments.

- Proven ability to operate from first principles, create strategy, and deliver outcomes in ambiguous, startup- style settings.

- Collaborative, commercially minded leader with strong stakeholder influence skills.