Category Manager: Cheese at Lactalis South Africa

Job Description    

• Join Lactalis at our offices in Stellenbosch and take on the challenge of managing the Trade Marketing execution on Cheese.
• Your role is to be the link between Marketing and Sales, turning our brand strategies into winning customer plans that deliver profitable growth.
• Successful candidates need to have 5-7 years’ experience within a Marketing/Sales/Trade Marketing environment.
• FMCG experience preferable and perishables advantageous.

Required Skills    

• 3-year Marketing & Sales Diploma/Degree
• 5-7 years within an FMCG environment would be advantageous
• Must have In Depth ability, understanding and working knowledge to extract, analyse and prepare reports and build presentations using Category Management tools (Excel; IRI/AC Nielsen; Rex).
• Strong project management and presentation skills
• Ability to communicate at all levels (business & customer interface)
• Interpret & understand complex financial, consumer and shopper data
• Initiate cross functional business approach & collaboration
• Ability to work independently

Duties & Responsibilities    

Driving the Commercial Planning process

• Build and develop channel plans aligned to the marketing strategy and objectives
• Develop and drive quarterly promotional activity grids with Key Account managers
• Build effective relationships and processes between Marketing/Sales teams
• Oversee the deployment of the marketing plan to the Sales and Field Sales teams, including monthly/quarterly cycle planning
• Monitor and track the implementation of pricing/promotional strategies

Overseeing Trade marketing activation

• Develop, implement and track the trade marketing strategy and budget
• Develop winning channel specific POP solutions to drive brand visibility and sales
• Develop & implement trade and brand activation plans to drive shopper engagement
• Implement the Go-To-Market strategy for NPD, including developing the trade proposition, distribution targets, merchandising guidelines and launch plan execution
• Translate brand strategies into Customer speak to WIN at the POP

Driving Category management with Customers

• Drive the Category Management agenda with customers, focusing on long-term category growth, distribution, ranging and space management
• Provide support to the Key Accounts team by conducting regular business analyses and presentations to ID opportunities and deliver incremental growth
• Utilise shopper research and market intelligence to develop the Category Plan as well as strategic Customer/Top to Top reviews
• Drive the implementation of Merchandising guidelines, including training Field sales team
• Provide selling arguments for product-ranging and distribution targets for NPD
• Co- Develop Local success models in key categories for key customers.
• Development and recommendation of pricing strategies.

Closing Date    

• 2025/10/22