Director, Merchandising Planning & Analysis

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Director, Merchandising Planning & Analysis

senior · Other

We are UMG, the Universal Music Group. We are the world’s leading music company. In everything we do, we are committed to artistry, innovation and entrepreneurship. We own and operate a broad array of businesses engaged in recorded music, music publishing, merchandising, and audiovisual content in more than 60 countries. We identify and develop recording artists and songwriters, and we produce, distribute and promote the most critically acclaimed and commercially successful music to delight and entertain fans around the world.
 

Famehouse, a division of UMG, is the preeminent leader in merchandise & D2C solutions in music, defining & delivering the industry’s best-in-class service to connect artists with their fans. Established & headquartered in Philly, Famehouse powers merch and D2C for UMG’s labels, artists, and Bravado. Our success & culture is fueled by collaboration—both within FH and with our partners. We are passionate about the impact of D2C & merchandise for artists, providing a full-service solution to grow an artist’s owned business including strategy, creative, merchandising, fulfillment, customer service, technology, and more.

How we LEAD:

The Director will be responsible for establishing planning frameworks, driving financial rigor across line plans and product portfolios, and enabling data-informed decision making across Direct-to-Consumer, U.S. Retail, International Retail, and Tour channels.

This role requires a strong combination of financial acumen, merchandising understanding, product finance expertise, analytical rigor, and cross-functional leadership.

How you'll CREATE:

• Establish scalable planning frameworks that improve forecast accuracy and drive revenue, margin, inventory, and profitability performance.
• Enable data-driven merchandising and product decisions through reporting, insights, financial analysis, and scenario planning.
• Serve as a key strategic partner to Finance, Merchandising, and Product teams, ensuring alignment on targets, assumptions, investments, risks, and opportunities.
• Bring structure and visibility to the merchandising business through consistent processes, integrated planning, and performance tracking.
• Connect product creation and assortment strategies to financial goals, ensuring product decisions support sustainable, profitable growth.
• Own top-down financial planning across channels while partnering closely with channel planning teams to connect top-down targets with bottom-up plans.

Financial Planning & Forecasting

• Partner with the VP of Product Merchandising and Finance to develop revenue forecasts, margin targets, inventory plans, and financial plans across artists, categories, and channels.
• Own and manage forecasting processes, including Open-to-Buy planning, demand forecasting, scenario modeling, and multi-season operating plans.
• Support pre-season financial target-setting for revenue, margin, inventory, and profitability across DTC, U.S. Retail, International Retail, and Tour channels.
• Monitor performance against plan, identifying risks and opportunities and driving corrective actions.
• Support long-range planning, annual budgeting, and ongoing FP&A processes.
• Partner with Finance to provide clear visibility into forecast assumptions, investment needs, margin drivers, and financial trade-offs.

Product Finance, Profitability & Portfolio Management

• Act as a strategic thought partner linking the product creation and merchandising process to the company’s financial goals.
• Develop holistic analyses of the end-to-end financial impact of product lines, including costing, pricing, margin performance, inventory investment, and assortment productivity.
• Evaluate product portfolio performance across artists, categories, and channels, identifying opportunities to optimize assortment mix, profitability, and marketplace inventory health.
• Assess cross-category and cross-channel trade-offs to support high-impact product investments and drive sustainable growth.
• Partner with Merchandising, Production, Supply Chain, and Finance to evaluate product economics, including cost structure, margin opportunities, and inventory risk.
• Provide recommendations to optimize product investments, pricing architecture, inventory allocation, and profitability across the global merchandise portfolio.

Line Plan & Assortment Analytics

• Partner with Merchandising to ensure line plans are grounded in financial targets, consumer demand, and performance expectations.
• Analyze assortment productivity, pricing architecture, category performance, and margin performance across categories and channels.
• Provide recommendations to optimize assortment mix, pricing, inventory allocation, and product lifecycle decisions.
• Support pre-season and in-season planning decisions through data, financial modeling, and analysis.
• Help ensure product assortments balance creative ambition, consumer demand, financial targets, and operational feasibility.

Data, Reporting & Insights

• Build and maintain standardized reporting frameworks and dashboards across DTC, retail, international, and tour channels.
• Track and communicate key performance indicators, including revenue, margin, sell-through, inventory health, profitability, demand trends, and forecast accuracy.
• Deliver actionable insights based on sales data, consumer behavior, product performance, and market trends.
• Partner with analytics, finance, and data teams to enhance reporting capabilities, planning tools, and financial visibility.
• Translate complex financial and product performance data into clear narratives for senior leaders and cross-functional partners.

