Key Responsibilities
1. Budget Planning & Control
- Consolidate and manage the overall merchandising budget across all categories
- Monitor budget utilization, ensuring alignment with sales forecasts and business targets
- Track spending against approved budgets and highlight risks or deviations
- Provide budget re-forecasting and scenario analysis as needed
2. Open-to-Buy (OTB) Governance
- Oversee OTB planning across categories to ensure optimal inventory investment
- Monitor monthly OTB performance and recommend corrective actions
- Ensure balance between stock availability, sell-through, and cash flow management
- Review seasonal and promotional OTB allocations
3. Performance Reporting & Analysis
- Develop and maintain standardized financial and merchandising reports
- Analyze sales performance, gross margin, inventory turnover, and markdown impact
- Provide insights and recommendations to senior management
- Prepare executive-level presentations and dashboards
4. Cross-Functional Collaboration
- Work closely with Merchandising teams to align buying plans with financial targets
- Coordinate with Finance on budgeting cycles, accruals, and variance analysis
- Collaborate with Supply Chain to optimize stock flow and reduce aging inventory
5. Process Improvement & Governance
- Improve budgeting and reporting processes to enhance accuracy and efficiency
- Establish clear budget tracking frameworks and internal controls
- Support system enhancements related to merchandising and financial planning
Qualifications
- Bachelor's degree in Finance, Business Administration, Economics, or related field
- Minimum 710 years of experience in merchandising finance, commercial finance, or budget control
- Strong experience in OTB planning and inventory financial management
- Experience in retail or FMCG business is preferred
Skills
- Strong financial and analytical skills
- Advanced Excel and data analysis capability (Power BI / BI tools preferred)
- Strong understanding of P&L and inventory financial metrics
- Ability to translate data into actionable business insights
- Strong communication and stakeholder management skills
