Category Manager Skin Care & Deodorants

The Category Marketing Manager manages the brands portfolio within the skin care and deodorants categories, delivering the full P&L and Market Shares for East Africa (excluding Ethiopia) through value creation approach and in line with overall business strategy.

JOB SUMMARY / RESPONSIBILITIES:

The role is responsible for the health and performance of Category / Brand in an Operational Company and provides brand and customer priorities rooted in local insight.

• Manage and grow Brand through brand-driven activation, renovation of current core portfolio and brilliant implementation of Product Innovations.
• Achieve brand share and profitable growth targets through translation of brand & marketing plans into market-implementation and customer plans (with potential for tailor-made activities)
• Champion the consumer needs and brand passion within the overall business
• Champion competitive behaviour and mindset throughout the business and translate it into targeted marketing activities to grow brand share
• Deliver market- and customer-knowledge driven input into innovation platform projects and brand planning to ensure requirements of categories will be met in the future
• Lead market implementation of those platforms and develop world-class activation mix
• Development of a share-growth-oriented marketing & category plan that seizes opportunities in product renovation, pricing strategy, competitor activities, customer/channel (e.g. convenience format, discounter) specific needs
• Represent consumer (insights), brand strategy and product quality requirements on the cross-functional team
• Translate marketing & category plan into a business framework and optimise commercial opportunities (identify threats). Feed into monthly and annual planning processes.
• Develop and implement 12-18 month portfolio roadmap including product range & quality, brand build, value delivery for consumers, pricing & affordability, range extension.
• Pro-actively feed market, category and customer requirements into platform innovation projects
• Champion impactful innovations from ideation to commercial launch
• Work with Global and Regional business group teams to ensure single minded communication message is created in line with the brand building communication plan, consistent with category needs.
• Monitor and review effectiveness of innovation and renovation programme to inform future plans. Ensure continued focus on and support of innovation platforms once launched.
• Management of marketing budgets within agreed targets and aligned with customer advertising activities.

Key interfaces:

• CCVP Beauty and Personal Care, Assistant Brand Managers along with responsibility for marketing assistants and graduate trainees as and when appropriate; Channel Category Managers and Business Development Managers; Global Category Teams; Supply chain and sourcing unit managers; Market and Consumer Insight Managers; Product and packaging development teams; External agencies: Brand Activation, Pack design, PR, consultancy as required.

KEY REQUIREMENTS

• Relevant Marketing / Business degree
• 7 years’ classic brand management experience in an FMCG environment
• Business management and brand development experience
• Category Planning skills
• Brand Launch / Brand relaunch project plan management
• Sales experience will be an advantage
• A member of CIM will be an advantage