IT PLANNING SYSTEM SENIOR BUSINESS ANALYST

The primary responsibility of the Planning Systems Analyst is to manage the maintenance of the organization's planning systems. Additional responsibilities would include supporting the allocation system, creation of standard operating procedures, business process definition, data analysis and reporting.

The individual in this role will work collaboratively with the end user community, implementation partners, and other IT resources to identify system deficiencies and opportunities for business process enhancements.

The IT Planning System Senior Business Analyst reports to the Chief Information Officer. 

Responsibilities:

• Serve as IT Subject Matter Expert (SME) for the Planning & Allocation systems.
• Perform As-Is assessment and gap analysis on existing system functionality, business processes and reporting capabilities and make recommendations for improvements
• Lead the business users at different levels of the organization in design and requirements gathering sessions
• Create business requirements documentation and translate business requirements to system functional designs.
• Lead the implementation of the Planning and Allocation solutions, perform user acceptance tests and provide the functional support to users
• Perform hands-on support of Planning & Allocation applications and trouble shoot production issues when needed as the lead technical resource for the Planning team
• Perform Planning & Allocation system administrator duties
• Collaborate with end users to ensure all planning modules and related business processes meet the business needs
• Ensure that consistent business practices are used throughout the company to maintain the integrity of the Planning & Allocation system
• Create project documentation; design documents, standard operating procedures & test scripts
• Work with implementation partners and Enterprise Data Architect to identify, design and test system interfaces into and out of the Planning environment
• Assist the Planning team and Executive management with the development of ad hoc projects and data analysis as requested
• Responsible for creating training materials for end users, and provide end user training when necessary
• Maintain strong knowledge of the various system integration points and take a lead role in troubleshooting integration issues
• Test upgrades/bug fixes as necessary
• Stay abreast of new software releases and new solutions
• Identify and resolve ERP & Allocation system issues that impact the Planning environment
• Support the product and store hierarchies in the ERP system
• Assist the Planning team in the creation and support of alternate hierarchies in the planning solutions
• Assist the Planning team in the creation of an Open to Buy plan and support the actualization of the Open to Buy plan in season
• Explore and recommend solutions and work-around options for business requirements and issues in timely manner

Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Management of Information Technology, Mathematics or equivalent experience
• Minimum 3 to 5 years of relevant work experience with Planning and Allocation systems in a Fashion Apparel company
• Understands the difference between Merchandise Financial Planning, Store Planning, Demand Planning and Assortment Planning
• Understands Retail, Wholesale and Financial business practices
• Hands-on experience with Microsoft Dynamics or comparable Enterprise Resource Planning systems
• Hands-on experience with Planning and Allocation Systems (JDA, TXT, Oracle, Just Enough, etc.)
• Hands-on experience supporting Open to Buy planning and actualization
• Ability to resolve a wide range of issues in creative ways and demonstrates good judgment in selecting techniques for obtaining solutions
• Ability to participate in a variety of project activities as well as plan and organize own work
• Anticipates needs and takes initiative to address challenges
• Presents information in an understandable and compelling manner
• Ability to breakdown high-level information into details
• Strong attention to detail while balancing the need for simplicity and hitting project milestones
• Ability to engage with internal and external resources
• Experience with multiple Planning approaches (top down planning, bottom up planning, use of alternate hierarchies, clustering, size curves, etc.)
• Understanding of how product and store hierarchies evolve with business growth and how this will impact Planning systems.
• Strong time-management, organizational, interpersonal and communication skills
• Attention to detail and strong analytical skills are critical
• Must be proactive and take ownership of deliverables and consistently meet deadlines
• Must be conscious of data security and risk management (position is privy to sensitive and confidential information)
• Proven history of rapid, independent learning and application of new technologies
• Highly motivated and able to function both independently and as a member of a cross-functional team
• Ability to develop collaborative partnerships across the organization to achieve results
• Exceptional interpersonal and communication skills and demonstrated expertise in writing and presentation.
• Ability to handle multiple projects simultaneously in a dynamic, deadline-oriented environment, and make key decisions in a timely manner