Technical Consultant / Solutions Architect - Retail Planning

Introduction

Location:  Remote (Cape Town Preferred)

Employment Type:  Full-time, 6 month contract (potential renewal)

Industry: Retail

We are seeking a highly experienced and strategic  Technical Consultant / Solutions Architect  to lead the design and delivery of our best-in-class Retail Planning solutions. In this pivotal role, you will serve as the technical authority, bridging the gap between complex business requirements and innovative, scalable technical architectures.

You will be responsible for the end-to-end success of client implementations, from translating their strategic planning objectives into robust technical specifications to overseeing the configuration, integration, and optimization of the platform. This role requires a deep understanding of retail planning processes (such as Merchandise Financial Planning, Assortment Planning, Allocation, and Replenishment), coupled with strong technical acumen to act as a trusted advisor to both clients and internal delivery teams .

Duties & Responsibilities

1. Solution Architecture & Design

• Lead Technical Strategy:  Provide technical direction and drive positive outcomes for complex, enterprise-scale retail planning solutions .

• Translate Business Requirements:  Collaborate with business stakeholders to understand and challenge their needs, translating them into clear, precise functional and technical specifications .

• Architect End-to-End Solutions:  Design technical blueprints that define system configuration, data models, integrations, and workflows to ensure solutions are scalable, resilient, and aligned with enterprise architecture standards.

2. Delivery & Implementation

• Oversee Project Delivery:  Drive the design, configuration, optimization, and successful implementation of retail planning software for customers, utilizing industry best practices .

• Hands-on Configuration:  Engage in the hands-on engineering and configuration of the platform (e.g., building calculations, data models, and workflows) to support planning processes like forecasting, allocation, and replenishment .

• Manage Integrations:  Define and oversee the integration architecture between the planning solution and other enterprise systems (e.g., ERP, PLM, POS, data platforms), managing data ingestion and transformation .

• Ensure Quality:  Guide and conduct system integration testing (SIT), user acceptance testing (UAT), and deployment to guarantee a seamless transition to production.

3. Technical Leadership & Mentorship

• Act as SME:  Serve as the subject matter expert for the technical aspects of the retail planning solution, providing guidance to project managers, analysts, and technical consultants .

• Mentor Teams:  Oversee and mentor junior consultants and internal team members, promoting best practices and fostering a culture of technical excellence .

• Bridge Gaps:  Act as a critical liaison between product development/R&D and customer services, addressing architecture-related issues and influencing the product roadmap .

4. Governance & Continuous Improvement

• Validate & Challenge:  Provide technical assurance and challenge to partner outputs, engineering estimates, and solution designs to maintain high-quality standards .

• Manage Technical Debt:  Identify and escalate risks related to technical debt, performance degradation, or dependencies, contributing to the team's risk management strategy .

• Drive Reusability:  Champion the creation of reusable configuration templates, patterns, and documentation to reduce complexity and accelerate future implementations .

Desired Experience & Qualification

Education

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Information Systems, or a related technical field .

Professional Experience

• 10+ years  of experience in large-scale IT organizations or consulting, with a proven track record of delivering complex, business-critical solutions .

• 5+ years  of experience in a  Senior Solution Architect ,  Technical Lead , or  Senior Consultant  role, with ownership of end-to-end technical design and decision-making .

• Demonstrated experience in  retail planning and/or supply chain planning , with a deep understanding of processes like Merchandise Financial Planning, Assortment Planning, Allocation, and Replenishment .

Technical Skills

• Advanced SQL Proficiency:  Expert-level hands-on skills in writing, optimizing, and modeling complex queries (especially MS SQL Server) .

• Data & Integration:  Strong experience with data pipelines, data modeling, and designing integrations between enterprise applications (e.g., via APIs, ETL tools) .

• Enterprise Systems:  Familiarity with enterprise applications such as ERP (e.g., SAP), PLM, or other planning and merchandising systems is a strong plus .

• Cloud Platforms:  Experience architecting or deploying solutions on cloud platforms (e.g., Microsoft Azure) is highly preferred .

• BI & Analytics:  Proficiency with business intelligence tools (e.g., Power BI) for data visualization and dataset modeling is a plus .

Professional Skills

• Exceptional Communication:  Ability to articulate complex technical concepts clearly to both technical and non-technical audiences, using business-oriented language .

• Leadership:  Proven ability to lead, mentor, and collaborate effectively with cross-functional teams in ambiguous and dynamic environments .

• Problem-Solving:  Strong analytical and creative problem-solving skills, with a focus on delivering practical, sustainable solutions .