Junior Brand Manager

Job Purpose:

As a Junior Brand Manager, you are expected to make a genuine contribution to the organisation. You will be responsible for the success of your appointed brand by actively driving brand growth in terms of brand equity, value market share, weighted distribution, revenue and profitability. In this role, you will need to exhibit leadership and stakeholder management qualities with a solid business acumen, to ensure that you develop and implement an exceptional brand strategy and plan that translates into tangible results, with alignment from the key stakeholders within the organisation. A core part of the deliverable is the management and alignment of agencies in terms of development and execution of communication campaigns, innovation, activations, promotions, shopper strategies and digital initiatives to ensure all marketing elements are delivered in a seamless, 360 degree manner. You will need to be able to handle multiple projects simultaneously and have the ability to work independently (as a brand leader) or as part of a team. You are expected to use your creativity, problem solving skills, express ideas and execute tasks that make a real contribution to the organisation and its mission.

Responsibilities:

• Manage and execute brand strategies to achieve business objectives such as brand equity, revenue growth, and market share.
• Conducts market research, competitor analysis, and consumer insights to inform a brand strategy and plan to increase market share and maximise profitability within the context of utilising internal and external analysis as well as competitor, consumer and industry trend insights.
• Ensure that brand positioning and the communication platform resonates with the identified target market to deliver aligned and impactful marketing campaigns, promotions, activations, digital and social executions as well as innovation.
• Lead execution of marketing campaigns, product launches, key projects and brand initiatives.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to ensure project objectives are met on time and within budget.
• Manage project timelines, milestones, and deliverables to ensure successful outcomes.
• Assist in shopper plan development and support execution in conjunction with the shopper team to ensure that weighted distribution, share of shelf and new launches are optimised.
• Ensure ongoing business sustainability, profit maximization and growth using a combination of business, market, competitor and consumer insights (desktop research, in-trade observation, social media commentary, market research where necessary) to drive long term strategy as well as short-term tactics where risk has been identified.
• Highlight opportunities and risk to various organisational stakeholders, creating business cases for new projects, action plans and implementation of tactics where necessary.
• Engage and collaborate with internal stakeholders, including marketing, sales, CI teams etc. to ensure alignment and execution.
• Build relationships with external partners, agencies, and suppliers to support project execution and collaboration.
• Communicate project updates, challenges, and successes to stakeholders and seek feedback for continuous improvement.
• Analyze the financial performance of brand activities and identifying opportunities for cost optimization.
• Lead budget planning and tracking for brand initiatives and marketing campaigns
• Contribute to ROI analysis for marketing investments and provide insights for future budget allocations

• A degree in Marketing, Business, Communications, Digital Marketing or Advertising. A post-graduate specialisation in Marketing is preferable.

• Minimum 4 years' post-degree experience
• Marketing in FMCG with interaction with trade and sales (3 years) will be advantageous
• Shopper marketing and Digital market experience will be advantageous.
• The ideal candidate should have a good understanding of and experience in marketing mass market branded commodities.

EXPECTED SKILLS AND ATTRIBUTES

• Skills / Knowledge:
• Ability to develop a brand strategy with a thorough demonstration of how to translate marketing principles and insights into tangible plans and activities.
• Solid business acumen to deliver business cases and ROI around marketing initiatives, innovation, risks and opportunities. In depth understanding of P & L, the drivers of revenue and profit, and managing and tracking these against organisational targets.
• Competency to pull and analyse market research and utilse insights to drive strategic marketing and business initiatives and decision making.
• Solid understanding of shopper principles and category management.
• Stakeholder management and the ability to influence, network and lead to drive alignment and facilitate decision making.
• Well-developed capability on Outlook, PowerPoint, Word and Excel with the ability to put together attractive well thought out presentations and present in a confident manner that facilitates fast-tracked decision making.
• Attributes:
• Positive, action orientated attitude with a real desire to learn and develop.
• Creative and innovative thinking.
• Flexible approach to problem solving with an agile mindset that can adjust to changing market and organisational conditions.
• Organised and practical approach to your work, solving problems, seizing opportunities and focus on creating value for your team and the organisation.
• Inquisitive and eager to learn, confident to use own initiative but with strong focus on detail.
• Ability to work flexibly and proactively to achieve results.