Job Description

Coca-Cola Beverages South Africa (CCBSA) has an exciting opportunity in our Commercial department. We are looking for talented individual with relevant skills and experience for a Customer Category Specialist role.
Key Duties & Responsibilities
Key Outcomes

• Revenue Growth Identification and Execution: Develop and present bi-annual customer category opportunity mapping to customers, identifying innovative solutions and revenue growth opportunities. Establish measurable goals and track progress against set targets, ensuring effective execution of growth strategies that result in tangible revenue increases for both the customer and the business.
• Customer and Shopper Research for Strategy Development: Conduct in-depth customer and shopper research to uncover insights that provide clear opportunities for the customer within different categories. Collaborate with the Channel Development Managers,
• Customer Marketing Managers, and Sales teams to build actionable strategies and plans, directly contributing to optimized sales efforts and increased revenue.
• "Winning at the Point of Purchase" Strategy Development: Develop and track the look of success for category initiatives, with an emphasis on the channel strategy and its impact at the point of purchase. Analyze customer purchasing behavior and create strategies that align with customer needs, ensuring maximum product visibility and sales performance at retail locations.
• Category Range, SKU Rationalization, and Positioning Insights: Provide customers with valuable insights on category range, SKU rationalization, and optimal product positioning. Leverage market intelligence and category data to help customers streamline their product offerings and improve shelf space utilization, leading to increased sales and customer satisfaction.
• Capability Building and Sales Enablement: Deliver capability-building insights to the sales team, enabling them to drive revenue growth through effective category management and customer engagement. Provide actionable recommendations and best practices to sales teams to enhance their effectiveness in executing category initiatives at the customer level.
• Tracking and Reporting Category Performance: Develop systems to track and evaluate specific category performance within customer accounts, identifying areas of opportunity or concern. Proactively recommend remedial actions and insights to improve category performance and ensure alignment with the broader business objectives, as well as providing regular reporting on the performance of trials, promotions, and other initiatives.

KBI

• Revenue Growth: Percentage increase in category revenue for key customers.
• Category Performance: Market share and SKU performance growth.
• Customer Engagement: Customer satisfaction scores and meeting frequency.
• Promotional Effectiveness: ROI and sales uplift from promotions.
• Innovation Success: Successful in-trade innovations and trial adoption rates.

Functional Capabilities

• Category Opportunity Mapping and Revenue Growth Identification
• Customer and Shopper Research Analysis
• Point of Purchase Strategy Development
• Category Range and SKU Optimization
• Sales Enablement and Capability Building
• Performance Tracking and Reporting
• Customer Relationship Management
• Innovation and Trial Management

Skills, Experience & Education
Education

• BCom or Marketing Degree (preferred).

Experience:

• 5-6 years of relevant experience in FMCG sales, marketing, or category management.
• Strong analytical and creative problem-solving skills, with a focus on delivering practical solutions.
• Excellent communication skills with the ability to convey complex information in a clear, concise, and actionable manner.
• Deep understanding of the decision-making processes within the FMCG industry, especially with respect to category management and customer relationships.
• Adaptability to dynamic market conditions and changing business needs

Skills

• Customer Relationship Management: Strong interpersonal skills to build and maintain strategic relationships with key customers, ensuring alignment and collaboration to drive revenue growth.
• Category Management Expertise: Deep understanding of category management principles, including product assortment, SKU rationalization, and category performance tracking, to optimize customer offerings and sales potential.
• Sales Enablement and Coaching: Ability to provide insights and guidance to sales teams, helping them understand category strategies and execute them effectively in the field.
• Project Management: Strong organizational and time-management skills to coordinate cross-functional initiatives, track performance, and ensure timely execution of category projects and customer-specific innovations.
• Negotiation Skills: Effective negotiation abilities to secure favourable outcomes with customers, ensuring mutually beneficial agreements while aligning with business goals.
• Innovation and Problem-Solving: Creative thinking and a proactive approach to problem-solving, enabling the development of innovative solutions that drive success at the point of purchase and beyond.

General Internal Candidates must submit a fully approved application form (signed off by the Line Manager and HR) to the talent acquisition specialist before the closing date. Suitable equity candidates will be given preference in line with our Equity Plan.
Policy
At Coca-Cola Beverages Africa we are proud to celebrate diversity and we strive to achieve an equal opportunity workplace by being cognisant of affirmative action requirements. It is our policy to be mindful and compliant with all our regional requirements and national laws for those regions. Employment at Coca-Cola Beverages Africa is based solely on an individual's merit and qualifications directly related to their field of competence. We do not discriminate against an employee or potential employees because race, colour, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, marital status, disability and gender identity.
At the heart of our recruitment processes is the need to create a value driven experience for all applicants. To all recruitment agencies: Coca-Cola Beverages Africa does not accept agency resumes for roles that we post and make available. Please do not forward any resumes to any Coca-Cola Beverages Africa employees and Talent Teams as we are not responsible for any fees related to unsolicited resumes.