With over 59 stores and the largest avocational cooking program in the US, Sur La Table offers an unsurpassed selection of exclusive and premium-quality goods for the kitchen and table – and the culinary expertise and inspiration to go along with it. Whether the job entails interacting with our customers, driving digital growth, or providing vital behind-the-scenes support, we’re all here for the same reason – to roll up our sleeves and create happiness through cooking and sharing good food.
The Director of Inventory Planning & Optimization is responsible for leading the enterprise inventory planning and merchandise control function across all channels, including stores and eCommerce. This role owns the design, execution, and continuous improvement of inventory planning, allocation, and replenishment strategies that support merchandising and marketing plans while maximizing sales, margin, and inventory productivity.
This leader will modernize planning processes through advanced analytics, financial modeling, and AI-enabled automation, ensuring inventory decisions are proactive, scalable, and aligned to business strategy. This role is accountable for scaling these capabilities across the Planning & Allocation function, in partnership with the VP of Planning & Allocation, ensuring modernization efforts are embedded into team workflows, decision-making, and operating cadence — not limited to individual execution. The role serves as a key partner to Merchandising, Allocation, Supply Chain, Marketing, Finance, and Technology teams.
This position will report to the VP, Planning/Allocation.
What you get to do:
- Inventory Strategy & Merchandise Control
- Own the centralized merchandise control function, including allocation and replenishment strategies across stores and digital channels.
- Design inventory strategies that support merchandising and marketing plans while balancing service levels, margin, and working capital.
- Establish and maintain inventory guidelines in coordination with the merchandise group.
- Provide high-level locational guidance to the Allocation team to ensure optimal in-stock position by store and channel.
- Ensure inventory levels support the business based on trend, forecast, and plan.
- Financial Planning, Forecasting & Risk Management
- Forecast sales, receipt flow, inventory, and margin projections to maximize sales and profitability while minimizing risk.
- Develop and establish annual and seasonal financial budgets by department, rolling up to company targets.
- Provide financial expertise and decision support to Buyers, including sales opportunities, gross margin liabilities, and marketing risks.
- Lead scenario modeling and risk/opportunity analysis related to demand volatility, supply constraints, and cost pressures.
- Process Improvement & Transformation
- Evaluate and analyze program effectiveness and make recommendations to improve inventory planning and merchandising processes.
- Design and implement scalable, standardized planning processes that reduce manual effort and improve decision quality.
- Lead continuous improvement initiatives across forecasting, allocation, replenishment, and in-season management.
- Establish clear planning cadences, governance, and KPI frameworks.
- Advanced Analytics, Modeling & AI Automation
- Lead the development and use of advanced analytical and financial models for demand forecasting, inventory optimization, and scenario planning.
- Own the roadmap for AI adoption across the Planning & Allocation organization, partnering with the VP of Planning & Allocation to drive functional transformation
- Ensure AI-enabled tools, models, and automation are standardized, adopted, and sustained across teams — moving beyond pilot use cases to embedded operating processes.
- Drive adoption of AI and automation to enhance forecasting accuracy, exception management, and replenishment decisioning.
- Translate complex data into clear, actionable insights for senior leadership.
- Partner with Technology and Analytics teams to influence planning system enhancements.
- Leadership & Cross-Functional Influence
- Serve as Team Leader for cross-functional initiatives, providing clear direction while managing multiple seasons simultaneously.
- Direct and develop inventory planning teams and internal support functions in execution of strategic initiatives.
- Partner with Marketing, Merchandising, and Supply Chain to align inventory plans with promotional and strategic priorities.
- Act as a thought leader within the merchandising organization, driving alignment between strategy and execution.
What you bring:
- 10+ years of progressive experience in inventory planning, merchandise planning, or supply chain analytics within retail.
- Deep expertise in forecasting, inventory control, allocation, and replenishment.
- Strong financial and analytical skills, including modeling and scenario analysis.
- Proven experience leading process improvement and transformation initiatives.
- Demonstrated ability to influence cross-functional partners and senior leadership.
- People leadership experience with a track record of developing high-performing teams.
- Experience with store-level localization strategies, including assortment differentiation, demand variability, and inventory optimization by store cluster, region, or customer profile.
What’s in it for you? Joining CSC Generation isn’t just about having a seat at the table—it’s about helping redesign the table entirely. You’ll be challenged, stretched, and supported as you grow faster than you thought possible. In addition to competitive compensation, we offer:
- Executive Access: Work directly with brand CEOs and senior leadership, solving real business problems and earning mentorship from top operators.
- AI-First Skill Building: Get hands-on with the most advanced AI tools in the market. From automation to prompt engineering, you’ll build a modern tech stack that sets you apart in any industry.
- Accelerated Career Path: High performers are quickly entrusted with greater responsibility, new challenges, and leadership opportunities across our portfolio of brands.
- Competitive benefits:Paid time off policies, 401(k)/RRSP match, medical/dental/vision and a variety of supplemental policies, and employee discounts at our portfolio companies.
Our interview process:
- 📞 Step 1: If you align with our vision and meet the qualifications, we’ll reach out to schedule a conversation and introduce CSC.
- 🧠 Step 2: You’ll complete a short AI or product-building challenge so we can understand how you approach problems and execution.
- 💬 Step 3: Participate in deep-dive interviews with CSC leadership focused on your experience, product mindset, and operational thinking.
- 📩 Step 4: Offer. We’ll move fast for the right candidate.
The CSC family of brands provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, provincial, state or local laws.
We may use artificial intelligence (AI) tools to support parts of the hiring process, such as reviewing applications, analyzing resumes, or assessing responses. These tools assist our recruitment team but do not replace human judgment. Final hiring decisions are ultimately made by humans. If you would like more information about how your data is processed, please contact us.
Washington state applicants only: If you believe that this job posting does not comply with applicable Washington state law, please notify us by sending an email to [email protected].
It is unlawful in Massachusetts to require or administer a lie-detector test as a condition of employment or continued employment. An employer who violates this law shall be subject to criminal penalties and civil liability.
The CSC family of brands is committed to providing reasonable accommodations for qualified individuals with disabilities in our job application procedures. If you need assistance or an accommodation due to a disability, please contact [email protected]. 