marketing manager: global fmcg beverage powerhouse

Big brand energy. African heartbeat. Pure fire

We have a rare and exciting
in-office
opportunity for a
Senior
Marketing Manager
to join the
Kenyan HQ
of a
global FMCG beverage powerhouse
. Based in
Nairobi
, this is your chance to steer one of the world's most dynamic marketing machines in one of Africa's most exciting markets.

You'll take full ownership of the marketing and media business, shaping the brand's story on the ground while leading a high-performing team to build local relevance and global resonance. From consumer marketing and content creation to sport, culture, and digital innovation - you'll make sure the brand connects authentically with Kenya's energetic youth culture and trendsetting consumers.

This role is tailor-made for a bold, strategic thinker who lives for youth trends, brand culture, and making an impact across the continent. It's more than a desk job, it's a front-row seat to Africa's most dynamic market.

Ready to take your seat at the table where global meets local and lead the charge in one of Africa's fastest-growing creative economies? If you've got the strategy, creativity, and stamina to lead one of the world's most recognisable brands into its next era - pack your bags Nairobi awaits, apply now.

Responsibilities

Strategic Direction & Rightness of Brand Priorities

• Ensures that the overall country business plan addresses the challenges to win new consumers and confirm existing ones. Develops and takes full ownership of the Marketing part of the annual business plan
• Builds, establishes and grows the Brand Media House. This involves quality content and program creation as well as content commercialisation; the introduction and operation of own media channels, products and services as well as intensified media relations to optimise content distribution in TV, digital, radio, print and mobile
• Generates consumer insights with the Brand Team to win new consumers, shape ATL & BTL
• strategies, steers the right product & packaging portfolio as well as consumer pricing decisions and shapes marketing and trade investments
• Leads an efficient & targeted wings team program to drive trial among new and infrequent users, across all relevant consumption occasions and to increase product understanding and trust with consumers.
• Leads an effective and efficient student brand manager program to build a loyal Brabd consumer base among students, to increase awareness and desire for the brand, and to foster a positive product and brand perception at universities
• Ensures that both Consumer Collecting programs have strong sales support programs in place to drive distribution and stimulate sales, excite the trade and improve in store visibility in all on and off premise channels.
• Builds and leads a strong sports program that builds on the country-specific sports and athlete scene and helps build a relevant and appealing local face of the brand while staying in line with the global sports strategy and delivering against the country's brand objectives and priorities
• Guides the culture team in establishing a credible culture – music in particular - program that positions the brand as an authentic player in the relevant scenes, and which contributes to the business success of the country
• Ensures the right balance between sports and culture for the specific market circumstances
• Builds the local face of a global brand overall and through a robust field marketing organisation
• Always ensures the product is at the heart of marketing efforts by facilitating collaboration and effective ways of working between marketing and on and off premise teams.

Marketing Innovation

• Acts as an entrepreneur, spearheads and fosters creation & innovation, and ensure the Brand seizes all relevant opportunities to strengthen the brand, the can and media business while preserving its global equity
• Leads the creation and execution of appealing and consumer relevant sport events, defending our leading role in action sports and in motorsports whilst tapping into highly relevant local sports
• Drives top athlete-performance program as a top innovator in sports marketing globally and ensures 360-degree plans around top athletes
• Drives innovation in the field of culture, strengthens Brand culture properties and makes the Brand a key player in all important music scenes
• Manages and collaborates to build an advertising plan in line with global strategy that addresses country specific issues and opportunities with the right messages, that drive TOM awareness, brand image and tune-ins for the Brand's TV
• Understands today's & evolving digital & social consumer behaviour and effective means of digital engagement across all areas of the business
• Generates innovative digital (media) initiatives to expand reach and engage the young consumer, particularly through social media.

Premium Appeal & Executional Excellence

• Ensures that every consumer experience with the brand is a positive one thanks to love for the detail and premium execution at events and all other marketing activities
• Thinks and acts digital / social in all we do to increase consumer engagement with the brand, to start and maintain consumer dialogue particularly in social media
• Fosters a strong opinion-leader network in culture & entertainment to drive brand image & visibility with credible drinking scenes
• Increases brand and product placements in scene and mainstream media to drive TOM awareness, brand image and word-of-mouth.

Organisational Capabilities & Enabling Structure

• Builds the annual objectives for the marketing team and conducts on-going, mid-year and end of year performance evaluations
• Fosters collaboration across departments on the country level, and with the global HQ and the Brand Media House to drive a 360-degree approach with relevant initiatives in order to increase impact and efficiency
• Ultimately responsible for sourcing, hiring and training the marketing team based on a thorough understanding of strengths and development needs
• Identifies and nurtures key talent for the potential space-to-shine opportunity
• Spends adequate time in the field with marketing team to instil strong collaboration, motivation and connectives for all team members
• Delivers the marketing business plan with the goal to achieve the country business plan for the can and the media business
• Increases the Brand's key brand and consumer indicators - TOM awareness; spontaneous awareness, past 4 week, 12-month consumption, image indicators, consideration and salience
• Expands the Brand's beverages user base and household penetration; increases consumption & builds the heavy user base
• Builds share leadership & sustainable business growth
• Establishes the Brand Media House in the respective country and positions the Brand and its Media House as an innovative, credible production partner in the broadcast industry
• Establishes the Brand as a role model amongst leading youth brands, recognised for innovation and creativity within the world of digital/interactive media
• Lives, nurtures and protects the unique Brand Culture.
• Demonstrates cost efficiency and excellent budget management to deliver the profit commitment
• Has a strong, transparent, trusted partnership and cooperation with management, personnel, Media House and HQ
• Establishes a motivated, well-led, productive, innovative, top-notch marketing organisation.
• No regretted losses in the marketing team and encourages internal promotions.

Requirements

The successful candidate must have/be:

• Industry relevant qualifications
• Minimum of 8 years marketing experience
• A creative mind with a track record of creating new ideas, putting them into practice and assessing results
• A strategic leader who takes initiative and ownership
• Ability to cultivate, lead and motivate a high performing team with the proven ability to build and develop talent
• Strong planning and budgetary skills
• Knowledge of the 'fast moving' consumer goods industry, including agency and sales insights and/or profound background in sports and/or culture marketing and/or the media business / digital world
• Clear understanding of markets, sales & distribution, competitor activity and consumer behaviour in a brand and FMCG context, up to date on digital trends and digital consumer behaviour
• Strong analytical ability and commercial acumen to understand financial statements and market trends
• Effective negotiation and interpersonal skills
• Excellent presentation, communication and influencing skills
• Strong brand and product affinity
• Fluent in English
• Able to travel on a need basis, based on job requirement (mainly regional and occasionally International).

If you don't have the relevant experience required for this role, please consider your application unsuccessful.

City: Nairobi, Kenya

Level of Expertise: Senior

Remuneration: Negotiable

Consultant: Viv

Reference Number: #Viv3129