Planning Analyst (Contractor)

About the Role

We are seeking a highly organized, detail-oriented Planning Analyst (Contractor) to support our Supply Chain Planning team for a 6-month engagement. This role is designed to provide continuity and analytical support during a planned leave, with a focus on executing recurring planning processes and producing the reporting, analysis, and presentation materials that drive key business decisions. The ideal candidate is comfortable working independently within established frameworks, communicating clearly across functions, and can quickly get up to speed on existing tools and workflows.

This is a contract role with an anticipated contract duration of 6 months.

You’ll Make a Difference By

• Owning monthly S&OP prep end-to-end — pulling data, building fill rate and inventory health analyses, drafting the prep email and deck, and delivering materials on a fixed, non-negotiable cycle. 


• Supporting quarterly investment reviews and executive readouts by compiling planning data, building supporting analyses, and translating findings into presentation-ready materials — calibrating format and level of detail for the audience, from internal working documents to high-level leadership summaries.


• Building and maintaining formula-driven Excel planning tools — including tiering models, sell-thru curves, and supply-demand analyses — across large, multisource datasets; reconciling data from SAP exports, inventory reports, and sales files; and QA’ing formula integrity before any file is distributed. 


• Supporting planning analytics projects related to product sizing, assortment productivity, SKU-level forecasting, inventory health, fill rates, and category performance — pulling data, applying defined business rules, building models, and summarizing findings with clear methodology documentation. 


• Contributing to process improvement by documenting analytical workflows and assumptions clearly enough that deliverables can be refreshed, audited, or handed off without re-explaining the logic from scratch. 


• Collaborating cross-functionally with Planning, Merchandising, Supply Chain, and Finance to gather input, align on data, and support recurring and ad hoc analytical requests. 


• Assisting with other responsibilities based on business needs

About You

• 2–4 years of experience in supply chain, planning, merchandising, or data analysis; exposure to footwear, apparel, retail, or consumer products is a plus. 


• Advanced Excel skills required — comfortable auditing and rebuilding formula driven planning tools and QA’ing outputs before distribution, not just reading or entering data. Power Query or Power Pivot experience is a plus.


• Able to synthesize data into a clear business narrative and build visually compelling presentations — written commentary that frames findings for senior stakeholders, not just charts and numbers, calibrated for the right audience and level of detail.


• Able to translate ambiguous or evolving analytical requirements into a structured methodology, flagging tradeoffs and data limitations to stakeholders proactively rather than presenting a single black-box answer. 


• Comfortable working iteratively with a manager through multiple passes rather than expecting to deliver one final product upfront; escalates judgment calls rather than guessing.


• Familiar with retail/wholesale planning concepts — at-once vs. futures orders, seasonal planning cycles, S&OP processes — or able to ramp quickly with documentation support.


• Strong attention to detail and data quality instincts — checks work before sharing, catches errors, and validates output systematically. Organized and able to manage recurring deliverables on fixed cadences alongside shifting ad hoc priorities in a fast-paced environment.


• Strong written and verbal communication skills; able to present findings clearly to both technical and non-technical stakeholders and communicate data limitations and open questions in plain language.


• Experience working with SAP S/4HANA preferred. 


• Experience with Tableau preferred.   


• Comfortable using AI tools to accelerate analytical and communication tasks — drafting, summarizing, refining presentations, and speeding up recurring prep work. 

About Ariat

Ariat is an innovative, outdoor global brand with roots in equestrian performance. We develop high-quality footwear and apparel for people who ride, work, and play outdoors, and care about performance, quality, comfort, and style.

The hourly range for this position is $45.00 - $50.00 per hour.

The salary is determined by the education, experience, knowledge, skills, and abilities of the applicant, internal equity, and alignment with market data for geographic locations. Ariat in good faith believes that this posted compensation range is accurate for this role at this location at the time of this posting. This range may be modified in the future.

This contract position may be eligible for select benefits through the payrolling agency. Benefits may include medical, dental, and vision insurance options and 401k.

Ariat will consider qualified applicants, including those with criminal histories, in a manner consistent with state and local laws. Ariat is an Equal Opportunity Employer and considers applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, orientation, national origin, age, disability, genetics or any other basis protected under federal, state, or local law. Ariat is committed to providing reasonable accommodations to candidates with disabilities. If you need an accommodation during the application process, email [email protected].

Please see our Employment Candidate Privacy Policy at www.ariat.com/careers to learn more about how we collect, use, retain and disclose Personal Information.

Please note that Ariat does not accept unsolicited resumes from recruiters or employment agencies. In the absence of a signed Agreement, Ariat will not consider or agree to payment of any referral compensation or recruiter/agency placement fee. In the event a recruiter or agency submits a resume or candidate without a previously signed Agreement, Ariat explicitly reserves the right to pursue and hire those candidate(s) without any financial obligation to the recruiter or agency. Any unsolicited resumes, including those submitted directly to hiring managers, are deemed to be the property of Ariat.