Senior Manager - Business Planning & Commercials - Category Footwear

The role will have end-to-end responsibility for footwear business planning, production planning, commercial governance, factory capacity planning, vendor management, merchandising coordination, tooling planning, and delivery performance across the India business. The footwear business is increasingly dependent on an optimal combination of imports and local manufacturing to meet changing business, compliance, quality, cost, and availability requirements. In this environment, the role will be responsible for developing a clear understanding of current and future production capacity, identifying potential supply constraints, and proactively aligning production plans with business requirements. The position will work closely with Category, Merchandising, Planning, Sourcing, Finance, Supply Chain, Quality, Product Development, Operations, and manufacturing partners to ensure that the business has the right product, at the right cost, in the right quantity and at the right time. The ideal candidate should bring strong footwear industry experience, commercial acumen, analytical capability and a strong understanding of production planning, factory operations, vendor management, and business planning. Designation: Senior Manager Department: Category – Footwear Function: Business Planning & Commercials Location: Delhi Reports To: Director – Category (Footwear) Experience: 12+ Years Qualification: FDDI / NIFT preferred; Post-Graduation in Footwear, Business Planning, Supply Chain, Production Planning, Merchandising or a related discipline preferred Key Responsibilities 1. Business Planning & Commercial Governance Drive the overall business planning for the Footwear Category across India, ensuring alignment with business strategy, channel requirements, and financial objectives. Develop and maintain the annual, seasonal, and monthly footwear business plans in alignment with category and channel requirements. Understand the business dynamics and commercial requirements across Retail, MBO, Distribution, E-commerce, and other relevant channels. Translate sales plans and business requirements into actionable buying, production, and supply plans. Drive OTB planning and governance, ensuring that all buying decisions are aligned with approved budgets, business plans, and commercial objectives. Ensure appropriate approvals are obtained before commitments or buys are placed. Define and govern the Annual Footwear Buy Plan, including import and local production requirements. Monitor business performance against planned buys, sales, inventory, margin, and cost objectives. Partner with Finance and Category teams to ensure alignment between business plans and financial targets. Identify commercial risks and opportunities and provide timely recommendations to the leadership team. 2. Margin, COGS & Commercial Management Drive governance of agreed Gross Margin (GM%) deliverables for the Footwear business.