Assistant Manager, Planning

Description

Job Summary
The Planning Analyst supports the business through detailed reporting, analytics, and cross-functional collaboration focused on retail sales, gross shipments, and gross-to-net performance. This role plays a critical part in enabling data-driven decisions by building and maintaining reporting tools, analyzing trends, and identifying key insights across Ulta, Sephora, and Target channels. The Analyst partners closely with Demand Planning, Sales, Finance, and Supply Chain to align forecasts, improve accuracy, and optimize inventory and promotional investment strategies.

Key Focus Areas:
Retail performance, shipment tracking, financial forecasting, gross-to-net optimization, reporting automation, and cross-functional communication.

Key Responsibilities
Business Performance Reporting & Analysis

Build, maintain, and publish recurring reports on retail sales, shipments, and forecast performance

Analyze POS trends and retailer feedback to support adjustments in retail and shipment plans

Support seasonal recaps, innovation post-mortems, and business reviews with data-backed insights

Partner with Sales and Demand Planning to monitor forecast accuracy and identify variances

Retail & Shipment Forecast Support

Assist in developing retail forecasts by SKU, channel, and retailer, factoring in trend data, inventory, and promotions

Support shipment forecast accuracy by tracking purchase orders and identifying gaps or risks

Work with Finance and Account teams to tie retail projections to topline and shipment goals

Gross-to-Net & Financial Support

Support budgeting and tracking of contra spend, markdowns, RTVs, testers, and sampling

Monitor actuals vs. plan and surface insights to guide investment decisions

Partner with Finance to ensure all inputs align with net revenue targets

Inventory & Supply Analysis

Analyze weeks of supply (WOS), turn, and door-level inventory health

Identify stock imbalances and recommend adjustments such as reflows, markdowns, or promotional levers

Partner with Supply Chain to flag fill rate concerns and inventory risks proactively

Tool Building & Process Optimization

Create and maintain Excel-based dashboards, trackers, and reporting templates

Continuously improve reporting workflows and automate recurring data pulls where possible

Act as a key resource for cross-functional partners seeking insights or data validation

Qualifications

Qualifications

• 2–4 years of experience in retail, planning, finance, or business analytics

• Strong analytical and quantitative skills; highly proficient in Excel (pivot tables, lookups, dynamic dashboards)

• Experience with POS data, shipment forecasting, and inventory reporting preferred

• Familiarity with gross-to-net planning, retailer contra structures, and financial forecasting a plus

• Strong communication skills; able to synthesize data into clear, actionable insights

• Detail-oriented and highly organized, with the ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced environment

• Experience with Sephora, Ulta, or mass retail planning a plus