We are seeking an exceptional Director of Merchandise Planning for Zola’s core registry & ecommerce business.

Zola Registry is our flagship product: a free, easy-to-use, beautiful wedding registry that lets couples register for everything from wine glasses and cookware to Airbnb gift cards and honeymoon funds. We’ve experienced huge growth in the first five years of this business, and we’re looking for an entrepreneurial, scrappy, analytical, creative leader who can help us tackle the next phase of growth.

This position serves as the head of Merch Planning at Zola, overseeing the Planning team and partnering closely with the Senior Director of Merchandising and the Merchandising Team. This role reports directly to the SVP/GM of Registry & Ecommerce.

On a day-to-day basis, this position will be responsible for building and communicating sales and inventory plans to achieve our financial objectives; delivering key insights into registry and sales performance to the buying team and broader organization; designing and implementing reporting and processes to allow the whole team to make great data-driven decisions; and leading ad hoc strategic projects that help drive merchandising and operations decisions at Zola.  This person will partner cross-functionally with Operations, Finance, Marketing, and the Registry Business/Product team to help us deliver for both our customers and our vendors, while developing and growing the skills of our talented Inventory & Planning team.

RESPONSIBILITIES

• Develop financial plans at a department, category, and brand level that support company sales, turn, and margin objectives; re-forecast in-season based on current trend and historical data
• Manage the OTB, including demand forecasting, inventory management, receipt flow, turn, and sell through
• Analyze historical data and current trends to identify risks and opportunities by department; then partner with merchandising team to align financials and product opportunities
• Analyze and report regularly on key indicators including merchandise sales, registry adds, completion rate, and more
• Help improve company profitability by identifying opportunities to increase margin and/or reduce costs
• Lead, manage, and develop the Planning team (currently 3 people), helping them grow their skills and achieve their career goals
• Present data with a clear point of view so that insights can be used to help drive business strategy
• Serve as a key thought partner to the Sr. Director of Merchandising

QUALIFICATIONS

• Bachelors required (MBA optional), or equivalent experience in retail analytics
• 5+ years of experience in an e-commerce retail merchandise planning role, preferably for a multi-brand retailer; ideal candidate will have experience with both owned inventory and dropship
• Track record of success at fast-paced, growing businesses, ideally at a tech or consumer startup
• Superior Excel and Powerpoint skills; comfortable manipulating large amounts of data and problem-solving, as well as presenting the story
• SQL knowledge strongly preferred; or ability to learn on the job within first 3 months
• Strong track record as a committed people manager who hires & develops the best
• Demonstrated ability to prioritize and manage competing tasks in a fast-paced, highly ambiguous environment
• Demonstrated skill with root cause analysis; able to spot when something isn’t quite right and audit with limited guidance
• Strong communicator, both verbally and in writing
• A structured and creative thinker, able to toggle easily between the big themes and the little details
• A go-getter who can self-manage, define and execute new processes and strategies
• A humble leader with a collaborative spirit, compassionate personality and great sense of humor
• A person who will uphold Zola’s values and has unquestionable integrity and ethics

To apply, please submit your resume and cover letter, which includes a brief description about why you’re interested in Zola and in this role specifically.  Applications without a cover letter will not be considered.

ABOUT ZOLA

We're Zola, the wedding company that will do anything for love. We're reinventing the wedding planning and registry experience to make the happiest moment in our couples’ lives even happier. From engagement to wedding and decorating your first home, Zola is there, combining compassionate customer service with modern tools and technology… all in the service of love.

Based in NYC and launched in October 2013, we have quickly become the fastest-growing wedding company in the United States. In 2017 we launched Zola Weddings, a free suite of wedding planning tools including wedding websites, checklist, guest list, and registry, all in one place. We've raised over $140 million in financing, and we're proud to call Thrive Capital, Canvas Ventures, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Comcast Ventures, and Goldman Sachs, among others, our investors and partners. Our team brings deep experience from working on beautiful, award-winning e-commerce sites and mobile apps in past roles at Gilt Groupe, Amazon, Bloomingdale’s, Gap, J.Crew, Toys R Us, Chloe + Isabel, Yahoo, and Host Committee, among many others.