Job Description

This position represents a core strategic guide to the Homeware Buying department, that will provide rich data insights and facilitate discussions and guide strategic objectives in each Homeware category. This position will reduce the strategic initiatives into an actionable bottom-up plan that ensures the ability of each Homeware category to achieve its strategic outcome. This position will also be responsible for the overall inventory health of the Homeware business, providing transparency and insights into Sales, Margin and Stock Levels.This position will be based in Greenpoint, Cape Town.Main accountabilities include:

• Facilitate the range review strategic meetings and develop a Strategy for each HW Tier 3 Category with input and collaboration from the Buyers, Director, and CEO.
• Prepare a Bottom-up Plan that delivers the strategies identified in the range review strategic meetings.
• Covert the Bottom-up Plan into the Flow Plan detailing the timing of orders by supplier.
• Prepare and conduct reporting meetings once a month that deal with the OTB; Inventory Health and AOS. These meetings should propose and approve actionable items to ensure that PO Spend, Inventory Quality and use of Discount Channel are well managed and aligned to the Top-Level budget plan for the HW Division.
• Onboarding of new product, the planner will ensure that the correct initial assumptions are in place in relation to new product i(ensuring that ROS, Product Classification, Pack-out and Replenishment requirements are considered).
• Responsible for Store Allocations; to ensure that they are actioned as per the strategy.
• Management of the Merchandise Planner (Replen), by weekly review of the replenishment orders. Ensuring that work prepared is accurate, timely and the insights and suggested actions are in line with the Bottom-Up Plan and the Top Line OTB requirements.
• Perform ad-hoc investigations or report on trend and insights at request of the CEO.
• Identify opportunities for improvement in systems and processes to ensure that the planning function is efficient and delivers robust data driven insights that support the strategic goals of the business.

Technical Skills required:

• Senior certificate
• Retail Business Management degree/diploma
• Minimum 5-8 years relevant experience in senior planning role

Essential skills, behaviour and knowledge required:

• Good understanding of retail.
• Strong affiliation to systems, utilising them to increase productivity in line with the company's merchandise strategy.
• A passion for the decor retail environment.
• Ability to think strategically and commercially.
• Excellent communication and presentation skills.
• Negotiating skills and the ability to network and influence people.
• Team work and interpersonal skills.
• Strong analytical skills and ability to review sales reports.
• Strong affiliation to systems, utilizing them to increase productivity in line with the merchandise strategy, numeracy skills and proficiency using IT, MS Office (particularly Excel & PowerPoint) & in-house systems.
• Strong business acumen and merchant thinking.
• Good organisation skills and the ability to multitask.
• The ability to cope with the pressure of having to make important decisions and meet tight deadline.

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