Director, Merchandise Finance

Overview

The organization is seeking a Director, Merchandise Finance to oversee inventory investment strategy and governance. This role sets the financial guardrails for how the enterprise invests in inventory, serves as the standing finance voice on the Merchandise Planning Committee (MPC), and owns the financial architecture of the open-to-buy (OTB) process.

You will ensure inventory commitments are affordable, reconcile to the merchandise financial plan and corporate forecast, and are supported by clear return on investment. This position builds the inventory investment envelope by category and establishes thresholds for margin, turn, weeks-of-supply, carrying costs, and working capital, providing executive-level insight into inventory productivity, financial risk, and opportunity.

This role is primarily remote and operates in a corporate or home-office environment, with occasional travel up to 20%. The typical schedule is Monday through Friday, with periodic extended hours during month-end close, annual planning, forecasting, and MPC cycles.

Responsibilities

• Lead financial governance for inventory investment, including OTB mechanics and OTB-to-P&L reconciliation
• Build and manage the inventory investment envelope by category
• Establish and monitor financial guardrails, including:
  • Approval thresholds
  • Exception protocols
  • Financial control mechanisms tied to receipt commitments
• Own reconciliation of receipt commitments to the merchandise financial plan and corporate forecast
• Drive monthly close analysis related to merchandise financial performance
• Provide executive-level insight into inventory productivity, financial risk, and opportunity
• Translate complex financial analysis into clear recommendations for senior leadership
• Partner with Merchandising, Merchandise Planning, Assortment Planning, Pricing, Supply Chain, IT, and senior leadership
• Develop and scale the merchandise finance team
• Lead cross-functional projects and process improvements across multiple teams and external partners
• Support inventory investment governance processes and continuously improve OTB/inventory planning approaches

Requirements (Minimum Qualifications)

• Bachelor’s degree in Finance, Accounting, Economics, or a related field
• 8+ years of progressive experience in FP&A, merchandise finance, or merchandise planning, including required retail experience
• 3+ years of people-management experience, with demonstrated success developing talent and scaling team capability
• Demonstrated ownership of inventory investment governance, open-to-buy, or a comparable financial control process in a retail environment
• Experience leading cross-functional business projects and designing new or improved processes involving multiple teams and external partners
• Proven ability to present to and influence senior and executive management
• Ability to work calmly in a fast-paced environment while managing concurrent workstreams and deadlines
• Must be at least 18 years old to be considered for employment

Preferred Qualifications

• MBA or CPA
• 10+ years of experience and a combination of public- and private-company experience
• Experience in furniture, home goods, or another big-ticket or considered-purchase retail category where inventory carrying cost and cube are material
• Experience in an omnichannel retail environment and supporting a merchandising organization through significant transformation
• Experience designing or significantly improving an OTB or inventory governance process
• Familiarity with merchandise planning or OTB systems such as Blue Yonder, o9, Oracle Retail, Logility, or SAP
• Experience with enterprise planning tools such as Anaplan, Hyperion, or similar platforms
• Proficiency with SQL and data visualization tools such as Power BI, Tableau, or Looker
• Experience contributing to Board-level or investor-facing presentations, with strong executive presence and ability to lead change

Compensation & Benefits

Base pay (not including potential commissions, incentive, bonus, etc.):

• 150–175k base salary + 20% bonus target

Benefits & perks include:

• Competitive Medical, Dental, and Vision Insurance
• Generous paid time off, including vacation, personal days, sick leave, holidays, and your birthday!
• 401(k) Profit Sharing Plan with a generous company match
• Pet Insurance and employer-paid Life Insurance options
• Professional Development: Tuition reimbursement, on-demand learning, and career progression pathways
• Employee Discount starting on Day 1, plus exclusive partner discounts

Physical Demands

• Ability to sit for extended periods and work at a computer
• Ability to operate a computer and other office equipment
• Ability to identify, assess, and observe detail, and to see, hear, and speak regularly
• Ability to squat, kneel, bend, and twist occasionally

Skills & Competencies

• Retail merchandise finance expertise, including OTB mechanics; inventory productivity; inventory turn; GMROI; weeks of supply; carrying cost; working capital; and return on inventory investment
• Inventory investment governance, including establishment and management of investment envelopes, financial guardrails, approval thresholds, exception protocols, and OTB-to-P&L reconciliation
• Margin and financial planning expertise, including markup, landed cost, markdowns, realized merchandise margin, annual budgeting, rolling forecasts, and monthly close analysis
• Financial modeling and analytics with advanced Excel and driver-based modeling; ability to validate and transform patterns in large, complex datasets
• Commercial judgment and constructive challenge to assess proposed buys and quantify financial consequences
• Executive influence and communication to translate analysis into recommendations
• Cross-functional leadership to align Merchandising, Planning, Pricing, Supply Chain, Finance, and technology partners around a single, traceable financial view
• People leadership and change management to develop team capability and lead through ambiguity
• Strong execution and organization to balance detailed analysis and enterprise strategy while meeting multiple deadlines