Jim Albert

Experience

• 

  County of Dauphin

  Jan 2001 - Jan 2003

  Secretary to County Commissioner

  Researched and prepared reports, letters and memos for the County Commissioner and Solicitor's offices, as well as working daily to assist the County Budget & Finance Director.Worked full-time job while attending school full-time in the evenings, starting the year after graduating high school.

• 

  The Bon-Ton Stores, Inc.

  Feb 2005 - Feb 2006

  Assistant Retail Planner

  Recognize, analyze, and react to current trends/opportunities in sales/stock situations at the “by store” as well as at the company level to drive sales profitably.• Project manager for distribution of regional sportswear (collegiate and professional) for all (72) retail locations

• 

  American General Life Companies is now part of the AIG Family!

  Jan 2006 - Jan 2008

  Sales Agent/Career Service Professional

  Worked with individuals and businesses to develop a plan and provide the products to reach their individual goals in the areas of insurance, estate planning, and business planning.• Responsible for my own time-management, networking, and client prospecting. • Designed, programmed, and maintained an excel-based premium quoting tool used by the entire branch office for quoting multiple policy premiums efficiently and simultaneously.

• 

  Verizon Wireless

  Dec 2008 - Oct 2012

  Drove sales results through coaching sales reps, as measured against Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). Assisted reps to succeed in current position and helped develop them for their next VZW position. Handled the day-to-day "key holder" functions and promoted a positive customer experience.• Operated as a “Floating Assistant Manager” for May, June and July 2012 to assist at locations in need of additional management; due to my knowledge, skill set, and easily adaptable personality• Member of "Bridge the Gap" team to improve processes for: retail, indirect, and customer service Show less Made recommendations to customers by pairing wireless solutions and products and services to match customers’ lifestyles and needs. Assisted both consumer and business customers.• Developed a trial "Traveling Sales Rep" program for Phila-Zone10 designed to: o Send a rep with certain strengths to a store/team that could be developed in that areao Build a stronger team mentality within the zone. Reps would have the opportunity to work beside and develop relationships with coworkers other than only those at the “home” storeo Develop reps that are ready for the “next step” to give that rep an opportunity to practice and develop coaching and development skills Show less

  • Assistant Manager

    Apr 2011 - Oct 2012

  • Retail Sales Rep

    Dec 2008 - Mar 2011
• 

  Pacific Sunwear

  Oct 2012 - Apr 2015

  Develop, execute, and communicate merchandise financial plans and strategies that support the overall merchandising objectives for men’s accessories, then "cut & sew."• Plan ($ and unit) sales, inventory, and markdowns to improve margin ($ and %)• Work closely with merchant team to manage receipt flow/open-to-buy• Create scenario forecasts/ad hoc reports around risks/opportunities to present to management and cross functional partners • Review selling reports by class/style weekly to adjust promotions/markdowns• Present financials and go-forward strategies to management and executive teams, including the CFO and CEO, in weekly/monthly meetings• Improve merchandise margin and gross margin return on investment (GMROI) Show less Got "the right product, in the right size, to the right store, at the right time" by working with cross-functional partners, including merchants, planners, store operations, logistics personnel, and others, in order to maximize sales and gross margin financial objectives• Allocated men’s and women’s accessories, men’s footwear, and men’s printable shirts.• Received "PacSun Value Award" for Creativity in December 2013 in recognition of critical thinking contributions, leading to improvements in the allocation system and processes, resulting in better allocations and increased profitability.• Using Island Pacific (IP), selected a blend of historical (last year) and current (recent weeks) data by brand/style to allocate to stores by style.• Provided size purchase guidance by class/brand/style based on historic trend and product direction. Show less

  • Associate Merchandise Planner

    Dec 2013 - Apr 2015

  • Allocation Planner

    Oct 2012 - Dec 2013
• 

  Tillys

  Apr 2015 - Sept 2019

  Analyze, develop, and communicate merchandise financial plans and strategies that support the overall merchandising objectives for, at various times: women’s branded apparel, women’s and girls’ swimwear, women’s fashion bottoms and outerwear, girls’ private label bottoms, as well as men's accessories.• Plan ($ and unit) sales, inventory, and markdowns at the total chain; as well as separate plans for brick & mortar and ecommerce• Develop pre-season plans at the class, and sometimes style-color level, and recap/analyze those plans in season and work with merchants to react accordingly.• Partner with management, merchants, and allocation team to move business towards increasing profit.• Communicate weekly/monthly open-to-buy forecasts and supporting action plans.• Ad hoc reporting and additional projects as assigned. Show less

  • Sr. Merchandise Planner

    Mar 2016 - Sept 2019

  • Merchandise Planner

    Apr 2015 - Mar 2016
• 

  Mi9 Retail

  Sept 2019 - Nov 2021

  Product Owner

  Product Owner for the Planning suite (Merchandise Financial Planning & Assortment Planning) within Mi9's Demand Management product.- As a Product Owner, I decide what the team will create next in order to deliver more value to our customers - current and future.- Define and Refine the Product Vision and Product Backlog.- Collaborate with Product team, internal cross-team members, and external clients to define user stories- Lead agile process for Scrum Team / and run agile ceremonies and exercises with team Show less

• 

  ToolsGroup

  Nov 2021 - now

  Expanded responsibilities include Product Management of the entire JustEnough solution within ToolsGroup, including:-Merchandise Financial Planning-Assortment Planning-Allocation-Replenishment-Pricing-Promotions Management Transitioned in the same role when Mi9 Demand Management was acquired by ToolsGroup:Product Owner for the Planning suite (Merchandise Financial Planning & Assortment Planning)

  • Product Manager

    Jan 2022 - now

  • Product Owner

    Nov 2021 - Jan 2022