Director of Inventory Management

About the Job

We are seeking a dynamic and strategic Director of Inventory Management to lead our Merchandise Planning and Inventory team. In this pivotal role, you will be responsible for shaping the overall Merchandise Planning and Inventory strategy, working closely with Supply Chain and Merchandising leadership. Your vision and leadership will guide the team to align initiatives seamlessly with our division's business objectives.

Key Responsibilities:

• Strategic Collaboration: Work collaboratively across functions with Supply Chain, Merchandising, Sales, Amazon, and Finance partners to develop innovative merchandise planning and inventory strategies.
• Financial Planning: Partner with Finance to develop comprehensive divisional financial plans and forecasts for sales, GM, and inventory. Identify opportunities for process enhancements to improve efficiency.
• Optimized Inventory Management: Oversee monthly open-to-buy needs, ensuring alignment with channel, category, and price priorities. Collaborate with Category Merchandise Managers to ensure purchases align with sales volume, net margin, and inventory turn goals.
• Assortment Optimization: Collaborate with the Merchandising team to align on assortment goals that surprise and delight customers. Develop and maintain yearly product plans by category and price point.
• Innovative Allocation Strategies: Implement best-in-class allocation strategies, focusing on inventory planning and forecasting. Identify trends and buying habits, providing recommendations to achieve financial objectives.
• Cross-functional Leadership: Lead the monthly forecast process and drive accurate future forecasts. Work with Supply Chain to optimize inventory movement and develop strategies for network improvement, flow, and cost reduction.
• Project Management: Manage department projects, ensuring accuracy in system data and effective Sales & Operational Planning processes. Champion and support new business, change, and systems initiatives to foster growth and competitive advantage.
• Inbound Freight Management: Demonstrate a firm understanding of freight forwarder collaboration and landed cost calculations, including duties and tariffs.

Requirements:

• Minimum 8-10 years of progressive experience in planning, merchandising, and inventory management within a retail environment.
• Strong leadership skills with a focus on team member growth and development, reinforcing the company culture and long-term growth.
• Exceptional communication and collaboration abilities, with the capacity to convey complex concepts clearly and effectively to all levels of management.
• Solid understanding of financial measurements, including sales, gross margin, and inventory turn, and the ability to impact these metrics positively.
• Proficiency in retail math, including markup, margin planning, and inventory productivity measures.
• Experience in managing people and their performance, with the ability to adapt, change priorities, and meet deadlines.
• Strong presentation skills and extensive exposure to senior leadership. Ability to articulate financial concepts clearly to non-financial stakeholders.
• Advanced computer skills, including expertise in JDA, Tableau, MS Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook.

Join us in our journey toward unparalleled success, where your strategic acumen and leadership will shape the future of our inventory management. Be part of a vibrant, innovative team dedicated to driving growth and excellence in the retail industry.

Excelligence Learning Corporation is an Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) employer. We are committed to providing equal employment opportunities to all employees, employment applicants, and other covered persons without regard to unlawful considerations of race, color, religion or creed, gender, sex, pregnancy, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, marital status, national origin or ancestry, ethnicity, citizenship status, genetic information, military or veteran status, age, physical or mental disability, or any other classification protected by applicable local, state, or federal law.