Head of Planning - Leading Retail Brand

Industry: Retail (Mandatory)

Location: Mumbai, Maharashtra

Experience: 8-15 Years (Strong retail planning leadership experience is mandatory)

Role Overview: Strategic Inventory & Financial Planning

- We are looking for a strategic and experienced Head of Planning to join a top leading retail brand in Mumbai.

- This is a critical leadership position responsible for defining and executing the entire planning lifecycle-from long-range financial planning to detailed SKU-level inventory strategies-to maximize profitability, optimize working capital, and drive sustainable business growth.

- The ideal candidate must bring deep retail planning expertise, strong analytical acumen, and the ability to lead and mentor the entire planning function.

Key Responsibilities:

1. Financial & Merchandise Planning Leadership:

Integrated Planning Strategy: Lead the development of the end-to-end financial, merchandise, and inventory planning for the entire business, ensuring alignment between top-line financial goals and bottom-up category plans.

Open-to-Buy (OTB) Management: Own the long-range financial planning and the seasonal Open-to-Buy process, balancing inventory levels with projected sales and risk appetite.

Forecasting & Budgeting: Drive the demand forecasting process across all channels and categories, utilizing advanced analytical models to predict future demand and inform strategic buying decisions.

2. Inventory Optimization & Performance

Inventory Strategy: Partner with senior leadership to optimize overall inventory health, ensuring appropriate stock levels to maximize sales while minimizing excess and obsolete (E&O) inventory risk.

Assortment Strategy: Collaborate closely with the Merchandising and Buying teams to define the optimal product assortment strategy, ensuring the right mix of depth and breadth to meet customer demand.

Performance Analysis: Conduct high-level analysis of key retail metrics (e.g., Gross Margin Return on Investment - GMROI, Sell-Through Rate, stock turns) and translate data into actionable commercial strategies.

3. Team Leadership & Stakeholder Management

Team Development: Guide, mentor, and scale the planning team, fostering a culture of high performance, accuracy, and continuous improvement to ensure the team achieves all business targets.

Cross-Functional Partnership: Act as the strategic partner to the CEO/Promoter, Finance, Operations, and Merchandising teams, representing the single source of truth for inventory and sales performance across the organization.

Candidate Profile:

Mandatory Requirements:

Experience: 8-15 years of progressive and relevant experience, with strong retail planning leadership experience mandatory.

Domain Expertise: Deep, hands-on expertise in Merchandise Planning, Demand Forecasting, Inventory Management, and Assortment Planning within the retail sector.

Acumen: Exceptional analytical, operational, and commercial acumen.

Core Competencies

Leadership: Proven ability to lead, develop, and inspire a team of planners.

Stakeholder Management: Excellent communication and presentation skills, with the ability to influence C-suite leadership and manage complex cross-functional relationships.

Strategic Mindset: Ability to synthesize complex data into clear, concise, and strategic business actions.