Merchandise Planner

Summary

Join Brilliant Earth's Merchandising team as a Merchandise Planner, responsible for developing comprehensive sales and inventory strategies across multiple product categories. Collaborate with merchandising, operations, and finance teams to optimize inventory investments and maximize profitability and customer satisfaction. Lead inventory planning initiatives, establish forecasting methodologies, and drive strategic decision-making to support business growth. The ideal candidate is a strategic thinker who excels in a fast-paced environment and has experience in quantitative analysis, inventory planning, and forecasting in retail or e-commerce. This role requires advanced Excel skills, strong analytical and problem-solving abilities, and the ability to work collaboratively. Brilliant Earth offers a variety of benefits, including career growth opportunities, a diverse and mission-minded team, lifestyle spending accounts, continued education, employee discounts, mental wellness perks, giving back opportunities, medical, dental, and vision insurance, 401k matching, paid time off, parental leave, and disability and life insurance.

Requirements

• BA degree or equivalent, preferred
• 5+ years’ experience in quantitative analysis, inventory planning and/or forecasting; in a retail, product or e-commerce company
• Highly attentive to details
• Excellent analytical and problem-solving skills
• Advanced Excel skills including complex formulas, pivot tables, financial modeling, and efficient management of large datasets for inventory and sales analysis
• Highly organized with focus on execution, problem solving, and improving processes
• Exceptional time management skills and accountability
• Ability to think critically and adapt quickly in a flexible environment
• Team player with an ability to work collaboratively
• Entrepreneurial spirit / self-starter
• Interest in socially and environmentally responsible organizations and products

Responsibilities

• Own merchandise planning for multiple product categories with full accountability for results
• Create and own category Open-To-Buy alignment and drive consensus discussions across teams
• Collaborate with the merchandising team to develop and maintain comprehensive sales forecasts, strategic inventory plans, dynamic scenario models, and data-driven buying recommendations to optimize product assortment and maximize profitability
• Lead strategic inventory planning for new showroom launches and business initiatives
• Ensure accuracy of analysis, reporting, insights, forecasts, and achievement of inventory plans/goals
• Establish inventory parameters including weeks of supply, safety stock, and reorder points
• Drive the weekly forecasting process to determine appropriate inventory levels across channels
• Perform complex statistical analysis to support Planning and Merchandising teams
• Design comprehensive analytics frameworks to evaluate business performance metrics
• Lead cross-functional meetings to review inventory positions and align on action plans
• Partner with operations to optimize the inventory pipeline and address supply challenges
• Translate financial plans into actionable buying strategies through monthly OTB framework
• Develop scenario planning models to evaluate potential business impacts and contingencies
• Identify opportunities to improve inventory productivity and reduce excess while maintaining service levels

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience in allocation or store planning is a plus
• Experience with Planning and Reporting software; experience with Domo, or similar, a plus

Benefits

• Career Growth
• Diverse, mission-minded team
• Lifestyle Spending Account
• Continued Education
• Employee Discounts
• Mental Wellness Perks
• Giving Back and Volunteer Opportunities
• Medical, Dental, and Vision
• 401k match
• Paid Time Off
• Parental Leave
• Disability and Life insurance