Senior Brand Manager Vacancy in Cape Town Jan 2018

Viv Gordon Placements – Senior Brand Manager Vacancy in Cape Town Jan 2018

Previously disadvantaged candidates will be given preference.

Got a passion for fashion? This fantastic opportunity for a senior Brand Manager at one of SA’s leading fashion retailers offers you the enviable chance to combine your love of fashion with your passion for Marketing. Play a brand custodian support role through delivering the understanding and interpretation of the Marketing Strategy into the business.  Drive the execution of a compelling, innovative, integrated and leading Brand Marketing and Communications plan to achieve agreed business Brand objectives. The role will see you positioning the Fashion Brand, translating business and Marketing Strategy into Marketing and Communication plans, driving the execution of the Marketing Communications plan and managing business interface & trade process into Marketing. You will be required to work with budgets and commercial management and should have people and stakeholder management skills. This is a very exciting position!

Responsibilities

• Drive the agreed positioning of the Private label brand to the market, in a way that focuses on driving profitable sales and customer engagement/market share.
• Support the brand to achieve its strategy and goals, understanding product and how to take that product to market to the target customer.
• Present and deliver the agreed strategic marketing vision and direction to key business units and stakeholders in the business.
• Experience of building a brand.
• Translate the brand strategy into a detailed, integrated marketing and communication plan.
• Deliver and drive the achievement of business goals and targets through the agreed compelling and engaging customer communication.
• Grow existing customers and acquire new customers through brand building.
• Assist in influencing and changing customer perceptions through marketing communication in line with the marketing strategy.
• Keep up to date with new opportunities and new thinking, to ensure that the brand stays ahead of the game, both locally and on a global perspective.
• Drive partnership with buying groups to ensure alignment of product strategy, merchandise cycle and marketing strategy.
• Attend, understand and interpret market and business trends,
• Integrate customer insights in development of the integrated marketing and communication plan.
• Drive the integrated communications brief, leading and engaging with key stakeholders and areas of specialisation across 360 areas within Marketing including Agency, VM, Direct, Digital/Online, PR, Social Media.
• Manage end to end process from Marketing into Agency.
• Ensure that the overarching communication objectives and big ideas are understood to deliver and integrated plan across all channels and touch points.
• Drive key elements of the communications approach such as media planning, brand positioning from concept to execution.
• Drive the execution process and ensure approval process from a brand perspective is adhered to.
• Ensure timeous delivery of marketing inputs into the buying group merchandise cycle.
• Act as the primary Marketing point of contact into the business and product groups.
• Work closely with the product business units to ensure deep alignment of trade and product objectives.
• Take a “can-do”, proactive approach to “make it happen”, working with the Buying Groups, Trade Forum, Sales Management, Stores, the Agency etc.
• Engage in all key and relevant aspects of the business, including trade planning, online, sales management, product reviews, IT process, in relation to delivering the 360 integrated plan.
• Manage and maintain annual brand budget for given area of responsibility.
• Ensure effective cost management in delivering to the integrated plan: manage variances in actual expense against budget set.
• Conduct PIR’s to measure and assess efficacy of campaigns.
• Accountable for relationship and stakeholder management with key areas, such as the PR, direct marketing, visual merchandising and product groups/Agency/Social Media/Online.
• Work proactively across teams and functions, to optimise integration opportunities.
• Influence internal and external stakeholders, peers and team members where necessary to ensure delivery of the marketing plan.
• Raise issues and concerns timeously and in a professional manner, and manage expectations in line with Values and Strategy
• Build and maintain effective relationships with key 360 partners including Agency, VM, PR & Corp Comms, Direct, Loyalty, Digital, Online, Social Media, Store design, Taste and Packaging.
• Proactively manage relationships with product/buying groups.
• Drive and encourage a motivating and positive working experience across business stakeholders and marketing.
• Complete IPM discussions with direct reports according to IPM timelines.
• Ensure that team members deliver according to the critical path.

Requirements
The successful candidate must have/be:

• Relevant Diploma or Degree in Brand Marketing
• Solid five to seven years of Marketing skills and experience in Retail / Brands / Agency/PR
• Previous fashion retail experience or worked at an advertising agency on a fashion/clothing account – a must
• Solid technical knowledge and awareness across all elements of Marketing
• Experience in managing budgets and teams
• 360 Media understanding
• Fashion experience – advantageous
• Passion for retail, the product, brand and customers
• Influencing skills
• Negotiation skills
• Ability to translate a Comms Strategy into plans and deliverables
• Analytical and able to pay attention to detail
• Creative thinker and ability to evaluate creative work
• Commercial acumen: demonstrates basic business sense and understanding, as well as understands the macroeconomic environment
• Team player: willing to work co-operatively with others, within a team and across departments, towards a common objective
• Planning, organising and prioritising skills
• Ability to understand local and international trends
• Strong communication skills
• Agility and flexibility
• Resilience
• Professional, respectful and courteous
• Problem solving ability
• Emotional intelligence
• Assertive

Should you not receive a response within two weeks, please consider your application unsuccessful.

Company Description

Viv Gordon Placements (VGP) is a specialist recruitment agency in the advertising, marketing, media, public relations and publishing industries.