Job Title: Buying & Planning Manager

Reports To: Director of Operations

Job Type: Full time

Location: Culver City, CA - Hybrid (in-office days a week required)

Status: Exempt

Date: January 2027

Parks Project is a purpose-driven lifestyle brand that connects people to the beauty of national parks through unique apparel and accessories. We are passionate about preserving and protecting our natural landscapes, and our mission is to fund and support vital projects in national parks across the country. With a strong commitment to environmental stewardship and community engagement, Parks Project is at the forefront of the intersection between commerce and conservation.

Parks Project is seeking a Planner / Buyer to lead merchandise planning, inventory investment, and in-line buying across our business channels (DTC, Wholesale, Retail). This role owns OTB, forecasting, replenishment, and markdown recommendations, translating product strategy and sales goals into smart inventory decisions. Working cross-functionally with Product, Operations, Sales, and Finance, the ideal candidate is analytical, commercially minded, and skilled at using data to drive sales, margin, and inventory productivity in a fast-paced, autonomous environment.

Core Responsilbilities

Merchandise Planning & Forecasting

• Own monthly Open-to-Buy (OTB) planning for assigned categories and business areas, balancing sales, inventory, receipts, margin, and investment targets.
• Build and maintain SKU-level sales, inventory, and receipt forecasts and ladder plans across seasonal, core, and replenishment products.
• Incorporate historical performance, seasonality, trends, product lifecycle, promotions, lead times, MOQs, and channel demand into planning assumptions.
• Lead monthly OTB reviews, communicate business risks and opportunities, and recommend actions to improve sales and inventory productivity.

In-Line Buying & Replenishment

• Own in-line inventory investment decisions and quarterly buys across new, reorder, and replenishment items based on performance, demand, inventory position, and business priorities.
• Manage Always On and bi-weekly chase programs, identifying reorder opportunities and adjusting buys to maintain availability of core and high-performing products.
• Evaluate product performance and recommend actions—including additional buys, order adjustments, inventory reallocation, and promotional support—to address over- and under-performing styles.
• Partner with Merchandising to align buys with assortment strategy, and evaluate opportunistic purchases, SMUs, collaborations, and special projects.

Pre-Production & Buy Handoff

• Finalize and validate approved buys before handoff to Operations, ensuring accurate quantities by SKU, size, color, and channel.
• Confirm size breaks, product costs, vendor information, and investment assumptions before purchase order creation.

Chase Blanks & Core Replenishment

• Own chase blank inventory planning at the style, color, and size level to ensure sufficient availability for factory replenishment of core products.
• Maintain and reconcile chase files using vendor inventory data, tracking available and incoming blanks and proactively identifying shortages.
• Partner with Product to maintain appropriate core offerings and determine replenishment needs based on sales, inventory, forecasts, lead times, and in-line and in-park demand.

Reporting & Business Analysis

• Own recurring merchandise planning and performance reporting across SKU, category, and channel levels.
• Analyze sales, inventory, sell-through, receipts, weeks of supply, returns, and forecast accuracy to identify trends and performance opportunities.

Markdown & Inventory Productivity

• Monitor aged inventory, sell-through, and inventory positions to identify products requiring action.
• Develop and present markdown recommendations based on inventory age, demand, seasonality, and margin considerations.

Qualifications

• 3+ years of experience in merchand