Universal Orlando Resort · 5 hours ago
Manager, Strategic Planning – UK Project (2-Year Project Hire)
Orlando, FL
Full-time
Onsite
Senior Level
7+ years expUniversal Orlando Resort is seeking a Strategic Planning Manager for a 2-year project focused on launching a new UK park retail business. The role involves leading long-range planning and analytics to build a scalable merchandise planning framework, ensuring alignment across various functions and optimizing revenue and inventory management.
Entertainment
Responsibilities
Develop long-range merchandise planning scenarios for new projects, grounded in consumer insights, brand affinity, and category performance expectations, to optimize revenue, item productivity and refresh rates, while enabling innovation and cross-functional initiatives
Build and implement new merchandise planning tools, procedures, and reporting frameworks to support scalable business growth
Support budget and Open-to-Buy (OTB) development, helping establish baseline metrics for the UK park’s year-one sales and inventory targets
Develop forecasting models, planning templates, and dashboards to evaluate product performance, space planning, and inventory optimization. Monitor item-level productivity (sell-thru, margin) and make recommendations to optimize assortment, pricing and inventory flow
Partner closely with Category Management, Consumer Insights, Finance, Operations, and Supply Chain to ensure cohesive planning strategies across all park initiatives
Partner with IT and Global Planning teams to ensure planning, reporting, and inventory management systems are correctly configured for the UK location
Leverage consumer research and trend analysis to guide assortment breadth, pricing architecture, and key category focus areas
Track milestones, document decisions, and prepare executive updates on planning progress, risks, and dependencies related to launch readiness
Coordinate with global sourcing and logistics partners to ensure alignment on supply timelines, vendor setup, and UK compliance requirements
Understands and actively participates in Environmental, Health & Safety responsibilities by following established UO policy, procedures, training and team member involvement activities
Performs other duties as assigned
Qualification
Required
Bachelor's degree in Business, Finance, Retail Management, or related field
7+ years of experience in merchandise planning, strategy, or retail operations
Proven experience leading cross-functional initiatives or new market entries
Knowledge of global supply chain processes, vendor management, and import logistics
Strategic thinker with the ability to translate data into actionable insights
Collaborative innovator focused on building scalable, future-proof solutions
Passion for theme park or entertainment retail and understanding of consumer experience-driven environments
Comfortable working in dynamic, fast-paced environments with evolving strategic priorities
Preferred
MBA
Benefits
Competitive compensation package
Company
Universal Orlando Resort
For years, we’ve been creating a legacy of unforgettable experiences for our Guests.
10001+ employees
H1B Sponsorship
Universal Orlando Resort has a track record of offering H1B sponsorships. Please note that this does not
guarantee sponsorship for this specific role. Below presents additional info for your
reference. (Data Powered by US Department of Labor)
Distribution of Different Job Fields Receiving Sponsorship
Represents job field similar to this job
Trends of Total Sponsorships
2025 (8)
2024 (8)
2023 (5)
2022 (5)
2021 (2)
2020 (2)
Funding
Current Stage
Late StageLeadership Team
Tracey Stockwell
CFO
Bobby B. Belzeski
Human Resources Business Partner
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