Manager, Inventory Management

**Serving the needs of all families with young children,**Carter’s Inc. is the largest North American apparel retailer exclusively for babies and young children, encompassing Carter’s, OshKosh B’gosh, Skip*Hop and Little Planet brands. Meaningful work, constant learning, genuine people, and a community guided by core values that promote inclusion and innovation is in everything we do. There are many reasons to build your career at Carter's.

How you’ll make an impact:

The Manager, Inventory Management is responsible for managing, coaching, and developing a team of Analysts responsible for successfully optimizing inventory across all stages of the product lifecycle for stores and eCommerce to support strategic initiatives, as well as sales, margin, and inventory turn goals. This role reports into the VP & GM of Carter’s, and is based in our Atlanta, GA office. Key responsibilities include:

Inventory Team Management (50%):

• Lead a team of Analysts to execute and support Retail Inventory objectives pre-season and in-season

• In-season:

• Ensure the successful execution of inventory strategies and allocations each week

• Partner with buying and planning teams to ensure inventory levels are appropriate to support in-stock expectations, sales builds and promotional cadence

• Provide support to the team related to ad hoc analysis, field callouts, and inventory sharing opportunities

• Pre-season:

• Gain alignment with cross functional teams related to inventory strategy objectives/changes

• Support the buy process by defining inventory strategies, providing guidance on unit depth, in-stock opportunities, inventory flow adjustments and size curve changes to optimize productivity

• Ensure accurate execution of Purchase Order writing to support accurate receipts

Omni Inventory Management (20%):

• Manage inventory initiatives/changes from start to finish as a business lead

• Analyze store and eCommerce inventory and provide recommendations on how to shape strategies and improve retail inventory quality

• Produce and present regular reports on inventory health, allocation actions, and key performance indicators (in-stock rate, weeks of supply, aged inventory, etc.) to leadership.

• Find opportunities in existing processes and use advanced analytics and/or visualization tools build user-friendly reports to solve business needs that optimize for improved sales, margin, in-stocks & turn

Team Development (30%):

• Provide guidance, mentorship, and training to a team of inventory management professionals

• Encourage critical thinking to promote strategic decision making and problem-solving

• Foster a collaborative and results-oriented work environment

We’d Love to hear from you if:

Must have:

• 5+ years of experience in Retail (Buying, Planning, Allocations), Inventory Management or a related field

• Demonstrated management skills with a development-first mindset

• Strong communication – proven ability to lead courageously – speak proactively, offer new ideas, take calculated risks, and support positive change

• Proficient in developing strong relationships (collaboration) with all levels of the business

• Analytical / genuine curiosity - ability to evaluate financial and business indicators and translate data into actionable information to drive results

• Strong critical thinking, operational planning, and business curiosity with the ability to work in a complex cross functional environment

• Experience in diagnosing, isolating and resolving complex issues

• Creative and customer focused; ability to develop practical yet innovative solutions

Preferred skills and experience:

• Retail experience and/or knowledge of buy and replenishment systems is a plus

• Proficient in Microsoft Excel (Pivot tables, Xlookups, etc)

• Tableau experience is a plus

Carters is committed to creating a diverse environment and is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, genetics, disability, age, veteran status, or any other status protected by federal, state, or local law.