Category Director (Gold Portfolio)

Key Duties and Responsibilities 

Category & Business Unit Leadership 

•  Own and lead the Gold BU strategy, aligning global ambition with African market realities. 

• Define clear business objectives, growth levers, and category priorities across brands, channels, and consumer segments. 

• Act as the single point of accountability for BU performance, trade‑offs, and decision‑making. 

• Translate strategy into clear executional roadmaps across Marketing, Sales, Trade Marketing, Supply Chain and Finance.  

Full P&L Ownership & Financial Stewardship 

• Own and manage the Gold BU P&L, delivering revenue growth, margin optimisation, and cost efficiency. 

• Lead A&P, pricing, promotion, mix, and innovation investment decisions to maximise ROI. 

• Track, forecast, and course‑correct performance against annual targets. 

• Lead pricing architecture, promotional intensity, and value ladder strategies in collaboration with Sales and Finance. 

• Ensure disciplined budget governance and financial control. 

Consumer, Shopper & Market Insight Leadership 

• Own the consumer demand map for the Gold category. 

• Leverage data, insights, and analytics to identify growth opportunities, risks, and whitespace. 

• Drive deep understanding of consumer, shopper, customer, and competitive dynamics. 

• Embed insight‑led decision‑making across portfolio, innovation, pricing, and activation. 

Brand, Portfolio & Innovation Stewardship 

• Lead the Gold brand portfolio strategy: roles, positioning, equity building and value creation. 

• Own the innovation and renovation pipeline, from concept through to commercialization and scale. 

• Translate global brand strategies into locally relevant brand‑market execution plans. 

• Ensure brand consistency, relevance, and competitive differentiation across all touchpoints. 

Integrated Commercial & Marketing Execution 

• Set direction for integrated brand activation, ensuring alignment across media, digital, trade, PR, and experiential platforms. 

• Drive excellence across priority touchpoints, ensuring a seamless consumer and shopper experience. 

• Oversee campaign performance, post‑launch reviews and optimization. 

• Ensure strong collaboration with Agencies, Creative Partners, and Media Houses. 

Cross‑Functional & Stakeholder Leadership 

• Lead a complex internal ecosystem, partnering closely with Sales, Trade Marketing, Finance, Supply Chain, Production and Regulatory. 

• Influence and align senior stakeholders around BU priorities and trade‑offs. 

• Act as a key liaison with Global Brand Owners, ensuring alignment and mutual value creation. 

• Manage external partners to deliver high‑quality output within agreed budgets and timelines. 

People Leadership & Capability Building 

• Build, lead, and inspire high‑performing teams within the Gold BU. 

• Recruit, develop, and retain top talent. 

• Coach teams on commercial acumen, brand leadership, and execution excellence. 

• Foster a strong performance, accountability, and collaboration culture. 

Key Competencies and Experience

Qualifications & Experience 

• Bachelor’s degree in Marketing, Business, Commerce or related field. 

• 10+ years’ experience across category leadership, portfolio management, or general management roles. 

• Proven experience with P&L ownership, pricing, and commercial decision‑making. 

• Strong track record leading senior teams and managing agencies. 

Knowledge, Skills & Attributes 

• Strong general management and commercial acumen. 

• Deep expertise in consumer insight, brand building, and integrated activation. 

• Advanced analytical and financial capability. 

• Strategic thinker with strong execution bias. 

• Influential leader with excellent stakeholder management skills. 

• Highly collaborative, agile, and results‑driven.