Merchandise Planner

**Who we are and what we’re looking for**

Yuppiechef started as two good friends and only 32 products in a lounge in Cape Town, and now we stock a range of over 10 000 curated products from over 500 leading brands and our omni-channel business is growing faster than ever.

At Yuppiechef we see no boundaries to helping our customers find more moments of joy in their homes, in their kitchens, gardens and now we are expanding into their living rooms.

We need an experienced planner to join our growing Planning team. We want you because you are goal driven and self-motivated, you have a strong eye for quality products, and a love of numbers and analysing. Your understanding of what drives the bottom line and what actions to take to truly make an impact makes you the game-changer we’re looking for.

**Who you are**

You have the ability to grow and adapt to an ever-changing environment where new processes and technologies are part of the norm. Your passion for retail & knowledge of homeware, along with your affiliation for figures & organisational skills makes you indispensable to the team. It excites you to continually look for ways to work better, faster and more efficiently that benefit the business and maximise each hour of the day.

**What you’ll do**

You will be responsible for getting the right stock at the right store at the right time for both e-commerce and store locations. This will involve collaborating across multiple business units to showcase and manage stock levels of our extensive product range.

Your areas of responsibility include:

- Work closely with category buyers on season strategy incorporating reviews of past category/concept performance, agree on investment for the future
- Forecasting and ordering stock needed to achieve future budgets and optimizing flow of stock and inventory turn in your category
- Managing overstocks
- Calculate stock needed for successful marketing campaigns (online and in stores)
- Build and maintain collaborative partnerships and communicate effectively with suppliers and internal team members
- Compiling and analysing reports on product performance. Recommending actions based on data reported.
- Collaborate with the CS team to prioritise customer needs & ensure a customer-centric approach

**What experience and skills you need for the role**

This role is best suited for an innovative, organised, problem-solver that is agile and resilient and displays the following skills:

- At least 3 years working in a Merchandise Planning role
- A high degree of numeracy and an analytical, detailed and strategic approach to work
- Excellent attention to detail
- Excellent Excel skills and knowledge of the google suite
- Strong business acumen and entrepreneurial thinking
- Strong affiliation to systems and utilising them to increase productivity in line with the Planning Strategy
- Good organisational, administrative and interpersonal skills
- Excellent communication and negotiation skills
- Enjoy working with people to resolve problems with a focus on finding workable solutions within often tight deadlines
- Driven by improving processes and finding new effective ways to do things
- Experience in a complex, data-driven, high-volume and fast-paced environment where agility is key
- General operational problem-solving experience

**Environment, Values, Pay & Benefits**
- Environment:_
- We aim to build retail experiences that are inviting, enjoyable and easy for the customer. We want our stores to reflect that
- Good coffee is a must and we make sure every store is well equipped for a relaxing coffee area
- Values:_

**People** - Kindness and respect for everyone

**Team** - Honouring each other's strengths makes us all stronger

**Excellence** - Our best work always, no matter who’s watching

**Integrity** - We’re the same all the way through

**Growth** - We aren’t content to stand still

**Fun** - We take the time to enjoy each other and what we do
- Pay and Benefits:_

We pay competitive, market-related salaries based on skills and experience. Your salary is based on a “Total Cost To Company” model and includes:

- Medical Aid Scheme (Discovery) contributions and Gap Cover
- Life, Death and Disability Insurance
- Retirement Annuity
- Employee Assistance program
- Staff Discount at all Yuppiechef and MRP Group stores
- 17 Days Paid Annual Leave increasing to 20 days with length of service.