Job Description

Reporting to the Chief Merchandising Officer, the Sr. Director of Planning & Allocation leads enterprise merchandise planning, allocation, replenishment, and inventory management strategy to ensure the right product is in the right place at the right time across all channels. This role owns the planning and allocation operating model and is responsible for driving sales, margin, inventory productivity, and profitable growth through disciplined financial planning, inventory management, forecasting, allocation, and replenishment strategies. The Sr. Director develops and executes annual, seasonal, and in-season merchandise plans; optimizes inventory investments; improves forecasting accuracy; and ensures effective allocation and replenishment practices that support customer demand, store productivity, and omnichannel growth. This leader partners closely with Merchandising, Finance, Supply Chain, Store Operations, Ecommerce, Analytics, and the Sr. Director of Merchandising Operations to align inventory strategies, systems, reporting, and operational processes that enable scalable growth and exceptional execution.

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
• Support the “Cavender’s Culture” and drive our Mission, Vision, and Values.
• Lead the end-to-end Planning & Allocation function across footwear and apparel, including annual, seasonal, monthly, weekly, and in-season planning processes.
• In partnership with the Chief Merchandising Officer, own sales, margin, inventory, receipt, open-to-buy, and inventory investment plans by division, category, and channel.
• Develop and execute enterprise replenishment strategies that optimize in-stock performance while balancing inventory productivity, profitability, and customer demand
• Establish allocation, replenishment, store clustering, localization, and size curve strategies that align inventory placement with customer purchasing patterns and regional market needs.
• Partner closely with Divisional Merchandise Managers and category leaders to support assortment strategies, line reviews, inventory investments, and in-season business decisions.
• Drive forecasting accuracy through trend analysis, scenario planning, demand forecasting, risk identification, and opportunity assessment.
• Lead inventory lifecycle management activities, including replenishment optimization, inventory balancing, markdown forecasting, aged inventory management, and inventory exit strategies.
• Collaborate with Finance to develop annual budgets, inventory investment strategies, long-range plans, and financial forecasts.
• Partner with Supply Chain and Distribution teams to optimize inventory flow, replenishment execution, allocation timing, and inventory availability across all channels.
• Establish planning calendars, governance processes, business review routines, and performance management frameworks across the organization.
• Develop and monitor key performance indicators, dashboards, and reporting that measure sales performance, inventory productivity, inventory turns, GMROI, sell-through, weeks of supply, replenishment effectiveness, and profitability.
• Lead inventory planning and allocation strategies supporting new store openings, remodels, relocations, and omnichannel growth initiatives.
• Provide executive leadership with actionable recommendations regarding sales opportunities, inventory risks, replenishment needs, margin performance, and inventory investments.
• Partner closely with the Sr. Director of Merchandising Operations to improve planning systems, allocation tools, reporting capabilities, data governance, and process efficiency while ensuring business requirements are effectively supported by technology solutions
• Champion continuous improvement initiatives that enhance planning accuracy, inventory productivity, allocation effectiveness, replenishment performance, and overall operational efficiency.
• Foster collaboration across Merchandising, Ecommerce, Supply Chain, Finance, Analytics, and Store Operations to drive alignment and business results.

QUALIFICATIONS AND REQUIREMENTS
• Bachelor's degree required; Master's degree preferred.
• 12+ years of progressive retail merchandise planning, allocation, and replenishment experience.
• 5+ years of leadership experience managing managers and building high-performing teams in a multi-unit retail environment.
• Deep expertise in merchandise financial planning, open-to-buy management, forecasting, allocation, replenishment, inventory optimization, and inventory flow management.
• Strong understanding of retail inventory productivity metrics, including GMROI, inventory turns, sell-through, weeks of supply, fill rates, and in-stock performance.
• Demonstrated success leading planning and allocation functions within a specialty retail environment.
• Proven ability to influence cross-functional stakeholders and align teams around data-driven business decisions.
• Strong analytical and financial acumen with advanced Excel skills and experience utilizing retail planning and reporting tools.
• Experience presenting business performance, inventory strategies, and financial recommendations to executive leadership.
• Demonstrated success building scalable planning, allocation, replenishment, and inventory management processes in a growing retail organization.
• Proven ability to balance long-term strategic planning with fast-paced in-season decision-making.

PREFERRED SKILLS
• Footwear and apparel planning experience, including size curve management, attribute-level planning, and seasonal assortment planning.
• Omnichannel planning experience supporting both stores and ecommerce.
• Experience supporting rapid store growth, new store openings, relocations, or remodels.
• Experience with retail planning, allocation, replenishment, and forecasting systems.
• Strong partnership experience working with Merchandising Operations, Information Technology, and Analytics teams.
• Strategic mindset with a demonstrated ability to drive organizational change and continuous improvement.
• Experience in specialty retail, western wear, apparel, footwear, or related retail sectors.

Cavender’s is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We do not discriminate based on race, religion, color, military status, national origin, sex, ancestry, age, sexual orientation, pregnancy, disability, genetic information, or any other personal characteristic protected under federal, state, or local law.
Cavender’s will provide reasonable accommodations for persons with a disability upon request. If you have a disability and need assistance completing the application, please call Customer Service at (888) 361 – 2555 or visit your nearest Cavender’s store.