Calvin Klein Planning Director

About Calvin Klein

Calvin Klein is a globally influential American fashion house founded in New York in 1968, celebrated for its refined minimalism, modern sensuality, and cultural impact across apparel, underwear, denim, fragrance, and lifestyle categories. As an employer, the brand offers a dynamic environment where design intelligence, commercial agility, and inclusive storytelling converge. Its teams contribute to a legacy shaped by bold imagery, disciplined simplicity, and a distinctly urban point of view. Calvin Klein seeks talent eager to challenge convention, understand contemporary consumers, and build resonant brand experiences within an international organization committed to creativity, collaboration, and responsible growth.

Calvin Klein is hiring a Planning Director to lead strategic merchandise financial planning, forecasting, inventory and margin optimization, buy reviews, allocation partnerships, and development of the planning team. The role requires a bachelor’s degree, 5–7 years of merchandise planning experience, and 7–10 years of total work experience; it is full-time and bonus- and equity-eligible.

Role & Responsibilities

• Develop, execute, and communicate strategic merchandise financial plans that support company financial, product, and marketing objectives and annual goals.
• Drive top-line financial plans from divisional through department and category levels; manage the business to maximize sales and margin and optimize inventory.
• Develop and contribute to brand initiatives, ensuring planning activities support annual goals.
• Develop sales, gross margin, and inventory plans at division, department, and class levels in support of profit objectives; collaborate with planning direct reports and merchandising to align financial objectives with product opportunities.
• Lead the planning and merchandising team in using historical data and current trends to capitalize on opportunities and identify risks; communicate insights to merchandising, finance, marketing, visual, and brand leaders.
• Develop, train, and lead the planning team.
• Partner daily with allocation to ensure product strategies are executed at store level.
• Partner with Production on projections and buy pass-offs.
• Review weekly forecasts, category opportunities and risks, markdown recommendations, and inventory reflow with planners; base decisions on historical data and current trends and gather information for global action plans.
• Present action points to senior management and build consensus on the business approach.
• Manage seasonal liabilities, inventory by source, and divisional delivery performance; guide planners in managing liabilities and pursuing opportunities.
• Partner daily with Allocation on allocation strategies.
• Review historical category- and key-item-level performance with the planning team; validate analysis by source, delivery, and category with merchants to assess prior performance and establish future goals.
• Create pre-season divisional and departmental plans to support line development.
• Set sales, margin, flow, and IMU goals before planning each delivery; reconcile top-down and bottom-up forecasts before passing receipts to the merchant organization.
• Participate in buy reviews with merchants, planners, and allocators to ensure appropriate assortment breadth and depth and effective execution; work with lead merchants to align plans with product goals.
• Lead and facilitate buy-finalization meetings with merchants; review pre-season plans for new assortments and identify product, flow, and presentation risks and opportunities.
• Create a dynamic team environment that encourages collaboration and creativity within the business unit and across brands.
• Lead the planning team in executing company objectives and current and future business plans; provide clear direction at all levels and manage details as appropriate.
• Identify top talent and strengthen the organization’s talent pipeline to support succession planning.
• Train, develop, and manage direct reports in support of succession planning initiatives and provide them with consistent, timely feedback.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree.
• Minimum 5–7 years of merchandise planning experience and 7–10 years of total work experience.
• Experience presenting and recommending strategies and building a business case.
• Experience driving business performance beyond company plans.
• Experience leading and developing a team of at least 3 direct reports.
• Experience with strategic forecasting for a multidimensional business.
• Experience successfully assuming additional areas of accountability.
• Experience influencing and negotiating at a variety of levels.
• Well-developed written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to present complex material in an organized and compelling manner.
• Proficiency in planning and allocation systems and advanced Microsoft Windows applications.
• Flexibility to respond to changing business needs while meeting deadlines.
• Resourcefulness and creativity in developing systems and procedures for evolving business needs; ability to manage multiple tasks efficiently, meet deadlines, and find solutions to demanding business requirements.
• Eligible to work without sponsorship; the position is not eligible for sponsorship.

Skills

Experience

Minimum 5–7 years of merchandise planning experience; 7–10 years of total work experience.

Education

Bachelor’s degree.

Workplace

Compensation

The base compensation for this position ranges from USD 147,500 to USD 199,200 per annum.

Benefits

Bonus and equity eligibility; medical, vision, dental, life, and disability insurance; above-market 401(k) contribution; company-paid holidays; paid time off; hybrid working arrangements; volunteer opportunities; seasonal hours and flexible schedules; Headspace membership; fitness membership and/or digital meditation subscription reimbursement; up to $200 annually in rewards for exercise and healthy activities; Care.com services for childcare, elder care, adoption preparation, and pet care, plus backup-care reimbursement; tuition reimbursement and continued-education support; associate discounts at company outlets and e-commerce sites.

Culture

Calvin Klein fosters a modern, inclusive workplace culture shaped by bold creativity, confident self-expression, and a global fashion perspective. As an employer, the brand encourages collaboration across disciplines, empowers teams to challenge conventions, and maintains a fast-paced environment where innovation and cultural relevance are central to its identity.

About Cerulean

Cerulean is the definitive career portal for the global luxury industry. We match exceptional professionals with exclusive opportunities at the world's most prestigious brands. From haute couture and fine watchmaking to prestige beauty, hospitality, and boutique retail, Cerulean centralises luxury employment to help you find the career for which you were destined.