Merchandise Planning Analyst (008-01362)

Looking for Philippines-based candidates

Job Role: Merchandise Planning Analyst

Compensation range: $1,500 AUD - $1,800 AUD / Monthly

Engagement type: Independent Contractor Agreement

Work Schedule: This role is expected to require roughly 30 hours per week. As a contractor, you’ll have flexibility in how you manage your schedule, but availability for occasional collaboration during AU business hours is preferred.

Who We Are: At Hunt St, we help Australian companies hire top remote talent in the Philippines. You will be hired directly by the client as an independent contractor. We are not an outsourcing agency. All of our roles are 100% remote so you'll be able to work from home.

Who The Client Is: We are a well-established Australian retail business specialising in products for babies, children and families. With a strong online and physical retail presence, the business is focused on delivering a high-quality customer experience through carefully selected products and knowledgeable service.

The team is collaborative and close-knit, with a strong focus on commercial performance, continuous improvement and finding smarter ways to work.

Role Overview: We are seeking an analytical and commercially minded Merchandise Planning Analyst to support the Merchandise and Planning function. This role will help optimise sales, margin, inventory and stock productivity by providing accurate analysis and practical planning support across range planning, forecasting, Open to Buy (OTB), replenishment, pricing and SKU lifecycle management.

Working closely with the Merchandise, Supply Chain, Finance, Ecommerce, Store and Supplier teams, you will help ensure Baby Village has the right products, in the right quantities, at the right time, while maintaining disciplined inventory investment.

This is an opportunity for someone who is not just a thinker or a doer, but both. The successful candidate will be comfortable working with data, questioning existing processes, identifying opportunities and taking ownership of actions with minimal supervision.

Key Responsibilities:

Range & SKU Lifecycle Management

• Support range selection with suppliers through sales, stock and performance analysis.
• Analyse customer demand, category performance and existing assortment to identify range gaps and opportunities.
• Create new SKUs accurately and within required timelines.
• Maintain accurate product and SKU master data across relevant business systems.
• Conduct regular aged and slow-moving stock reviews.
• Identify underperforming inventory and recommend actions to improve stock turn and reduce aged stock exposure.

Open to Buy, Forecasting & Inventory Planning

• Support the management and maintenance of the Open to Buy (OTB), providing visibility over committed and planned inventory spend.
• Monitor inventory investment against approved budgets and flag risks or variances.
• Maintain forward sales and inventory forecasts using historical performance, seasonality, promotional activity and known trading plans.
• Quantify forward and bulk order requirements to support stock availability while managing inventory risk.
• Support planning for key trading periods, promotions, launches and supplier opportunities.

Assortment Planning & Stock Optimisation

• Analyse sales, stock cover, sell-through and stock turn to identify replenishment and inventory opportunities.
• Support sales optimisation through appropriate minimum stock levels and inventory settings.
• Assist with space and assortment planning across stores and channels.
• Identify opportunities to improve stock productivity and availability across the network.
• Provide recommendations on inventory requirements by SKU, category and location.

Pricing & Cost Management

• Maintain and process supplier cost price changes accurately and within required timeframes.
• Assess the commercial impact of cost changes and escalate material margin impacts where required.
• Monitor Was/Now and promotional pricing to support compliance with Australian Consumer Law and Baby Village pricing requirements.
• Maintain accurate pricing and cost information within relevant systems.

Reporting & Analysis

• Prepare and run the weekly Monday merchandise and planning reports and distribute them to relevant stakeholders.
• Maintain accurate and timely reporting across sales, stock, margin, aged inventory and other agreed planning KPIs.
• Highlight material risks, opportunities and exceptions requiring action.
• Support ad hoc analysis for the Merchandise, Planning and broader business teams.
• Continually improve reporting processes to increase accuracy, efficiency and commercial usefulness.

Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Work closely with the Head of Merchandise and Merchandise team.
• Collaborate with Supply Chain and Technology, Finance and Ecommerce teams.
• Maintain effective working relationships with Store teams and Suppliers.
• Communicate proactively to ensure relevant stakeholders have the information required to make timely commercial decisions.

Required Skills and Qualifications:

• Previous experience in merchandise planning, allocation, buying administration or a similar retail analytical role.
• Experience within retail, ecommerce or consumer products is preferred, with Shopify experience highly regarded.
• Strong numerical and analytical capability.
• Intermediate to advanced Excel skills.
• Understanding of retail sales, stock, margin, sell-through and stock turn metrics.
• Exposure to Open to Buy (OTB), forecasting or inventory planning is highly regarded.
• Strong attention to detail and commitment to data accuracy.
• Ability to interpret data and translate analysis into practical recommendations.
• Strong organisational skills and the ability to manage recurring deadlines.
• Confident working collaboratively across multiple business functions.
• Able to work independently, take ownership and make sound judgment calls with light guidance.
• Demonstrates initiative and a willingness to question the brief, identify better ways of working and suggest improvements proactively.
• Reliable and diligent when working remotely, with strong follow-through and accountability.
• Proactive communicator who can build rapport and contribute positively to a close-knit team environment.
• Comfortable using AI tools to improve efficiency, productivity and the quality of work.

What Success Looks Like

Success in this role means providing the Merchandise team with accurate data, disciplined inventory planning and timely commercial insights that improve stock productivity and support profitable sales.

You will help Baby Village maintain appropriate inventory levels, identify range and stock opportunities early, manage inventory investment against plan and provide reliable reporting that enables faster and better commercial decisions.

Performance will be assessed against measures including:

• Inventory levels and stock turn.
• Aged and slow-moving stock performance.
• Stock availability across priority SKUs.
• OTB accuracy and adherence to inventory budgets.
• Forecast accuracy.
• Margin impact and accuracy of supplier cost changes.
• Accuracy and timeliness of SKU and master data.
• Pricing compliance.
• Accuracy and timeliness of weekly reporting.
• Identification and escalation of inventory risks and opportunities.

Work Arrangement & Expectations:

This is a remote role that may be set up as either an independent contractor engagement or via an Employer of Record (EOR), depending on client preferences and legal structure.

To ensure alignment and transparency, successful candidates will be expected to:

• Be available for meetings and collaboration during core [AEST or PHT] business hours
• Disclose any existing ongoing roles or client work
• Reflect this engagement on their LinkedIn profile (clearly marked as “Independent Contractor” if not employed via EOR