Deputy Head of Merchandising and Buying
Responsibilities
Process Structuring and Governance
- Design and implement standardized merchandising operating procedure across planning, buying, inbound control and allocation.
- Formalize seasonal and monthly calendars with clear checkpoints and accountability.
- Establish documented workflows between Merchandising, Brand, Finance and logistics.
- Ensure adherence to OTB governance and approval hierarchies.
- Create escalation frameworks for deviations in budget, stock levels, deliveries, or margin.
Brand Coordination and Inbound order Control
- Act as key interface with the Brand for all confirmed purchases orders and inbound flow.
- Validate that confirmed orders strictly match approved buy quantities, pricing and agree commercial term.
- Secure consistency between order confirmations, ERP entries, and finance commitments.
- Monitor shipment schedules and proactively manage discrepancies or delays.
- Ensure all inbound goods align with initial assortment plans and budgeted OTB.
- Implement systematic inbound reconciliation routine before goods are released into stock.
Financial control routine with Finance
- Co lead monthly financial reconciliation meeting with Finance
- Secure alignment between merchandising forecasts, confirmed orders, accounting entries, and cash flow planning.
- Validate margin structure at order confirmation stage.
- Monitor working capital exposure linked to inbound commitments
- Establish structure post season financial performance review.
Inventory flow optimization with logistics
- Implement structure inbound and stock flow routines with Supply chain and Warehouse.
- Secure receiving accuracy and compliance with purchase orders.
- Optimize replenishment cycles and allocation logic.
- Improve inventory segmentation between core, seasonal, and slow moving stock.
- build routines to reduce aged stock and prevent over commitment.
Merchandising discipline and KPI monitoring
- Establish weekly KPI governance meeting with clear action tracking.
- Build standardize dashboards with clear ownership of corrective actions.
- monitor forcast accuracy and inbound variance.
- Formalize SKU rationalization and life cycle control frameworks.
- Introduce structured review cycles before markdown decisions.
Risk management and safeguard function
- Act as early system to financial, operational, inbound, or inventory risks.
- Identify inconsistencies between buy plans, confirmed orders, and actual receipts.
- Challenge deviation before finance exposure materializes.
- Ensure compliance with defined merchandise financial framework.
Qualifications:
- 8 - 12 years of experience in merchandising, planning, inventory management, supply chain, or financial merchandising.
- Strong expertise in merchandise financial planning, OTB governance, and inbound order management.
- Proven experience working directly with brands or suppliers on order confirmations and delivery tracking.
- Highly structured and process driven mindset.
- Advance Excel and ERP system proficiency.
- Strong cross functional coordination skills with Finance, Supply chain, and external partners.
- Detail oriented, rigorous, and disciplined.
