Job Description

Hours: 4 mornings/week (MonThu, 9am1pm UK)
Contract Type: Permanent parttime (longterm retained contractor)
Location: Remote, South Africa (UKtime aligned)
Rate: Marketaligned monthly retainer (guideline remains flexible; tell us your expectation)
About Yvonne Ellen
Were a playful, premium British homeware brand sold by John Lewis, Next, Macys, Yuppiechef, and partners in 10+ markets. Were scaling from 1M to 2M while protecting margin and service. Your mission: plan the business with us, right stock, right timing, right channel, so we grow faster without discounting our brand value.
Why this role matters
Youll be the commercial heartbeat between Finance, Ops, and Marketing. You forecast, trade, and coursecorrect weekly. You guard margin, keep availability high, and make sure promos and launches are set up for profit, not just volume.
What youll own
Forecasting & Financial Planning

• Build seasonal demand forecasts; run monthly reforecasts with Finance.
• Translate trade into orders: core topups, newness phasing, FBA/FOB plans.
• Track category performance weekly; protect profitability across CM1/CM2/CM3.

Stock & Assortment

• Maintain the master assortment across UK D2C (Shopify), Amazon (UK/US), Faire, and Macys.
• Manage lifecycle: launches, bundles, slowmover actions, retirements.
• Spot risk early (coverage, aged stock, stockouts) and act.

Margins, Discounts & Cost Control

• Own pricing grids, discount ladders, and bundling logic by channel.
• Measure promo impact on margin and operating cost; adjust quickly.
• Monitor logistics spend with Ops; keep cost-to-serve in line with plan.

Trading, Reporting & Insight

• Run a tight weekly trade: sales, ROS, coverage, exceptions.
• Lead the monthly merchandising pack for the finance review.
• Feed the Directors Dashboard; contribute to quarterly board planning.

Team & Launch Readiness

• Support junior ecomms/marketing coordinators on promo readiness.
• Ensure creative, listings, and stock are prepped before each launch.
• Be the calm, commercial voice in a fast, creative business.

What good looks like (your scorecard qualitative)

• High onsite availability for core assortment and hero SKUs.
• Disciplined stock coverage with minimal stockouts.
• Sales tracking to plan with healthy, protected margins.
• Thoughtful discounting that preserves brand and unit economics.
• Logistics costs held in line with agreed budgets.
• A planned, profitable promotion rhythm each month.
• Ontime, insightled reporting with clear actions.

Tools youll touch
Shopify, Amazon Seller Central (FBM/FBA), Faire, Globale, iFulfilment & Blade (3PL), Google Sheets/Excel (advanced).
(Fathom removed as requested.)
Youll thrive here if you have

• 5+ years in merchandise planning / demand planning (retail/ecommerce).
• A proven track record trading a multichannel assortment.
• Advanced Excel/Sheets (lookups, pivots, scenario modelling).
• Clear communication, calm under pressure, and a bias for action.
• Bonus: Shopify/Amazon/Faire exposure; mentoring junior contributors.

How we work (cadence)

• Weekly: Trade review + actions.
• Monthly: Merchandising pack in week 3 (submitted with your invoice).
• Quarterly: Strategic review (11.5 hrs) to reset priorities.

To apply (what to send)
1. A onepage case study: how you improved availability and margin while growing sales.
2. A sample of your forecast/trade model (redact data if needed, show structure).
3. Your 90day plan for YE (how youd stabilise, trade, then optimise).
Your retainer expectation and earliest start.
Email vidhya@yvonneellen.com with subject: Senior Merchandise Planner Your Name.
Experience: 5+ years in merchandise/demand planning for retail or e-commerce, trading multi-channel assortments.
Education: Bachelors degree in Commerce/Finance/Supply Chain (or equivalent experience with a strong, proven track record).
Analytics & tools: Advanced Google Sheets/Excel (lookups, pivots, scenario modelling); confident with Google Workspace.
Commerce platforms: Working knowledge of at least one of Shopify, Amazon Seller Central (FBA/FBM), Faire or similar marketplace tools.
Financial fluency: Comfortable with margin maths (CM1/CM2/CM3), pricing grids, discount ladders, and cost-to-serve concepts.
Reporting cadence: Able to run weekly trade reviews and produce a monthly merchandising pack with clear actions.
Language: Excellent English (written & spoken) with crisp, commercial communication.
Work setup: Reliable remote workstation and internet; available MonThu, 9am1pm UK (South Africa, UK-time aligned).
Collaboration: Proven experience partnering with Finance, Ops, and Marketing to plan stock and launches.
Right to contract: Based in South Africa and able to invoice as a long-term retained contractor.

Skills Required