Data Analyst, Merchandise Planning

Company Description

SSENSE, pronounced [es-uhns], is a Montreal-based fashion platform with global reach. Founded in 2003, SSENSE is pacing the vanguard of directional retail with a mix of luxury, streetwear, and avant-garde labels. We produce industry-leading original content and take pride in building our own technology solutions and systems from scratch. Our field of focus has grown beyond that of a typical e-commerce entity as we explore the nexus of content, commerce, and culture.

Currently serving 150 countries, generating an average of 76 million monthly page views, and achieving high double digit annual growth since inception, SSENSE is becoming a cultural protagonist in its own right.

Job Description

Reporting to the Manager of Merchandise Planning Analytics, the Data Analyst will help shape the future of business intelligence at SSENSE by designing the next-gen ETL processes connected to (and from) the vast array of spreadsheet tools used by Merchandising. Working collaboratively with the Data Engineering and Data Science teams, the Data Analyst will develop an optimal set of data flows, tools and other interfaces to facilitate the consumption of historical data, competitive data and predictive models available to the business. The successful candidate is able to champion business intelligence best practices across departments, to derive valuable business insights from large and complex data structures, and to lead efficient change management activities with multiple stakeholders.

Responsibilities 

Analytics & Insights - 40% 

• Develop a deep understanding of the business, its data, and patterns
• Translate complex analytical results into actionable innovative business initiatives
• Extract data from multiple sources to uncover optimization opportunities or detect issues
• Develop robust Tableau dashboards to extract value from historical data, competitive data and predictive models
• Socialize and transfer expertise to the Merchandise Planners and Buyers by providing data visualization and insights as needed
• Design and implement accessible, high-impact visualizations that clearly communicate results to the Merchandising Team
• Support in facilitating the emergence of a deeper understanding of the factors influencing season performance
• Assess the competitive landscape and gather intelligence to drive insights for the Merchandising team
• Lead analysis on ad-hoc projects

Design & Development - 40% 

• Proactively recommend improvements to the tools and platforms in place, resulting in efficient decision making 
• Collaborate with the Merchandise Planners and Buyers to scope requirements for new features
• Maintain a roadmap of all ongoing improvements to the data flows
• Identify and create business cases for changes in processes and tools to the Manager, Merchandise Planning Analytics 
• Size the impacts of flagship projects on the departmental data sources and reports
• Support in the creation and implementation of  new guidelines and procedures to streamline Planning and Buying activities
• Work iteratively with stakeholders to refine initial concepts and prototypes on small to mid sized projects 
• Be a superuser and facilitator of user acceptance testing on the Planning Team
• Contribute to the business intelligence body of knowledge, including process diagrams and business continuity plans
• Stay on top of emerging tools and technologies to provide informed recommendations around industry best practices

Operations Support - 20% 

• Work collaboratively across the organization with Data Engineers, Data Scientists, and business users, to support on maintaining the ETL processes, the tools and other business interfaces (ex. dashboards)
• Log and investigate issues reported by the Planners in a timely manner resulting in resolutions 
• Monitor data consistency across all merchandising tools and report on discrepancies and well as timely follow up
• Support with continuous training for the Merchandising Team on the functionalities of Tableau, Google Sheets and Apps Script

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Computer Science, Mathematics or Business Intelligence
• A minimum of 3 years experience in analytics with a focus on driving business impact
• Excellent knowledge of Tableau, SQL, Google Sheets or Excel, Apps Script or VBA
• Comprehensive knowledge of an ETL tool (Tableau Prep or SAS)
• Knowledge of statistical computing (R) and web analytics (Google Analytics), an asset
• Knowledge of merchandise planning and corporate finance, an asset
• Strong communication skills in French and English 

Skills 

• Highly analytical
• Attention to detail and accuracy
• Ability to summarize and communicate key insights
• Proficient in developing dashboards
• Capacity to synthesize and present complex information to stakeholders at various levels of the organization
• Excellent presentation skills
• Strong ability to collaborate
• Comfortable in navigating ambiguity
• Ownership and accountability mindset
• Inquisitive nature and eager to learn and expand knowledge base
• Willingness to contribute to areas beyond immediate scope of work
• Ability to explain complicated analytical concepts in simple terms
• Interest or knowledge of the luxury fashion industry (brands, designers, customers)