Vice President, Marketing at Olam International Limited

Olam International is a leading food and agri-business supplying food, ingredients, feed and fibre to over 19,800 customers worldwide. Our value chain spans over 60 countries and includes farming, processing and distribution operations, as well as a sourcing network of 4.8 million farmers. Through our purpose to 'Re-imagine Global Agriculture and Food Systems', Olam aims to address the many challenges involved in meeting the needs of a growing global population, while achieving positive impact for farming communities, our planet and all our stakeholders. Headquartered and listed in Singapore, Olam currently ranks among the top 30 largest primary listed companies in terms of market capitalisation on SGX-ST.

We are recruiting to fill the position below:

Job Title: Vice President, Marketing

Location: Lagos
Employment Type: Full Time
Reporting to: CMO - Packaged Food Business

Job Description

• Help provide the strategic direction for a portfolio of brands across different categories-snacks and confectionary in Nigeria.
• Responsible for Brand Building for all categories in Nigeria.
• Development of the Category Strategy (for snacks and confectionary in Nigeria) and Annual Brand Plans (for portfolio of brands in Nigeria) encompassing the whole mix and ensure that this is fully implemented to time and budget.
• Drive volumes, market share, relative price index and net contribution for the both the categories (Confectionary & Snacks) in Nigeria.

Principle Duties

• Development of the ‘strategic vision’ for each brand, the Brand Architecture, the Brand Lighthouse (incl. it’s positioning) and its place in the company’s portfolio for the Nigeria across categories.
• To lead development of the Category Strategy including the Marketing Strategy for Nigeria & support the CMO in developing the same for Nigeria. To develop and Implement Brand Plans (including the Investment Mix) for both the categories.
• Develop deep, actionable consumer understanding & insights on category, brand(s), competition, usage and attitudes and purchase behaviour for both the categories in Nigeria.
• Lead development of ‘the big idea’, ‘advertising’, ‘activation plans’ and PR as applicable for the portfolio of the brands for both the categories in Nigeria
• Implementation for both the categories in Nigeria:
  • Media Planning & Implementation (as applicable).
  • Consumer activations - Planning & Implementation.
  • PR Plan.
• Provide Inputs into developing Trade Marketing plans with Sales / Trade Marketing (Trade Promotion & Activation) for both the categories in Nigeria
• Manage the development of design and pack changes for both the categories in Nigeria.
• NPD - Rhythm Chart planning and development of new products in time through the ‘Stage-Gate’ methodology.
• The management of A&P (Advertising & Promotion) spends for both the categories in Nigeria. Regular evaluation of A&P activity.
• Commissioning, execution and facilitating the presentation of findings of market research in collaboration with the CMI team.
• Management of a team of Brand Managers and GM Marketing
• Selection, Evaluation & Management of Best in Class Ad Agencies, Design Agencies, Media Agencies, Activation Agencies & MR Agencies.

Requirements

• Interested candidates should possess relevant qualifications and experience.

Skills & Competencies:

• Knowledge of basic marketing principles and processes
• Agency Processes: Ad agency, Digital Agency, Design Agencies, Media agency, Research agencies, BTL agencies etc.
• Selection of agencies.
• Briefing the agencies with well thought of creative briefs, media briefs, research briefs and activation briefs as the case may be.
• Ability to objectively develop & judge advertisements, designs, media plans, research proposals, discussion guides and questionnaires.
• Media Plans: Plan, Innovate, Implement, Control, Evaluate.
• Consumer & Trade Activation: Plan, Innovate, Implement, Control, Evaluate.
• Manage the above mentioned agencies to get the maximum effectiveness.
• Understand the cost structure for ad agency, media, research
• Ability to develop strong Consumer Understanding through immersions and formal Market Research:
• Understanding consumers existing and future needs.
• Understanding consumers, their attitudes & behaviour in general and to the brand and the category.
• Understand purchase behaviour.
• Finding and analysing consumer need gaps.
• Understanding of and ability to implement formal Consumer Research – Qual & Quant.
• Brand Tracks
• U&A
• Product Tests
• Concept Tests
• Concept Product Tests
• Ad Testing
• Brand Equity and Varianting Study
• Ethnographical methods
• Understanding of how Media works in the market and development & implementation of the media plans. Should have working knowledge & understanding of both mainstream media (TV, Radio, Outdoor) and emerging media (SMM, Internet advertising, Mobile advertising).
• Understanding of how PR works in the market and development & implementation of relevant strategies.

Strategic Thinking:

• Developing a future vision.
• Conversion of business goals to marketing plans.
• Conversion of consumer insights into marketing ideas.
• Brand Equity Development & Management:
• Developing Brand Lighthouses based on consumer understanding.
• Ability to rigorously maintain brand identity in all branding activities.
• Ability to conceptualise & develop the Brand Architecture.
• Ability to develop a portfolio strategy for the business.
• Put together the Category Strategy with cross-functional inputs and over a longer horizon.
• Put together Brand Plans that synthesises big-picture and detail.
• Lead development of activity plans.
• Ability to configure well thought of and innovative BTL activations.
• Day to Day management of advertising & media, Research and Consumer BTL.
• Understands business situation and sees clearly what is to be done and how to do it.
• Knowledge of the Stage-Gate NPD process – Ability to champion a new product idea through stages and gates.

Analytical skills:

• Identification of opportunities and issues
• Ability to develop hypothesis for each issue and come up with alternative ideas.
• Analysing sales, media and research data.
• Use of data to create detailed, fact based and logical arguments.
• Present Analysis and Conclusions in a clear, structured manner.
• Understand Brand Performance from P&L.

People skills:

• Develop a strategic contact matrix - internal and external to ensure that brand plans are achieved.

Communication skills:

• Ability to interact vertically and laterally - discuss issues openly, confidently and with clarity to deliver solutions.
• Persuade and influence at any level.
• Ability to produce/ present business documents which have well laid out arguments.
• Conveys ideas effectively.
• Excellent presentation skills.
• Planning & conducting negotiations.

Commercial understanding:

• In depth product understanding along with the revenue and cost drivers across the value chain that impacts the margin delivery
• Identify Profitable and sub-optimal SKU’s and plan marketing strategies accordingly (invest, exit decisions).
• Manage A&P budgets (Plan, Track).
• Review P&L monthly and take corrective actions.
• Coordinates a KPI review monthly.

Teamwork:

• Has good working relationship with superiors, peers and subordinates and external customers and is well acceptable to them.
• Supports other team members (the wider country team) depending on the need.
• Has a thorough understanding of how marketing impacts other groups in the company.
• Maintains two way communications with internal and external teams.

Personal:

• Ability to prioritise tasks - differentiate between urgent & important.
• Ability to review & change priorities as new tasks achieve.
• Allots times for ‘thinking’, ‘planning’ and implementation.
• Ability to do fieldwork to check plan implementations.
• Ability to achieve objectives within deadlines.
• Exhibits initiative in handling different assignments rather than waiting for instructions, seeks out opportunities and solutions to problems for continuous improvement, is self motivated and can take stretch goals.
• Sees uncertainties as an opportunity and not as a problem.
• Recommends and accepts ideas and builds upon them. Creates new and unique approaches by rethinking or reconceptualising so as to resolve problems. Has high degree of curiosity.

Leadership:

• Seeks out and leads change, challenges the norms/ status quo.
• Instils belief and passion among sales, finance & supply chain (including manufacturing) to enthuse, motivate and inspire higher levels of performance on the portfolio.
• Is able to create and drive initiatives independently.

Application Closing Date
Not Specified.

How to Apply
Interested and qualified candidates should:
Click here to apply online