Jobs for People with MS: National MS Society

The Job

This Sr. Space Planning Analyst is responsible for maintenance and documentation of planograms to support Ace recommended assortments. Position is a collaborative role with Category Analysts, Merchandising, and Store Planning to ensure planograms are “retail-ready” upon publication.

What you’ll do:

• Responsible for the development of display standards that follow Category Management and Merchandising Strategies by engaging customers, stimulating sales and generating margins.

• In conjunction with the Category Management Analysts, develop POGs that follow fundamental retail strategies while challenging traditional methods. Constantly look for display methods that improve the model while maintaining the integrity of the POG set.

• Responsible for building POGs within our warehouse facility and model store. Responsible for documenting and publishing planograms, images, recommended quantities, all planogram & product attributes for use on ACENET, with Shelf Management Services, and in stores.

• Work cross functionally with Category Management, Merchandising, Retail Operations and Retail Development to ensure that the proper tools and training are developed to successfully support corporate initiatives.

• Stay current with the marketplace and understand how trends can impact Ace’s business approach. Store visits and seminar/trade show attendance calendar should be scheduled throughout the year to stimulate thought … i.e. “is there a better way?”

• Collaborate with the Category Management Analysts to analyze the performance of changes made. Understand the impact of the change, what has driven and contributed to success and use that information to improve the store model.

• Utilize JDA Space Planning to develop POG reporting, highlights, tables and tools that provide the Category Analyst with POG productivity data that will support their category insights.

• Communication and understanding of how and why we merchandise is key to our retailers, Field Staff and internal partners. The space planning analyst is expected to uphold these standards as well as effectively communicate them to key stakeholders.

• Provide ongoing maintenance of all planograms, ensuring accuracy of images, dimensions, fixtures and assortment updates.

What you will need:

Knowledge, Experience, and Competencies:

• Bachelor’s Degree with 5+ years of experience in Space Management

• Demonstrated understanding of industry trends at retail

• Demonstrated understanding of interior retail design, consumer behavior, product placement, margin recognition and fundamental merchandising techniques

• Strong Visual Merchandising skills with the flexibility to adapt to Shopper behavior variations across departments and categories.

• Ability to coordinate multiple projects simultaneously

• Ability to work cross-functionally among multiple departments

• Ability to work and think independently

• Ability to communicate effectively verbally and written to various levels of corporate and retail management (e.g., manager through VP and store associate through owner)

• Proficient in Microsoft Office applications (e.g., Outlook, Excel, PowerPoint, Word)

• Experience with JDA Space Planning and Category Knowledge base (CKB formerly IKB) modules required

• Experience with JDA Floor Planning and Assortment Optimization a plus

• Must be able to lift 30lbs

Compensation Details:

$85000 $106000 per year

Why should you join our team?

We live our values - W.E.L.I.G.H.T (Winning, Excellence, Love, Integrity, Gratitude, Humility, and Teamwork). Gratitude. Humility. Love. You don’t often see values like these in most corporate statements, but Ace is different. These things are important to us. They represent our commitment to the company, our employees, to Ace retailers and to the Ace brand.

In addition to providing our employees a great culture, Ace also offers competitive benefits* that address life’s necessities and perks, many of which expand and improve year after year, including:

• Incentive opportunities, based on role/grade level (rapid company growth over the past 5 years resulted in incentives being paid out at an average of 122% of your target opportunity!)

• Generous 401(k) retirement savings plan with a fully vested matching contribution the first year in addition to quarterly contributions and annual discretionary contribution (once eligibility requirements have been met). Over the past 5 years, company contributions (matching, quarterly & discretionary) for fully eligible employees have averaged 9.6% of total eligible compensation

• Comprehensive health coverage (medical, dental, vision and disability – up to 26 weeks short-term disability and long-term disability) & life insurance benefits for you and your dependents

• 21 days of vacation immediately available (prorated in the first year) and up to 6 paid holidays depending on the month of hire

• Company Car, phone and fuel card are provided for field-based positions

• Your career at Ace is more than just a job. It’s a chance to be part of something meaningful. We help locally-owned businesses thrive and make an impact in their communities – and we support our employees in doing the same by offering an annual Ace Cares Week, 20 hours off work per year to volunteer at an organization of your choice, opportunities to help Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals and the Ace Helpful Fund through the Ace Foundation

• Ace invests in every employee we hire, with a key focus on development and coaching. We offer on-site classes, facilitator-led courses, and a generous tuition assistance program, plus a performance management approach that goes beyond the typical annual review

• We know the work environment matters. That’s why Ace holds frequent campus events like Employee Appreciation Week, vendor demos, cookouts, and merchandise sales

• We bring them to you! Services such as mobile spas, auto maintenance, car wash and detailing, dry cleaning, dentists, eye doctors, flu shots, recycling and more!

• Employee discounts on Ace merchandise (including top brands like Weber, Traeger, Yeti, Craftsman, DeWalt and more), travel, fitness, computers and thousands more

• Birth/Adoption bonding paid time off

• Adoption cost reimbursement

• Employee Assistance Program (EAP) – access to free visits to therapists and lawyers, guidance on financial matters, elder and childcare, and assistance with tickets to entertainment events

• Identity theft protection

* Benefits are provided in compliance with applicable policies.

We want to hear from you!

When most people think of career opportunities with Ace Hardware, they often think of the helpful cashiers and sales associates at their local store. However, have you also considered the people behind the scenes who select, promote, ship and process the invoices for more than 75,000 products? Maybe you haven't, but we'd like you to. Because together we help our customers take care of their homes. Come find out why a career with the Ace Hardware Corporation is one of America's best kept secrets.

Equal Opportunity Employer

Ace Hardware Corporation is committed to a policy of promoting equal employment opportunities. The company recognizes the importance of diversity and leveraging the skills and talents of all people to the mutual advantage of each individual and the organization. The company is committed to the prevention of employment discrimination related to race, religion, color, sex (including sexual harassment), gender identity, national origin, age, marital status, disability and military or veteran status, sexual orientation or any other action covered by federal or applicable state/local laws.

Disclaimer

The pay range for this position starts as listed in the job posting, but could be higher based on education and experience. Please note, compensation decisions are dependent on the facts and circumstances of each opening. We take into consideration the minimum requirements outlined in the job description, such as an individual’s education, training and experience, the position’s work location, required travel (if any), and external market conditions when determining the final salary for potential new hires.

Be aware that salary estimates published via alternate online job boards may not be a true representation of the actual pay range offered for this position. Please refer to the Ace position description for the accurate starting pay range information and feel free to discuss this with a Talent Acquisition professional if you are chosen to move forward with an interview.

This written “Position Description” is not intended to cover all aspects of the position listed. It is meant to cover the basic/general essential job functions of a particular position. Ace Hardware Corporation reserves the right to change job duties, including essential job functions, according to business necessity.

Ace Hardware is the largest retailer-owned hardware cooperative in the world with over 5,800 locally owned and operated hardware stores in approximately 60 countries. Headquartered in Oak Brook, Ill., Ace and its subsidiaries operate an expansive network of distribution centers in the U.S. and have distribution capabilities in Ningbo, China; and Cuautitlán Izcalli, Mexico. Since 1924, Ace has become a part of local communities around the world and known as the place with the helpful hardware folks. For more information, visit acehardware.com or newsroom.acehardware.com.