Reporting to the Head Of Marketing, the Brand Manager will be engaged in planning, developing and executing of regional marketing programmes that drive both the short- and long-term growth of Foster Clark’s brands by positioning them clearly in the minds of consumers and driving brand recall. The role will be the brand guardian for the execution in the region, oversee advertising and marketing activities, monitor market trends and provide input into and launch new product developments.

Key Accountabilities

Regional Brand Pipeline and Annual Marketing Planning

• Maintain a 3-year brand pipeline for the region to be broken down by market including Campaigns, ATL and BTL activities, and New Product launch plans as aligned with Category and the regional sales team.
• Development, alignment and implementation of an Annual Marketing Calendar and campaign plans aligned with the business strategy as built by the Marketing, Category and Sales teams (internal) and Distributors (external) teams.
• Manage the regional central marketing budget to deliver on time, within scope and on cost.
• Work closely with Sales Teams in reviewing and monitoring the A&P budgets and activities by market to ensure the right balance between brand building and volume drivers.
• Provide input into consumer research projects, spearhead consumer panel testing for new product developments and conduct mini focus groups to build consumer insights and provide feedback to Category, Sales and R&D.
• Through market visits and insight data, evaluate and monitor own execution and competitor performance to identify opportunities for growth and challenges to overcome.
• Maintain, evaluate and source marketing agencies to deliver Media, Creative and Activation scopes.

Brand Communication & Trade Marketing Plans

• Deliver Communication plans (ATL) and Trade Marketing toolkits (BTL) by partnering with the approved network of agencies.
• Work closely with the Digital Marketing Manager in the planning and execution of digital calendars, providing input and supporting in the review, design and selection of content and platform.
• Work closely with the Sales team and the Brand Specialist to identify and execute new trade marketing material for the Distributors, calculate ROI and align the requirements by country.
• Be the ultimate brand guardian for the region: manage and oversee the production of any media and communication and localize where necessary, ensuring compliance with brand guidelines and strategy.
• Collaborate with the Brand Activation team in planning activation events based on brand needs.

Cross-Functional Collaboration & Reporting

• Report monthly on regional brand performance to the regional teams with joint actions and initiatives to capture opportunities or circumvent challenges.
• Collaborate cross functionally to build brands and create excitement around new products internally.
• Engage distributors by presenting new marketing campaigns and product launches.
• Manage various external agencies required in support of creative and other marketing initiatives.

Ideal Candidate Profile:

Education

• Bachelor’s Degree in  Business Administration.

Experience

• A minimum of 5 years’ experience in Trade Marketing or Sales or Brand & Communication or Product management within an FMCG environment.
• Experience in working with Distributors to manage brands
• Experience in managing multiple brands across diverse market landscapes.

Technical Skills

• Trade Marketing
• Category and Channel Management
• Advertising & Promotion Planning
• Brand Management
• Digital and social media
• Financial management and control
• Advanced skills in Microsoft Office.

Competencies

• Relationship Building
• Attention to Detail
• Presentation and Facilitation
• Drive for Results
• Planning and Organizing
• Monitoring and Measuring

Travel

• Able to travel up to 80 nights in a year.