Assistant Merchandise Planner (Remote)

ROLE
Support pre-season buys and in-season demand planning to keep core & best sellers in stock while avoiding over-ordering. Own the day-to-day analytics, systems hygiene and replenishment actions that keep inventory healthy across channels.


RESPONSIBILITIES

Forecasting & Demand Planning
· Build and maintain top-down & bottom-up forecasts by category/style/colour/size with a rolling 12-week view reflecting seasonality, timelines and marketing plans.
· Track Weeks of Cover (WOC), sell-through, SOH, on-order and backorders; highlight gaps vs. targets and propose actions.
· Monitor size curves by style/channel; recommend rebalances, short-size top-ups and future curve changes.
· Translate demand signals (sales velocity, waitlists, influencer/collab pushes) into reorder proposals and buy depth recommendations.
· Identify trends early (winners/losers) and surface clear recommendations.

Inventory & Replenishment (In-Season)
· Own Restocks & Buy Sheets; update 3x per week with latest sales, WOC, incoming ETAs and order decisions.
· Maintain replenishment triggers that consider vendor lead time + safety stock; prepare draft POs for approval.
· Track incoming stock against POs; reconcile ETAs/variances/splits; escalate risks or delays.
· Keep core & best sellers in stock; propose substitutes or range switches when MOQs or fabric constraints appear.
· Identify aged/slow movers; recommend markdowns, bundles or content pushes; ensure high-SOH styles are actively advertised (influencers/collabs).
· Work closely with Production to align WIP/ETAs so replenishment plans match reality.

Pre-Season Merchandise Planning
· Assist with Open-to-Buy (OTB) budgets by month/category/channel; model scenarios and intake margin impact.
· Build line/option counts, colour depth and size curve plans aligned to historicals and growth targets.
· Prepare buy packs for sign-off: volumes, delivery windows, initial allocations and margin.

Reporting, Insights & Governance
· Daily: sales & sell-through pulse; flag outs/near-outs; update trackers.
· Weekly: publish trend report (winners/losers, WOC exceptions, returns trends, action list).
· EOM: compile month-end pack with KPIs, range productivity and next-month plan; present improvement suggestions.
· Analyse returns by reason/size/style; feed fixes into product, content and size curves.
· Take minutes for planning/production WIPs; log actions and track to closure.


Data, Systems & Tooling
· Keep product data accurate across Cin7, Shopify, Style Arcade (and PIM if used): titles, tags, attributes, costs, barcodes, categories, size curves, go-live status.
· Maintain naming conventions and lifecycle statuses (incoming/active/clearance/archived).
· Update systems with product information & incoming stock numbers the same day changes occur; avoid “silent edits” by logging changes.
· Use ClickUp & Slack for task management, priorities and comms; uphold strong Google Drive hygiene.


WAYS OF WORKING
· Very analytical, detail-driven, data-literate; enjoys reporting and graphs.
· Understands how planning, production and e-comm systems interplay; comfortable chasing data to ground truth.
· Excellent English (written & verbal), clear and action-oriented.
· Proactive: brings options (not just data) and follows through.
· Keeps the team updated with production/WIP impacts to availability.


QUALIFICATIONS & EXPERIENCE
· 5+ years in merchandise/demand planning with global fashion brands (AU/UK/US exposure ideal).
· Advanced Excel/Sheets (pivots, XLOOKUP/VLOOKUP, SUMIFS, INDEX-MATCH, basic scenario modelling).
· Systems: Cin7, Shopify, Style Arcade; tasking in ClickUp and comms in Slack.
· Strong commercial acumen with an eye for trend and seasonality.