Head of Category and Customer Marketing

**Background of the Company**

Lindt & Sprüngli (South Africa) (Pty) Ltd (Lindt SA) started operations in May 2011 and forms part of the Lindt & Sprüngli group of companies. With more than 150 employees, Lindt SA is based in Cape Town with strong regional presence in Johannesburg, Durban and Port Elizabeth and a network of 16 Lindt retail stores.

As global leader in the premium chocolate sector, Lindt & Sprüngli looks back on a long-standing tradition of almost 175 years which takes its origins in Zurich, Switzerland. Today, quality chocolate products by Lindt & Sprüngli are made at 12 owned production sites in Europe and the USA. The products are distributed by 28 subsidiary companies and branch offices, in around 500 Lindt shops and cafés, and also via a comprehensive network of more than 100 independent distributors around the globe.

**Position Purpose**

The Head of Category and Customer is a senior leadership role responsible for delivering business growth through strategic category development, customer marketing, and revenue growth management. This role ensures that category, shopper, and pricing strategies are aligned to unlock profitable growth, deliver superior in-store execution, and maximize trade ROI across channels and customers.

**Key Responsibilities**

**Strategic Leadership**
- Define and execute the overall Category, Customer, and RGM strategy in line with corporate and brand objectives.
- Drive collaboration between Marketing, Sales, Finance, and Supply Chain to deliver integrated commercial plans.
- Translate brand and business strategies into actionable shopper and trade programs.

**Customer & Category Development**
- Lead category growth strategies across key channels and customers using market, shopper, and consumer insights.
- Conduct category reviews and partner with retailers to shape assortment, shelving, and merchandising strategies.
- Collaborate with Marketing to create the annual Growth planning dialogue to present to Board members.
- Collaborate & Lead the Sales planning dialogue (SPD) with Sales to execute joint business plans with strategic customers.

**Revenue Growth Management (RGM)**
- Lead the development and execution of RGM strategies including pricing architecture, promotional strategy, pack-price mix, and channel/customer profitability.
- Optimize trade investment effectiveness through rigorous post-evaluation and ROI tracking.
- Analyze revenue drivers and recommend pricing, promotion, and assortment adjustments to improve margin and volume growth.
- Establish revenue growth KPIs and dashboards in collaboration with Finance and Sales teams.

**Team Leadership**
- Build and lead a high-performing team across trade marketing, shopper marketing, category management, and RGM functions.
- Inspire a data-driven and customer-centric culture, fostering continuous learning and performance development.

**Budget & Performance Management**
- Own the Customer and Trade Marketing budgets, ensuring alignment with financial targets and investment effectiveness.
- Lead the measurement and reporting of all trade and RGM initiatives with actionable insights and continuous improvement plans.

**Innovation & Insights**
- Leverage advanced analytics and shopper insights to drive innovation in promotions, trade tools, and shopper engagement.
- Keep ahead of market trends, channel evolution, and competitor strategies to inform growth initiatives.

**Requirements**:

- Strategic Mindset & Strong Commercial Acumen
- Revenue Growth Optimization
- Strong Leadership & Cross-functional Collaboration
- Ability to adapt to a good and diverse working culture
- Category & Shopper Insight
- Analytical & Data-Driven Decision Making
- Trade Execution Excellence
- Change Management & Innovation
- Strong ability to manage Conflict

**Qualifications/experience**
- Bachelor’s degree in marketing, Business, Finance, or related field
- 6-8+ years in Trade Marketing, Category Management, or RGM, ideally within FMCG, Retail, or Consumer Goods.
- Strong commercial acumen with proven experience in revenue growth initiatives and trade spend optimization.
- Experience managing cross-functional teams and leading projects across multiple channels/customers.
- Advanced knowledge of data analytics tools (e.g., Nielsen, Circana, Power BI)