Merch Planner

Some of what you will do:
The Planner - Merchandise Planning & Forecasting role is responsible for supporting the growth of the Staples business through delivering accurate forecast and business plans, conducting ad-hoc analysis to generate business insights, and supporting a variety of growth initiatives. A key area of focus will be translating numbers into business insights to help optimize sales and gross margin. The role will be an integral part of the merchandising team with the goal of becoming a data driven organization supported by leading retail processes & capabilities. This role will directly support Director Merch Planning requiring robust problem-solving skills, strong statistical analysis skills, and capability of scripting in SQL to optimize data processes. You will be a key partner to multiple teams, and this role is a strong connector across B2B, Merchandising, Marketing, Supply Chain, and Operations teams. 
 

Specifically, You Will:

• Closely work with Director Merch planning to build and deliver categorical forecast and business plan on sales, gross margin, and inventory to leaders in the merchandising and B2B teams
• Influence business strategy and in-season management by turning data into insights, leveraging business and financial analysis skills to improve business performance and KPIs. 
• Leverage trend and seasonality analysis to deliver performance reviews across the business that measures achievement of sales, margin, and inventory plans.
• Conduct ad-hoc and diagnostic analysis of sales, gross margin, and inventory performance, communicating insights and recommendations.
• Support B2B and merchandising teams with reporting and analytics related to category performance 
• This role is cross-functional in nature and will be involved with all product categories across the company.  He/she will partner closely with other leaders in B2B, merchandising, operations, supply chain, and marketing.
   

Some of what you need:

• Successful completion of a quantitative post-secondary education. A focus on statistics or mathematics is an asset.
• Demonstrated expertise in merchandising, analytics, planning & forecasting.
• Technical skill requirements: SQL, Advanced MS Excel and MS access and Python is an asset.
• Ability to translate complex data into actionable insights and articulate them clearly to stakeholders.
• Proven expertise and an ability to adapt to fast and constantly evolving environments. 
• 4+ years progressive experience in financial, analytics and/or merchandising functions.
• Experienced with large data sets and / or statistical analysis is an asset.

Some of what you will get:

• Associate discount
• Health and Dental benefits
• RRSP/DPSP
• Performance bonuses
• Learning & Development programs
• And more...

#LI-Hybrid