Marketing Analytics And Forecasting Consultant

Job Description Marketing Analytics and Forecasting (Freelance) Employment Type: Freelance Hours: 30-40 per week depending on candidate availability Location: 100% remote Role Overview Seeking a Freelance Marketing Analytics and Forecasting specialist to transform data into strategic, forward-looking guidance for a fast-paced prestige beauty brand. In this role, you will partner closely with marketing, commercial, and finance stakeholders to deliver robust sales forecasts, evaluate the impact of campaigns and launches, and identify optimization opportunities across channels and portfolios. You will be responsible for building and refining forecasting models, developing performance dashboards, and crafting clear, actionable narratives from complex datasets. This engagement is ideal for a self-directed analyst who can ramp up quickly, work independently, and bring best-in-class analytical rigor and storytelling to executive and cross-functional audiences. Key Responsibilities • Forecasting & Scenario Planning • Develop short- and mid-term retail sales and demand forecasts by category, franchise, channel, and key retail partners. • Build scenario models (base, upside, downside) to assess business risk, inventory needs, and financial implications. • Integrate historical trends, launch calendars, promotional plans, media investment, and competitive activity into forecast assumptions. • Continuously refine models, monitor forecast accuracy, and diagnose variance drivers. • Marketing & Launch Performance Analytics • Analyze performance of new product launches and major campaigns across digital, retail, and omnichannel touchpoints. • Define and maintain KPI frameworks (e.g., velocity, lift vs. baseline, incrementality, trial/repurchase, digital funnel metrics). • Evaluate ROI and effectiveness of marketing tactics (paid media, influencers, sampling, retailer activations, CRM) and recommend optimizations. • Synthesize data from multiple platforms (eCommerce, retail sell-out, CRM, social, syndicated panels) to support attribution and budget decisions. • Business Insights & Reporting • Design and maintain dashboards and recurring reports tracking brand, category, channel, and account performance. • Translate complex analyses into concise, visually compelling stories and recommendations for marketing, commercial, and leadership teams. • Identify emerging trends in consumer behavior, category dynamics, and competitive performance to inform planning and strategy. • Prepare executive-ready summaries highlighting risks, opportunities, and proposed actions. • Cross-Functional Partnership • Collaborate with Marketing, Sales, Demand Planning, Finance, and Digital teams to align on goals, assumptions, and KPIs. • Provide analytical support for annual brand planning, budget cycles, reforecasts, and retailer joint business planning. • Partner with eCommerce and CRM teams to understand digital funnel performance, retention, and loyalty drivers. • Support innovation and category teams with opportunity sizing, launch pacing curves, and long-term brand-building scenarios. • Tools, Data, & Process Optimization • Audit existing reports and data flows to identify gaps and efficiency opportunities. • Create standard templates, toolkits, and automated workflows to streamline recurring analytics. • Advise on BI, visualization, and modeling tools to enhance marketing analytics capabilities. • Champion data quality and consistency, flagging issues and partnering with data owners to resolve them. • Ad Hoc & Strategic Projects • Lead deep-dive analyses on topics such as channel mix, promotion effectiveness, pricing strategy, and assortment optimization. • Conduct category and competitive benchmarking to contextualize brand performance within the broader market. • Prepare analytical materials and insights for leadership meetings, strategic reviews, and planning workshops. Qualifications & Experience • 5–8+ years in marketing analytics, forecasting, demand planning, or commercial finance; beauty, luxury, or CPG experience strongly preferred. • Bachelor’s degree in Business, Economics, Statistics, Mathematics, Marketing Analytics, or related field; advanced degree a plus. • Proven experience building commercial or marketing forecast models and performance dashboards. • Demonstrated ability to distill complex datasets into clear, actionable insights and recommendations. • Experience partnering closely with Marketing and Sales, and familiarity with brand planning and retailer dynamics. • Advanced Excel skills (complex formulas, pivot tables; macros/VBA a plus). • High proficiency with data visualization/BI tools (e.g., Tableau, Power BI, Looker, or similar). • Comfort working with data from multiple sources: syndicated panels, retailer portals, DTC/eCommerce, CRM, and media platforms. • Strong storytelling and presentation skills, including for non-technical and senior audiences. • Self-starter mindset, able to operate independently in a fast-paced, matrixed environment. • Exceptional attention to detail, with strong prioritization and multi-tasking capabilities.