Marketing Lead

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

•     End-to-end marketing leadership — take overall ownership of the company’s marketing capability, including the development of the marketing strategy, annual marketing plan, campaign calendar, budget, operating processes, brand standards and performance reporting.

•     Digital marketing (lead priority) — build our digital presence from a low base toward best-in-class: plan and run campaigns across social, search and email; grow reach, engagement and consumer demand; manage the digital spend; and report on performance and its impact on off-take.

•     Brand marketing — build and protect our product brands, ensuring a consistent brand identity across packaging, campaigns and every touchpoint.

•     Trade & channel marketing — support the sales and distribution teams with marketing that drives off-take through our retail and wholesale partners — promotions, point-of-sale, in-store visibility and activations.

•     Consumer research & sampling — run consumer surveys and product tastings to test preferences, build consumer insight and drive trial, feeding the results into brand and product decisions.

•     Content creation — produce high-quality, on-brand content (copy, graphics and video) for digital, trade and consumer channels.

•     Graphic design — design marketing collateral, point-of-sale materials and brand assets.

•     Website management —take ownership of the company website and other digital platforms, ensuring that content, product information and brand presentation remain current, accurate and optimised for search, user engagement and commercial objectives..

•     Outdoor & in-store visibility — manage billboards, signage and point-of-sale branding.

•     Advertising and media planning — develop and execute effective advertising campaigns across radio, print, outdoor, digital and other relevant channels; manage media plans, placements, creative schedules and advertising budgets to deliver measurable reach, awareness, demand and off-take.

•     Media and stakeholder relations — build, maintain and leverage strong professional relationships with media houses, advertising partners, suppliers, retailers, distributors, community organisations and other key stakeholders to secure effective campaign support, favourable opportunities and strong brand visibility.

•     Marketing strategy — develop and drive the marketing and go-to-market strategy across the portfolio.

•     Market & shelf insight — monitor competitor activity, pricing, consumer trends, product penetration, shelf positioning and channel performance, and translate findings into practical recommendations for sales, distribution, product development and marketing priorities..

ESSENTIAL SKILLS & EXPERIENCE

•     Proven excellence in digital marketing — a strong track record across social, search, content and analytics (the core requirement).

•     A versatile, full-spectrum marketer — comfortable across brand, trade / channel and consumer marketing, not digital alone.

•     Excellent content creation skills across formats.

•     Proficient graphic designer (Adobe Creative Suite — Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign — or equivalent).

•     Hands-on website management experience (a CMS such as WordPress; working knowledge of SEO and analytics).

•     Ability to build and execute a marketing and go-to-market strategy independently.

•     Strong practical knowledge of advertising, including campaign development, media planning, media buying, creative briefing and evaluation of advertising effectiveness.

•     Demonstrable experience building and maintaining productive working relationships with media houses, agencies, suppliers and other external stakeholders.

•     Strong negotiation, communication and relationship-management skills, with the ability to represent the company professionally and obtain value from marketing partnerships and media investments.

•     Minimum 4 years' experience in a broad marketing role.

DESIRABLE

•     Experience in FMCG, manufacturing or distribution (a strong advantage).

•     Trade marketing and in-store activation experience.

•     Consumer research and insight experience.

•     Understanding of route-to-market / distribution.

•     Video editing / motion graphics.

•     An established network of contacts within media houses, advertising agencies and relevant commercial or community stakeholder groups, particularly in Zimbabwe.

PERSONAL ATTRIBUTES

•     Versatile and hands-on — comfortable moving between strategy and execution, and between digital and physical channels.

•     Commercially minded — focused on driving demand and sales, not just visibility.

•     Creative and self-motivated, able to work independently from our Mutare base.

•     Strong eye for brand and design consistency.

•     Well-organised and deadline-driven across multiple channels.