Manager, Financial Planning & Analysis

Overview

The FP&A Manager, Merchandising will serve as the primary financial thought partner to the Merchandising organization, owning financial planning, forecasting, and performance analysis across categories. This role translates merchandising strategy into financial outcomes, driving profitable growth through disciplined inventory, margin optimization, and data-driven decision-making in a fast-paced retail environment.

Merchandising Financial Planning & Analysis

• Own end-to-end financial planning for the Merchandising organization, including category-level budgets, forecasts, and long-range plans aligned with sales, margin, and inventory targets
• Develop and manage category P&Ls and inventory flow models in partnership with Buyers, Planners, and Al locators
• Build and maintain robust financial models and dashboards to track sales, gross margin, inventory turns, weeks of supply, markdowns, and vendor performance
• Deliver clear, actionable variance analysis vs. plan, forecast, and prior year; connecting performance to key merchandising drivers such as assortment mix, pricing, flow, and lifecycle
• Proactively identify risks and opportunities related to inventory productivity, margin erosion, and demand volatility; recommend corrective actions in advance

Merchandising Business Partnership

• Act as a strategic finance partner to the Head of Merchandising, influencing assortment, buy depth, pricing, and exit decisions
• Support line reviews, buy reviews, and in-season buying meetings with financial insights and scenario modeling
• Partner cross-functionally with Supply Chain, Planning, Allocation, and Operations to ensure financial alignment from buy to store execution
• Translate complex financial data into clear storytelling that informs merchandising decisions at speed

Inventory, Margin & Cost Management

• Analyze and monitor gross margin drivers including cost, retails, mix, markdowns, and shrink
• Support inventory optimization initiatives focused on turn improvement, aging reduction, and exit strategies
• Evaluate vendor economics, MOQs, and flow strategies to improve cash efficiency and profitability
• Track and report on the financial impact of cost-saving and margin-improvement initiatives

Process Improvement & Analytics

• Drive automation, standardization, and continuous improvement of merchandising FP&A processes and reporting
• Improve data accuracy and usability across planning, forecasting, and performance management tools
• Lead deep-dive analyses on product profitability, category performance, pricing strategies, and lifecycle effectiveness

Special Projects

• Lead or support strategic merchandising initiatives, including new category launches, assortment resets, and business model changes
• Provide ad hoc financial analysis to support executive decision-making
• Proven ability to anticipate merchandising needs, identify opportunities, and proactively influence outcomes
• Strong curiosity and commercial mindset with a desire to understand the “why” behind product, pricing, and customer behavior
• Advanced expertise in financial modeling, forecasting, and quantitative analysis within a retail or consumer environment
• Demonstrated experience using data to drive category strategy, inventory decisions, and margin improvement
• Advanced Excel skills required; experience with BI tools (Tableau, Power BI), ERP systems, and planning platforms preferred
• Strong understanding of retail KPIs including comp sales, gross margin, inventory turns, weeks of supply, markdowns, and SG&A leverage
• Ability to thrive in a fast-paced, deadline-driven environment with competing priorities
• Exceptional communication and presentation skills with the ability to influence at all levels of the organization
• High level of professionalism and comfort operating under pressure

• Bachelor’s Degree in Finance, Accounting, Economics or a related field
• 7+ years of experience in financial analysis, FP&A, or a related role, ideally in a fast-paced or scaling company

Salary: USD $ - USD $ /Yr.