Head: Corporate Communications

takealot.com, South Africa's leading online retailer, is looking for a highly accomplished Head of Corporate Communications  to join our Corporate Affairs team in Cape Town.

We are a young, dynamic, hyper growth company looking for smart, creative, hard-working people with integrity to join us. We offer a market related, Total Remuneration Package which allows full flexibility according to your needs, a great work environment and a promise that you won’t be bored as long as you are prepared for a challenge and want to build something great.

This position reports to the Group Executive: Public Affairs

Your responsibilities will include:

Corporate narrative and reputation strategy

• Develop and lead the Takealot Group corporate communications and reputation strategy, aligned to business strategy, the Group's South African identity, economic contribution, innovation agenda and social impact.
• Create and maintain a clear messaging architecture, approved proof points and corporate narrative that can be used consistently across Group functions and business units without diluting their distinct customer brands.
• Position the Group credibly on the issues that shape its licence to grow: e-commerce and the digital economy, entrepreneurship and localisation, employment and platform work, logistics innovation, consumer trust and inclusive growth.
• Translate the strategy into a prioritised annual communications plan linked to material reputation risks, policy priorities, business milestones and opportunities for proactive leadership.

Media relations, executive communications and thought leadership

• Lead Group-level relationships with business, political, technology, labour, consumer and general news media, building a proactive programme rather than a predominantly reactive press office.
• Advise and prepare the Group CEO and designated executives for interviews, speeches, opinion pieces, panels and other high-value platforms; ensure executive visibility is purposeful and tied to strategic priorities.
• Lead communications for Group results, material corporate announcements, partnerships and strategic milestones in coordination with Finance, Legal, Naspers/Prosus and the relevant business units.
• Set media-response and spokesperson protocols, oversee high-risk media enquiries and ensure the Group and BU teams communicate accurately, consistently and at appropriate speed.

Issues, crisis and reputation risk

• Maintain an active reputation and issues register linked to Public Policy, Risk, Legal and operational risk processes, identifying emerging narratives before they become material reputation events.
• Develop scenario plans, holding statements, key messages, escalation paths and spokesperson arrangements for priority risks, including driver and labour issues, community tension, consumer or product-safety concerns, regulatory scrutiny, technology incidents and operational disruption.
• Lead the communications response during Group-level crises and coordinate relevant BU, Legal, Risk, Operations, Customer and executive stakeholders around a single verified position and clear decision rights.

Public policy, stakeholder and social impact communications
 

• Work with Public Policy and Stakeholder Relations to translate complex policy positions into clear public narratives without pre-empting the accountable advocacy or negotiating mandate.
• Build communications strategies around priority issues such as the future of platform work and the Third Way, fair e-commerce competition and customs/VAT parity, consumer protection, localisation, driver ecosystem sustainability and digital economic inclusion.
• Lead the narrative for the Takealot Township Economy Initiative (TTEI) and broader social impact agenda, connecting driver development, marketplace SMEs, township and rural inclusion, franchisee development and skills programmes to measurable economic contribution.
• Partner with Social Impact, Sustainability, Finance and programme owners to ensure public claims are evidence-based, balanced and auditable; turn verified data and human stories into credible stakeholder and media content without overclaiming.

Group and business-unit communications governance

• Define and embed the operating model, decision rights and escalation protocols between Group Corporate Communications and the CMOs of takealot.com, Mr D and TFS.
• Convene a regular Group communications forum to align major announcements, emerging issues, executive visibility and narrative priorities while preserving BU ownership of consumer and commercial marketing.
• Retain final accountability for the Group's institutional position and corporate reputation. The relevant CMO retains final accountability for customer brand and commercial execution; major launches, partnerships, incidents and public-interest campaigns are coordinated jointly where the two intersect.
• Maintain a single source of truth for approved corporate facts, messages, policy positions and proof points, with clear approval routes for corporate statements, media responses and reputation-sensitive communications.

Reputation intelligence, capability and delivery

• Build a decision-useful reputation intelligence capability covering media, stakeholder sentiment, message penetration, misinformation, emerging issues, competitor narratives and material shifts in the external environment.
• Measure what matters: quality and relevance of coverage, message pull-through, stakeholder understanding and trust, executive credibility, issue preparedness and response effectiveness. Do not rely on advertising-value equivalency or volume alone.
• Build and lead the corporate communications team and agency model, manage approved budgets and develop strong capability in writing, media relations, issues management, research, executive communications and rapid response.
• Use AI-enabled monitoring, research, drafting and scenario preparation to improve speed and coverage while retaining human judgement, source verification, confidentiality, editorial accountability and the required Legal or executive approvals.

Qualification & Experience:

• An Honours degree in Communications, Journalism, Public Relations, Corporate Affairs, Business, Political Science, Public Policy, Law, Economics or a related field. A relevant master's degree is advantageous.
• At least 12 years experience in corporate communications, reputation management, strategic communications, public affairs or journalism in a complex, high-profile or regulated organisation.
• At least five years at senior leadership level, advising CEOs, executive committees or boards and leading teams, agencies and budgets.
• A strong record across corporate narrative, media relations, executive communications and issues or crisis management, including coordination across brands or business units.
• Experience navigating sensitive policy, regulatory or societal issues, influencing without direct authority and making sound decisions under pressure

Attributes Required:

• Strategic judgement; corporate storytelling; commercial, political and societal acumen; strong issues and crisis leadership.
• Executive influence, cross-functional collaboration and the ability to create alignment without unnecessarily centralising BU accountability.
• Integrity, discretion, courage and calm under pressure; able to challenge constructively, move at pace and know when the Group should not speak.
• Deep understanding of the South African media, political, regulatory and socioeconomic environment and the reputation dynamics facing digital businesses.
• Exceptional writing, editing, briefing and verbal communication; able to simplify complex business, policy and technical issues accurately.
• Ability to manage Group/BU brand architecture: protect a coherent institutional position while enabling distinct customer brands and commercial teams.
• Ability to turn policy, social-impact and economic-contribution evidence into credible narratives without overclaiming.
• Capability in reputation measurement, media intelligence, executive positioning, crisis simulation and communications governance.
• Responsible use of AI for monitoring, research and drafting, with source verification, confidentiality and human editorial accountability.

The Environment: 

• We laugh hard, work harder, and take full ownership of our wins (and learning moments!)
• Teamwork makes the dream work – we're solution-seekers who thrive on collaboration
• Got feedback? Bring it on! We're always hungry for fresh ideas and honest input 
• Ego? We checked that at the door. Results? Now we're talking!

If you meet the above you are an Extraordinary Mind so come and join us!

Takealot Group is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We encourage applicants from the previously disadvantaged groups and people with disabilities, to apply.