Al Futtaim Jobs - Planning Manager | Watsons | Dubai (Dubai, AE)

Job Requisition ID: 48822 

No two days are the same at Al-Futtaim, no matter what role you have. Our work is driven by the desire to make a difference and to have a meaningful impact with the goal of enriching everyday lives. Take our engaging and supportive work environment and couple it with a company culture that recognises and rewards quality performance, and what do you get? The chance to push the limits every single day.

 

As a humble family business that started on the banks of the Dubai Creek in the 1930s, Al-Futtaim has expanded to a presence in 31 countries, a portfolio of over 200 companies, and 42,000 employees. You’ll find us in industries ranging from automotive and retail, to finance and real estate, and connecting people with international names like Lexus, Ikea, Robinsons, and Adidas. Our team is proudly multicultural and multinational because that kind of diverse representation gives us the global mindset to grow and impact the people, markets, and trends around us.

 

Come join us to live well, work better, and be the best.

About the Role :

 

As a Planning Manager for Watsons you will be responsible for directing the development, execution, and communication of the strategic merchandise financial plans. This individual will partner with Buying in driving and maximizing sales and margin. The Planning Manager is a key stake-holder and will partner with HOB, OP’s manager, Brand Partners and cross-functional teammates - leveraging analytics and formulating strategies to drive the business.
The successful candidate must be able to move beyond applying standard templates for solving problems, and support the team with creative, innovative ideas that are translated into actionable insights for the business.

Key Responsibilities:

• Manage, in complete partnership with Buying and Sales Operations, the six-month Seasonal Merchandise Plans for their respective areas of responsibility and with respect to the company’s financial goals and targets. Guides their Planners in the development, presentation and defence of these plans. 

 

• Manage, for their areas of responsibility, the Monthly Business Review (MBR) process by guiding the Planners in their development of sales, margin, receipt and inventory forecasts; the support of these forecasts with unit projections; and the reporting of unit performance, unit forecasts and receipt issues during the MBR meetings. 

 

• Present top-line, cross-channel total results and forecasts at the Monthly Business Review meetings (MBR). 

 

• Manage receipts and inventory against targeted weeks of supply objectives and partner with merchandising to recommend actions that drive sales and maximize gross margin by ensuring best receipt flow. 

 

• Manage and guide the Planners in the development of ideal assortment to maximize sales and margin for each buy period, ensuring the appropriate costs, retails and number of customer choices to achieve each period’s targets. Review and approve the Planners’ unit quantities to buy and to reorder which will effectively maximize the ability of each channel to maximize sales and margin for each buy period. 

 

• Manage markdown and promotional strategies and ensures exit strategy for seasonal lines to effectively mitigate aged inventory. 

 

• Create Conceptual Assortment Plans (CAP) for Design needs and final Customer Choice (cc) counts by store level for assortments. 

 

• Manage and provide direction to their Planners to partner across channels to ensure optimal inventories to best serve the customer needs, sharing inventories as needed which will maximize overall sales and margin. 

 

• Prepare cross-channel department overviews to be presented at Weekly Business Meetings. Prepare comprehensive monthly hindsight recaps and present at monthly meetings. 

 

• Guide the application of the lessons towards the framework for future deliveries and reaction to current business trends. 

 

• Guide the development of their Planners’ Weekly Unit Plans and Key Item programs to exploit category opportunities to drive sales and margin. 

 

• Travel to stores on a regular basis, to observe the performance of their merchandise; to review markdown racks for future decisions on the purchase quantities of merchandise; to gain an understanding of the customer base, store layouts and back stock space; and to foster a strong working relationship with the store teams. 

 

About You:

To be considered as a Planning Manager for Watsons you should have 5 -8 years of specialty retail experience with a minimum of 7 years in Planning, Strong analytical and financial skills2 – 4 years of demonstrated team leadership experience. 

Education:

Relevant qualification in Business Analytics, Mathematics, Business Management, or a relevant field

Job-Specific Skills:  Highly organised / Methodical, Strategic, Strong Communication and Presentation Skills, Proven experience data mining, analysis, and reporting - Analytical mindset coupled with a strong business acumen

Understanding of accounting or finance.

Must be able to comprehend legal documents.

Proficient understand of all levels of the supply chain processes (e.g. inventory planning, warehouse management)

Strong working knowledge of Microsoft Office, relational databases, and ERP systems (e.g. SAP)

Aptitude for problem solving and troubleshooting

Excellent attention to detail

Exceptional communication skills, both written and verbal

Outstanding organizational and management skills

 

We’re here to provide excellent service but a little help from you can ensure a five-star candidate experience from start to finish.

 

Before you click “apply”: Please read the job description carefully to ensure you can confidently demonstrate why this opportunity is right for you and take the time to put together a well-crafted and personalised CV to further boost your visibility. Our global Talent Acquisition team members are all assigned to specific businesses to ensure that we make the best matches between talent and opportunities. We not only consider the requisite compatibility of skills and behaviours, but also how candidates align with our Values of Respect, Integrity, Collaboration, and Excellence.

 

As part of our candidate experience promise, we also want to make ourselves available to you throughout the application process. We make every effort to review and respond to every application.

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