Cross-Functional Partnership

• Serve as the primary liaison between Merchandising and Finance, ensuring alignment on assumptions, targets, investments, risks, and performance.
• Collaborate with Supply Chain, Production, Retail, DTC, International, and Tour teams to align inventory, demand planning, costing, and financial expectations.
• Partner with Merchandising and Product teams to align creative and commercial product strategies with financial objectives.
• Support business reviews, providing clear narratives on performance, forward-looking risks, opportunities, and recommended actions.
• Influence decision-making across cross-functional teams by providing clear financial analysis, strategic context, and actionable recommendations.

Process & Planning Excellence

• Establish and standardize planning processes, tools, and templates across the merchandising organization.
• Drive consistency in line planning inputs, financial assumptions, product investment criteria, and reporting methodologies.
• Improve speed, accuracy, and transparency of planning across a growing global business.
• Create an integrated planning model that connects top-down financial targets with bottom-up channel, assortment, and product plans.
• Build processes that improve visibility into product profitability, inventory investment, forecast accuracy, and business performance.

Bring your VIBE:

• 8–12+ years of experience in merchandise planning, financial planning & analysis, product finance, strategic finance, retail finance, analytics, or related functions within retail, fashion, consumer products, music, entertainment, or global brands.
• Strong financial acumen, including forecasting, margin analysis, inventory planning, demand planning, budgeting, and profitability analysis.
• Experience working closely with merchandising, product, finance, supply chain, and channel teams in a cross-functional environment.
• Experience connecting product or assortment strategies to financial targets and business performance.
• Strong understanding of merchandise planning, line planning, pricing, costing, assortment productivity, and inventory investment.
• Advanced analytical skills with proficiency in Excel and data tools such as Tableau, Looker, Power BI, or similar platforms.
• Strong financial modeling, scenario planning, and data analysis capabilities.
• Ability to translate complex financial, product, and performance data into clear, actionable insights for non-finance stakeholders and senior leaders.
• Strong communication, influence, and stakeholder management skills.
• Experience building or improving planning processes, tools, systems, and operating cadences.
• Ability to navigate ambiguity, balance creative and commercial priorities, and drive alignment in a fast-paced, evolving business.
• Bachelor’s degree in Finance, Accounting, Business Administration, Economics, Merchandising, or related field preferred; MBA or advanced degree a plus.

Perks Playlist:

Join an entrepreneurial, global organization where authenticity, boldness, creativity, connection, drive, and insight aren’t just values—they’re how we work every day. Here are some of the ways we support you along the way (and just a few of the benefits we offer):

• Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision coverage

• Including 100% coverage for out-patient in-network mental health services

• Fertility coverage for eligible medical plan participants

• Wellbeing reimbursements for fitness classes, spa treatments, meal services, travel, and so much more (up to $720/year)

• Student Loan Repayment Assistance and Tuition Reimbursement

• 401(k) with 100% immediate vesting on the first 5% of your contributions, plus an additional UMG contribution

A variety of ways to prioritize much-needed time away from work including:

• Flexible Paid Time Off (PTO) for exempt employees

• 3-weeks PTO for non-exempt employees

• 2-weeks paid Winter Break

• 10 Company Holidays (including Juneteenth and Wellbeing Day)

• Summer Fridays (between Memorial Day and Labor Day)

• Generous paid parental leave for every type of parent

Check out our full overview of benefits on the Perks Playlist page of the career site.

Disclaimer: This job description only provides an overview of job responsibilities that are subject to change.

Universal Music Group is an Equal Opportunity Employer

We are an E-Verify employer in Alabama, Arizona, Georgia, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Utah.

Please note, UMG is not enrolled in E-Verify in California and New York, and cannot support employment of candidates whose employer must enroll in E-Verify, for example candidates on STEM-OPT.

For more information, please click on the following links.

E-Verify Participation Poster: English / Spanish

E-Verify Right to Work Poster: English | Spanish

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Salary Range:

The actual base salary offered depends on a variety of factors, which may include, as applicable, the qualifications of the individual applicant for the position, years of relevant experience, specific and unique skills, level of education attained, certifications or other professional licenses held, and the location in which the applicant lives and/or from which they will be performing the job.  All candidates are encouraged to apply.