Job description
Reports To: Chief Commercial Officer
Location: Milwaukee, WI (Hybrid)
Employment Type: Full-Time, Salaried, Exempt
About Wantable
At Wantable, we’re redefining retail through personalization. Our membership-based model and proprietary technology empower us to curate products that help customers discover confidence and joy through style.
As a data-driven fashion company, we combine human intuition with algorithmic intelligence to deliver personalized assortments – balancing creativity, analytics, and operational precision.
We’re seeking a Senior Director of Inventory & Merchandise Planning to lead Wantable’s end-to-end planning strategy, driving forecasting accuracy, inventory optimization, and financial performance across our dynamic business.
About the Role
This is a senior leadership role that will shape how Wantable plans, forecasts, and allocates inventory to optimize both member experience and company performance. You’ll own the planning and OTB roadmap, building the strategies, tools, and partnerships that connect member demand with inventory flow.
You’ll also partner closely with Product Development to plan and forecast for private brands, ensuring new collections meet demand, margin, and lifecycle goals. The ideal candidate will balance strategic foresight and operational execution, driving measurable business impact through collaboration, analytics, and disciplined financial management.
What You’ll Do
Strategic Leadership & Vision
- Lead an integrated planning function that unites pre-season forecasting, in-season inventory management, and long-range financial planning.
- Own Wantable’s long-range merchandise and inventory planning strategy across all membership categories (Style, Active, Sleep & Body, Men’s).
- Drive an integrated approach to demand forecasting, inventory flow, and financial planning, linking top-line growth with operational efficiency.
- Partner with Data Science to evolve forecasting algorithms, allocation models, and member to-SKU matching logic to improve accuracy and agility.
- Build and maintain a robust planning infrastructure that ensures speed, scalability, and data integrity across teams.
Operational & Financial Leadership
- Oversee and optimize the company’s Open-to-Buy (OTB) process, balancing inventory investment, cash flow, and profitability.
- Build inventory productivity strategies that drive healthy stock levels, reduce liability, and improve working capital efficiency.
- Partner with Finance and Operations to translate business goals into actionable, measurable plans that support margin and inventory productivity targets.
- Drive a culture of accountability and data-based decision-making through transparent reporting and KPI ownership.
Membership & Allocation Strategy
- Develop and refine allocation frameworks that balance stylist recommendations, member preferences, and inventory availability.
- Use dynamic inputs (keep rates, returns, and feedback loops) to adjust allocations and inventory flow mid-cycle.
- Lead the strategy for multi-wave membership shipments, ensuring optimized product flow across cohorts, categories, and timeframes.
Private Brand & Product Development Partnership
- Partner with Product Development to plan and forecast for private brands, supporting Wantable’s strategic expansion into owned product.
- Translate seasonal assortments into financial and inventory plans that align with demand, margin, and flow targets.
- Build end-to-end planning processes that support new product launches, replenishment cycles, and end-of-life management for private brands.
- Collaborate cross-functionally to ensure sourcing, development, and inventory timelines are aligned with membership demand.
Team Leadership & Development
- Lead, coach, and develop a high-performing team of merchants, planners, allocators, and analysts.
- Foster a culture of curiosity, collaboration, and analytical rigor, empowering the team to deliver data-driven insights and actionable strategies.
- Define the future structure and capabilities of Wantable’s inventory planning and allocation function to support long-term growth.
Who You Are
- 10+ years of experience in merchandise or inventory planning within retail or apparel, including leadership of planning functions for complex, high-SKU businesses and experience supporting or managing private brand or owned-product initiatives.
- Proven success driving OTB ownership, inventory productivity, and margin performance in a fast-paced, data-driven environment.
- Deep expertise in retail math, financial planning, and inventory optimization.
- Advanced proficiency in Excel, Tableau, and enterprise planning systems (e.g., Anaplan, Oracle, NetSuite).
- Skilled in cross-functional leadership, building alignment among Merchandising, Product Development, Operations, and Finance.
- Experienced in planning for private brands or in-house product development.
- Strategic, analytical, and adaptable — able to zoom out to see the full business picture and zoom in to solve complex operational problems.
Why Join Wantable?
- You’ll lead a high-impact team that drives financial discipline, operational excellence, and member delight.
- You’ll shape Wantable’s inventory strategy, private brand growth, and financial planning frameworks at a critical stage of expansion.
- You’ll have the opportunity to leave a measurable imprint on the company’s growth and success.
Why Wantable?
- Be part of a dynamic, fast-growing company that has innovation and creativity embedded in its DNA.
- A chance to shape our customers’ journey and leave a lasting impact on their self-confidence, one order at a time.
- Join a collaborative environment where your ideas matter, your efforts are rewarded and you can see results in real time.
Wantable team members enjoy free food, coffee, and drinks in our HQ’s beautiful Wantable Cafe. We have a laid-back, casual environment in a state-of-the-art HQ in Walkers Point.
We offer flexible schedules, paid parental leave (mothers AND fathers), and a private room for nursing mothers.
Even more exciting: paid vacation and seven paid holidays per year, plus a 50% discount on all merchandise. You’ll be eligible for the discount on your first day.
Important, but maybe less thrilling: we have ample parking, we offer medical (traditional and high deductible), dental, and vision insurance, as well as a 401K (both pre-tax and Roth options).
