IT Director of Merchandise Planning & Product Development Systems

Location: Hingham, Massachusetts US

Notice

This position is no longer open.

Job Number: 7004

Position Title: Dir Merchandise Planning & Product Development Systems

External Description:

The Director, Merchandising and Planning Systems is responsible for the strategy, design, engineering, administration and day-to-day support of Talbot’s production and non-production Merchandising applications like Enterprise Planning, Assortment Planning/Buy Plan, Clustering, Allocation, Forecasting / Replenishment, Product Information Management, PLM, and Merchandising analytics. This individual will collaborate with the Merchandise Planning and Operations business teams to understand business goals and objectives define system requirements and develop solutions that meet and / or exceed expectations of our business partners.  In addition, the Director will work closely with the Supply Chain teams for end-to-end Planning and Execution of the Supply Chain projects while playing a key role in visioning future state of product development and sourcing solutions.

The individual must be able to effectively troubleshoot application and technical operation issues, communicate root cause analysis results and recommend improvements for the Merchandising applications. In addition, he/she needs to work with the internal infrastructure / operations team to establish a baseline of service level agreements (SLAs) to measure the overall availability and stability of Merchandising Systems. Individual should be comfortable working with minimal direction for extended periods, as well as assisting other team members to accomplish project success.  Assignments may vary from well-defined, long-term projects to ad-hoc work requests urgent to business success. 

 REQUIRED JOB SKILLS

  • Change and Transformation: Strategizes and influences organization design, requirements definition, benefits management, implementation, and project management.
  • Delivery and Operation:  Strategizes and influences resource management, release deployment, and service level agreements.
  • Development and Implementation:  Strategizes and influences system design, development testing, tools, and methods.
  • Quality Management:  Strategizes and influences quality assurance and management.
  • Relationships and Engagement:  Strategizes and influences contract management and relationship management.
  • Strategy and Architecture: Strategizes and influences risk management, process improvements, capacity planning, architecture, innovation, governance, financial management, and strategy and planning.
  • Talent Management:  Strategizes and influences performance management and professional development.

 

PRINCIPAL DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES (*Essential Functions)

 

  • The Director, Merchandising and Planning Systems is responsible for leading teams that provide 24x7 operational support for Merchandising related systems of JDA, SAP and Manhattan Associates.
  • The Director uses his/her organizational and leadership skills to provide direction to the Merchandising IT team as it relates to the design, development and implementation of the Merchandising system solutions.
  • Collaborate with IT Infrastructure and Operations to ensure the technical infrastructure including Network / Telecommunications, Server Platforms, Middleware and Storage supports Merchandising system SLAs
  • Collaborate with IT Quality Assurance to develop functional and technical testing to fully validate Merchandising systems meet business and performance requirements
  • Participate in Disaster Recovery capability planning and execution, as necessary
  • Collaborate on the integration of physical and application architecture through close teamwork with software engineers, application developers and operations teams
  • Negotiates pricing, terms and conditions and technical requirements with vendors
  • Initiates and manages triage of production stability incidents, communicates status reports verbally and in written form
  • Working with IT colleagues as appropriate to develop a solution that strikes an optimal balance between performance, customer service, and cost management.
  • Uses a broad knowledge of the Retail business and technical system applications to ensure the integrity, stability and systems availability to our customer base.
  • Builds effective teams through coaching, mentoring and career planning.
  • Develops cross-functional partnerships. Supports and upholds the integrity of ongoing methodology and approach for new systems

 

POSITION QUALIFICATIONS

  • Minimum 10 years of IT leadership experience in application design and engineering, platform design, including management experience
  • Candidates in this role need to have 5-7 years’ experience Implementing / Supporting Retail Merchandising centric applications like JDA Enterprise Planning, Manhattan Associates, and ERPs.
  • 7-10 years’ experience leading technology teams in a complex Retail environment
  • 7-10 years participating in delivering technology projects in a complex Retail Environment.
  • Excellent analysis/troubleshooting skills, strong partnering/relationship building skills
  • Knowledge of working with SaaS / Cloud Computing solutions and ability to manage 3rd party providers to deliver maximum success
  • Excellent communication skills; feels comfortable working patiently with non-technical business partners
  • Able to solve complex problems efficiently and with minimal assistance
  • Possess a strong work ethic; takes pride in producing a quality product
  • Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, or equivalent professional experience

 

WORKING CONDITIONS

  • Fast-paced, dynamic environment with new tasks changing daily/weekly
  • Support off-hours production issues and code deployments as needed
  • Working onsite at corporate headquarters
  • Minimal travel required

City:

State:

Community / Marketing Title: IT Director of Merchandise Planning & Product Development Systems

Company Profile:

Talbots is a leading omni-channel specialty retailer of women's clothing, shoes and accessories. Established in 1947, the company is known for modern classic style that's both timeless and timely, fine quality craftsmanship and gracious service. At Talbots relationships are the key to our business, we hire individuals who bring new ideas to the table, understand smart risk taking and  can enhance an already thriving culture.  With a commitment to offer modern classic style for every body type, through a  full range of sizes, inclusive to every woman in your life.

EEO Employer Verbiage:

Talbots is an equal opportunity employer and welcomes applications from diverse candidates. Hiring decisions are based upon a candidate's qualifications as they relate to the requirements of the position under consideration and are made without regard to race, sex, national origin, color, age, disability, veteran status, pregnancy, sexual orientation, religion, or any other category protected by applicable law. Talbots is committed to providing reasonable accommodations for job applicants with disabilities. If you require an accommodation to perform the essential duties of the position you are seeking or to participate in the application process please contact recruiting@talbots.com. Talbots will make reasonable accommodations for otherwise qualified applicants or employees, unless such accommodations would impose an undue hardship on the operations of the Company’s business.

PositionType_Description: Full Time

Location_formattedLocationLong: Hingham, Massachusetts US

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