Job Purpose:

Develop and drive the overall category strategy by creating and applying Pan African/local marketing initiatives to deliver the right balance of organic growth, category expansion and diversification supported by the appropriate resources and information networks to deliver agreed profitability

Responsible to:

Commercial Director

Responsible for:

Senior Brands Manager

Key Accountabilities:

Create, develop and implement category strategy to support the overall marketing strategy ensuring that the Pan African/Cross functional aspects are aligned

Initiate the NPD process ensuring that the NPI process requirements are managed and delivered according to targets (360 degree marketing)

Ensure category pricing supports brand positioning and is relevant to the competitive arena

Delivery of overall budgeted profitability by growing and sustaining category performance

Lead the selection of the appropriate trade channels

Explore and exploit new opportunities for the category portfolio

Monitor, control and report category performance through brand health indicators such as NNS, GM, MC & key consumer KPIs providing solutions to shortfalls

Approve category A&P plan within guidelines, creating and modifying as necessary to meet objectives

Proactively identify sources and resource needs to support category growth

Coach, manage and develop high performance teams, including sourcing brand managers

Responsible for ensuring ABM induction programme is appropriate

Proactively feed into and follow up on actions from the Business Planning process.

Knowledge, Skills & Experience Needed:

Undergraduate Tertiary Degree (preferably Marketing / Business Related Discipline)

Over 5 years Brand/category Management experience preferably within FMCG

NPD Project Management experience

Technical/Functional skills

  • Consumer Insights – The ability to use and interpret consumer research to anticipate factors that drive consumer’s choice of brand and usage behaviour.  Generation of consumer insight for translation into strategies plans and activities.
  • Innovation – The ability to take consumer insights and use them to generate consumer relevant activities and innovations using all marketing levers.
  • New Product Development – initiating and managing NPD Projects

Communication – The ability to develop high impact consumer communication.  The ability to develop plans, integrating all media options, to achieve brand and business goals which maximise our Return on Investment.

Competences:

1. Consumer Generation

  • Insight Generation
  • Communication
  • Digital
  • Ability to manage the most complex projects including major segmentation studies, concept and use tests, BASES research etc.
  • Ability to supervise and coach less senior staff to improve their skill level
  • Ability to re-assess agency roster to drive effectiveness and ROI
  • Manages agency relationships at a senior level to ensure output is delivering against business objectives
  • Has a proven strength in using digital tools and media to understand and engage relevant consumer audiences to achieve brand objectives and drive sales

2. Brand Champion

  • Brand Proposition
  • Strategy
  • Ability to manage propositions across a number of brands within a category
  • Works closely with Category Network and/or with other OUs for regional brands to ensure alignment
  • Has a proven strength in defining, communicating and delivering short and long term brand strategy and direction

3. Profit & Growth Champion

  • Commercial Delivery
  • Has a mastery in driving commercial delivery of the brand, hitting the long and short term targets, by expertly managing the 4Ps to maximise growth and profit delivery.  Maximising the return on marketing activities
  • Route to Market
  • Mastery in developing compelling customer and channel strategies in partnership with sales, customer marketing, trade marketing.  Ensure integration between brand and channel planning

4. Innovation Champion

  • Innovation
  • Has a proven strength in driving innovation to identify and deliver evolutionary and revolutionary initiatives across the 4Ps
  • NPD/PLM
  • Mastery in driving on time delivery of NPD to market (through PLM process) and manage products through their entire lifecycle

5. Business Leader

Leadership

  • Has a proven strength in communicating and presenting brand strategy to gain commitment and alignment

Leadership

Has a proven strength in taking personal responsibility for personal development and proactively seeks out the opportunity to learn new skills

Talent Development

Proven strength at developing the team ; conducting performance reviews, coaching less senior staff in marketing skills, recruiting new talent and leading the departments development

To apply for this position visit recruitment.xlmanagementservices.com or send your resume to [email protected]

 

Tweet