How to hire an assistant planner

How to hire an assistant planner, step by step

Here's a step-by-step assistant planner hiring guide:

• Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
• Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
• Step 3: Make a budget
• Step 4: Write an assistant planner job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new assistant planner
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

What does an assistant planner do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   The assistant planner hiring process starts by determining what type of worker you actually need. Certain roles might require a full-time employee, whereas part-time workers or contractors can do others.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

   Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

   Yes

   No

   An assistant planner's background is also an important factor in determining whether they'll be a good fit for the position. For example, assistant planners from different industries or fields will have radically different experiences and will bring different viewpoints to the role. You also need to consider the candidate's previous level of experience to make sure they'll be comfortable with the job's level of seniority.

   This list presents assistant planner salaries for various positions.

   Type of Assistant Planner	Description	Hourly rate
   Assistant Planner	Material recording clerks track product information in order to keep businesses and supply chains on schedule. They ensure proper scheduling, recordkeeping, and inventory control.	$24-60
   Material Coordinator	A material coordinator is in charge of processing requisitions and ensuring that all departments receive necessary goods and materials within a company. Aside from this, they must maintain positive engagements with vendors, suppliers, and business partners, negotiate contracts, manage schedules of deliveries, and prioritize cost-efficient goods... Show more	$14-25
   Expeditor	The role of expeditors is to ensure the timely and efficient preparation and delivery of food. To accomplish this task, they also perform other duties, including managing inventory levels, managing supply requisition, and coordinating with subcontractors... Show more	$13-25

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Strong Analytical
   • Purchase Orders
   • Allocation Strategies
   • GIS
   • Inventory Productivity
   • Inventory Management
   • Data Collection
   • Planning Commission
   • Staff Reports
   • Open-To-Buy
   • Regional Planning
   • Sales Plan
   • General Plan
   • Community Development

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Manage product flow in apparel category; determining order quantities and generating purchase orders for new and replenishment orders.
   • Used EDI for customer order releases and shipping information.
   • Price, negotiate and book shipments with customers and brokers via phone, email tenders and EDI.
   • Facilitate ISO audits as a lead quality inspector and maintain documentation revision and version control in adherence with ISO standards.
   • Create marketing campaigns through Volusion e-Commerce software, MyEmma email campaigns, USPS mail, & Facebook to drive revenue sales.
   • Analyze and recap sales results and inventory forecasts and present business recaps to senior management at quarterly update meetings.

   More assistant planner duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your assistant planner job description is a great way to entice the best and brightest candidates. An assistant planner salary can vary based on several factors:

   • Location. For example, assistant planners' average salary in wyoming is 70% less than in california.
   • Seniority. Entry-level assistant planners earn 59% less than senior-level assistant planners.
   • Certifications. An assistant planner with a few certifications under their belt will likely demand a higher salary.
   • Company. Working for a prestigious company or an exciting start-up can make a huge difference in an assistant planner's salary.

   Average assistant planner salary

   $80,357yearly

   $38.63 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level assistant planner salary

   $51,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 19, 2025

   Average assistant planner salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	California	$95,503	$46
   2	Texas	$74,932	$36
   3	Pennsylvania	$70,910	$34
   4	New York	$69,598	$33
   5	Nevada	$62,894	$30
   6	Illinois	$62,833	$30
   7	North Carolina	$53,412	$26
   8	Florida	$52,252	$25
   9	Colorado	$48,244	$23
   10	Iowa	$44,811	$22
   11	Oregon	$43,854	$21
   12	Washington	$42,336	$20
   13	South Dakota	$36,192	$17
   14	Wyoming	$28,671	$14

   Average assistant planner salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Belk	$102,266	$49.17	11
   2	Iteris	$96,767	$46.52	1
   3	CyberCoders	$92,752	$44.59
   4	Horizon Media	$91,799	$44.13	8
   5	Edgewell Personal Care	$89,770	$43.16	4
   6	The Vidal Partnership	$88,311	$42.46
   7	Michael Baker	$84,607	$40.68	7
   8	Fashion Nova	$84,187	$40.47	3
   9	Grocery Outlet	$76,268	$36.67	2
   10	Blueline	$76,166	$36.62
   11	Metropolitan Planning Council	$72,217	$34.72
   12	PVH	$70,466	$33.88	3
   13	Des Moines, Washington	$70,123	$33.71
   14	City of Cathedral City	$69,254	$33.30
   15	Dartmouth	$67,515	$32.46
   16	Deschutes County	$66,776	$32.10
   17	City of Oxnard	$65,957	$31.71
   18	Ross Stores	$65,429	$31.46	15
   19	Minnesota Limited	$64,492	$31.01
   20	Saks Fifth Avenue	$63,701	$30.63

4. Writing an assistant planner job description

   An assistant planner job description should include a summary of the role, required skills, and a list of responsibilities. It's also good to include a salary range and the first name of the hiring manager. Below, you can find an example of an assistant planner job description:

   Assistant planner job description example

   About Grocery Outlet:
   
   Our Mission: Touching lives for the better
   
   Our Vision: Touching lives by being the first choice for bargain-minded consumers in the U.S.
   
