Director of Inventory Planning

Ernesta•New York, NY

8d•$170,000 - $190,000•Hybrid

About The Position

Ernesta is building a new kind of rug company—focused on beautiful custom rugs delivered with speed, transparency, and exceptional customer experience. As a fast-growing startup in the home category, we’re building modern systems and processes that allow us to scale thoughtfully while maintaining a high bar for product quality and service. We’re looking for an experienced Inventory Planning Lead to build and own our inventory planning function. This person will establish the frameworks, processes, and tools that guide how we plan purchases, manage inventory investment, and scale our operations as the business grows. This is a high-impact, foundational role reporting directly to the CFO. You will play a key role in shaping how Ernesta manages inventory and working capital while partnering closely with leadership, merchandising, and our external manufacturing partners.

Requirements

6-8+ years of experience in inventory planning, merchandise planning, or demand planning within a retail or consumer brand
Deep understanding of forecasting inputs, inventory planning frameworks, and purchasing strategy
Experience planning inventory around supplier lead times and production schedules
Highly analytical with the ability to translate data into clear decisions and action
Comfortable building new processes and systems in a fast-moving startup environment
Strong collaborator able to work cross-functionally with leadership, demand planning, and external vendors

Nice To Haves

Experience in home goods, furniture, rugs, textiles, or similar categories
Experience building or formalizing inventory planning processes at a growing company
Familiarity with ERP or inventory planning systems (NetSuite or similar)

Responsibilities

Build Ernesta’s inventory planning function
Design and implement the company’s inventory planning framework, including inventory targets, replenishment strategy, stocking model and purchasing cadence (managing monthly open to buy process)
Establish scalable processes, reporting, and tools that bring structure and visibility to inventory management as the business grows
Develop planning models that inform purchasing decisions and help optimize inventory investment and working capital
Translate demand signals into purchasing strategy
Partner closely with Ernesta’s demand team to translate demand forecasts into inventory plans and purchasing recommendations
Define inventory targets and purchasing quantities across our product portfolio
Work with the CFO to align inventory investment with company financial goals and growth plans
Establish guidelines for reorder timing, buy depth, and inventory coverage to ensure the right inventory is available at the right time
Work directly with manufacturing partners
Collaborate with vendors to align production planning with expected demand and inventory targets
Manage purchasing cadence and production timelines while accounting for product-specific lead times and manufacturing constraints
Proactively identify supply risks or constraints and recommend solutions to maintain product availability
Drive data-driven decision making
Establish and track key inventory metrics such as inventory turns, weeks of supply, stockouts, and forecast accuracy
Analyze trends and performance to improve planning accuracy and inventory efficiency
Provide clear insights to leadership that support better operational and financial decision-making
Own, execute and scale the function
Serve as Ernesta’s internal expert on inventory planning and purchasing strategy
Build structure and clarity around how inventory decisions are made across the company
Execute on purchasing strategy through PO placement, vendor outreach and in-stock management
Over time, help scale the planning function as the business grows