Merchandising Planning Manager

We offer Hybrid Working (featuring all the essentials - fancy drinks fridge, striped walls and furry friends in abundance) along with remote working from home, depending on business requirements.

We’re looking for a commercially savvy, highly organised Merchandise Planning Manager to build and own our merchandising planning function from the ground up. This is a standalone role and a brilliant opportunity for someone who loves creating structure, improving ways of working and turning data into clear commercial action. You’ll be the brain behind the numbers that power our stock planning – ensuring we have the right products, in the right place, at the right time – while sitting between Sales, Marketing, Operations, Product and Finance to forecast demand across D2C and wholesale channels globally, build planning tools and rhythms, and help shape how Dock & Bay plans for growth. The role will sit within the Operations team and report to our Head of Operations and Customer Experience.

Responsibilities

• Build and shape Dock & Bay’s merchandise planning function from the ground up, creating the tools, rhythms and processes needed to support global growth.
• Build and own rolling demand forecasts across all products and regions (D2C and wholesale, globally).
• Create our first WSSI or equivalent planning tool, helping us connect sales forecasts, stock levels, intake, margin and trading decisions in one clear view.
• Establish best‑practice planning frameworks across forecasting, WSSI, stock intake, range planning and in‑season trading.
• Own the end‑to‑end planning calendar, ensuring key trading moments, launches, campaigns and seasonal peaks are planned with the right stock, timing and commercial insight.
• Create clear reporting and dashboards that give the business visibility of sales, stock, margin, intake, risks and opportunities.
• Help define the key planning metrics we should be using as a business, including sell‑through, stock cover, availability, margin, markdowns and forecast accuracy.
• Help the business understand the margin impact of promotions / new products/campaigns.
• Lead the business towards a more structured, data‑led approach to planning, helping teams make better commercial decisions with confidence.
• Act as the go‑to expert for merchandising planning, bringing clarity, challenge and recommendations to Sales, Marketing, Product, Operations and Finance.
• Spot gaps in current ways of working and design simple, scalable processes that improve forecast accuracy, stock availability and inventory efficiency.
• Build strong cross‑functional relationships to ensure product, marketing, wholesale and D2C plans are aligned before decisions are made.
• Take ownership of planning improvements that reduce stock‑outs, overstocks and margin leakage while supporting profitable growth.
• Identify the biggest gaps in our current planning processes and recommend practical ways to improve forecast accuracy, stock availability and inventory efficiency.

Required Experience

• 4 + years’ experience in demand planning, merchandising, or forecasting, ideally in FMCG, retail or consumer goods.
• Strong analytical skills and Excel/Google Sheets wizardry, bonus points for experience with forecasting tools.
• A clear communicator who can turn data into insight (and not just charts for the sake of it).
• Highly organised, detail‑driven and proactive, you notice the 1% that others miss.
• Able to balance commercial instinct with data‑led thinking.
• Comfortable working with ambiguity and solving problems as they come.
• Passionate about sustainability and excited to be part of a fast‑growing brand with purpose.

Benefits

• Hybrid working and remote working from home, depending on business requirements.
• Cycle to Work scheme.
• Tech scheme.
• Wellbeing membership.
• Private health insurance.
• Regular team socials.
• Dock & Bay products to show off to friends and family.

Equality and Diversity

Dock & Bay is an equal opportunity employer and we are committed to creating a diverse & inclusive environment free from any kind of discrimination. We strive to provide all employees with a safe space to thrive, where they can share ideas & opinions regardless of their backgrounds or perspectives. Although we are not perfect, we continue to learn and our commitment to Diversity and Inclusion is a priority. Ultimately, our goal is to be diverse and inclusive at every level of our workforce. We are a welcoming team and encourage you to be yourself so that we can work together to make an impact.