   Our Values & Behaviors: Achievement, Diversity, Entrepreneurship, Family, Fun, Integrity & Service
   
   About The Team:
   
   Our Planning team's mission is to constantly push the status quo to deliver the best service to our buying team and store operators. Our team is highly intelligent and engaged with the business- allowing us to operate in a fast-paced environment and form cross-functional partnerships. Successful members of our team maximize profitability and productivity within their department and motivate their team and cross functional partners with their energy.
   
   About The Role:
   
   You will be responsible for managing the distribution of merchandise to support company plan. Extremely "hands-on", you will need to be able to make quick decisions, manage key warehouse and planning relationships and provide inventory information for your assigned departments. You will be responsible for assisting the Planning Team in ensuring proper product inventories at all stores to facilitate optimum code life, minimize seasonal markdowns and maximize turns. You will recommend and executes changes as needed to ensure profitability and productivity. You will also maximize sales potential by performing the following duties: The Assistant Planner will report to the Sr. Inventory Planner.
   
   Responsibilities Include:
   
   * Understand and execute appropriate distribution of products to stores to maximize store turns and profitability
   * Implement the company's "Treasure Hunt" philosophy and merchandise assortment strategy through effective execution of product allocation to stores
   * Analyze store level data to identify chain/region/store level trends and recommend/implement changes and action as appropriate
   * Execute category/sub-class trends regionally and identify specific merchandise needs through knowledge of regional and climatic characteristics
   * Execute seasonal distributions in accordance with direction provided by planning & purchasing teams
   * Responsible for managing those items approaching expiration in the warehouse
   * Responsible for managing items on the aged report (slower moving items - identify and collaborate with planner, action as appropriate)
   * Responsible for building, in partnership with set crew, an appropriate inventory mix to support new store openings
   * Manage store distribution groups based on location, volume, size, demographics and sales trends
   * Own cross-functional communication regarding product sales, inventory position, and distributions for all stores.
   * Build, develop, and maintain effective and productive working relationships within cross-functional team (District Sales Managers, Planning Department, Purchasing Department, Stores, Distribution Center, etc.)
   * Participate in cross-functional meetings, contributing on distribution strategies
   * Review MTO items in-stock position with planners/buyers - weekly
   * Demonstrate logical analysis and problem-solving skills through organization and prioritization.
   * Demonstrate superior listening, written, and oral communication skills.
   * Present analytics and reports to various levels of management
   * Assists buyers with updates on potential inventory or code date issues on all products
   * Execute profitable entrance and exit strategies as determined by planning, with merchandising for new, seasonal and replacement programs
   * Visit stores and warehouses as necessary
   * Perform other duties as assigned
   
   About You:
   
   * Bachelor's Degree or equivalent combination of education and/or relevant experience
   * Excellent analytical and problem-solving skills
   * Can successfully manage multiple tasks simultaneously
   * Can make solid decisions quickly based on limited information
   * Ability to interpret a variety of instructions furnished in written, oral, diagram or schedule form
   * Intermediate experience with Excel preferred
   * Ability to work independently, as well as with a team
   * Concern for achieving positive outcomes and growing the business; willing to get involved in all aspects of the process
   * Ability to be creative, resourceful and take ownership over your categories

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   There are various strategies that you can use to find the right assistant planner for your business:

   • Consider promoting from within or recruiting from your existing workforce.
   • Ask for referrals from friends, family members, and current employees.
   • Attend job fairs at local colleges to find candidates who meet your education requirements.
   • Use social media platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter to reach potential job candidates.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your assistant planner job on Zippia to find and recruit assistant planner candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   Recruiting assistant planners requires you to bring your A-game to the interview process. The first interview should introduce the company and the role to the candidate as much as they present their background experience and reasons for applying for the job. During later interviews, you can go into more detail about the technical details of the job and ask behavioral questions to gauge how they'd fit into your current company culture.

   It's also good to ask about candidates' unique skills and talents to see if they match your ideal candidate profile. If you think a candidate is good enough for the next step, you can move on to the technical interview.

   The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.

7. Send a job offer and onboard your new assistant planner

   Once you've found the assistant planner candidate you'd like to hire, it's time to write an offer letter. This should include an explicit job offer that includes the salary and the details of any other perks. Qualified candidates might be looking at multiple positions, so your offer must be competitive if you like the candidate. Also, be prepared for a negotiation stage, as candidates may way want to tweak the details of your initial offer. Once you've settled on these details, you can draft a contract to formalize your agreement.

   It's also good etiquette to follow up with applicants who don't get the job by sending them an email letting them know that the position has been filled.

   After that, you can create an onboarding schedule for a new assistant planner. Human Resources and the hiring manager should complete Employee Action Forms. Human Resources should also ensure that onboarding paperwork is completed, including I-9s, benefits enrollment, federal and state tax forms, etc., and that new employee files are created.

8. Go through the hiring process checklist

   • Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
   • Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
   • Define job responsibilities and requirements
   • Establish budget and timeline
   • Determine hiring decision makers for the role
   • Write job description
   • Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
   • Promote the job internally
   • Process applications through applicant tracking system
   • Review resumes and cover letters
   • Shortlist candidates for screening
   • Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
   • Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
   • Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
   • Conduct background checks on top candidates
   • Check references of top candidates
   • Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
   • Extend offer to top candidate(s)
   • Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
   • Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
   • Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
   • Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)

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