Manager_Merchandise Planning_Planning.Max.UAE_JAFZA_Max

Role Overview

Manager, Merchandise Planning at Landmark Group, located in JAFZA, UAE.

Company Overview

Landmark Group is a global retail and hospitality group founded in 1973, now one of the GCC's largest omnichannel retailers. The group operates over 2,200 retail stores, leisure, and hospitality outlets across the GCC, Middle East, India, Southeast Asia, and Africa. It is the creator of 25+ value-led, own-built brands including Max, Splash, Babyshop, Centrepoint, Shoemart, Homecentre, Emax, Fitness First, and Funcity.

Max Fashion is a prominent retail brand based in Dubai, part of Landmark Group, launched in 2004. It caters to value-conscious and fashion-savvy consumers, offering clothing and accessories for women, men, and children, along with footwear, accessories, toys, and home décor. The brand operates through stores and an omnichannel online shopping platform across the Middle East, GCC, India, and Southeast Asia.

Role Purpose

Assess existing business processes, reporting mechanisms, and systems to identify opportunities for improvement. Work closely with business and technology stakeholders to understand requirements, analyze data, evaluate feasibility, and recommend practical solutions that enhance efficiency and business performance.

Key Responsibilities

Requirement Elicitation & Analysis

• Work closely with business stakeholders to understand their needs, objectives, challenges, and pain points.
• Elicit, document, and analyze business requirements, processes, and workflows.
• Translate business requirements into clear and concise functional specifications.
• Identify gaps, dependencies, and opportunities for process improvement.

Solution Design

• Collaborate with development and technology teams to design solutions that effectively address business requirements.
• Propose innovative, practical, and scalable solutions to business challenges.
• Evaluate the feasibility and impact of proposed solutions.
• Ensure solutions are aligned with the organization's strategic objectives and technological capabilities.

Stakeholder Communication

• Act as a key liaison between business stakeholders and technology/development teams.
• Communicate complex technical concepts and data insights effectively to non-technical stakeholders.
• Present findings, recommendations, and project updates to relevant stakeholders.
• Facilitate discussions to ensure alignment between business requirements and proposed solutions.

Documentation & Reporting

• Create and maintain detailed documentation including Business Requirements Documents (BRDs), process flows, use cases, user stories, and functional specifications.
• Maintain accurate and up-to-date project documentation throughout the project lifecycle.
• Prepare business reports and dashboards to support decision-making.

Process Improvement

• Assess existing processes and reporting mechanisms to identify inefficiencies and gaps.
• Identify opportunities for process optimization, automation, and efficiency enhancement.
• Recommend improvements and support business teams in implementing agreed solutions.
• Monitor the effectiveness of implemented changes and identify further improvement opportunities.

Qualifications & Experience

• Hands-on experience with SQL for data extraction, analysis, and validation.
• Knowledge of Python for data analysis and automation.
• Strong understanding of data and ability to analyze large datasets.

Skills & Competencies

• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Good business acumen and understanding of business processes.
• Strong stakeholder management and collaboration skills.
• Excellent communication and presentation skills.
• Ability to assess feasibility and recommend practical solutions.
• Strong report preparation and data analysis skills.
• Ability to stay updated on latest business processes, tools, systems, and industry practices.
• Strong data-driven approach with the ability to derive meaningful insights from complex datasets.
• Strong proficiency in Advanced Excel.
• Ability to interpret data, identify trends and patterns, and convert insights into actionable business recommendations.
• Strong experience in reporting, data visualization, and analytical problem-solving.

Additional Information

The ideal candidate is highly analytical and data-driven, with a strong understanding of business processes and the ability to bridge the gap between business requirements and technology solutions. Comfort with handling data, preparing reports, identifying process gaps, and translating business needs into practical solutions is essential.