Job Description

We Go Places! How about you?
Job Grade: 15
Location: Johannesburg
Function: Commerce
Sub Function: Commerce - Marketing - Brand Management
Type of Contract: Permanent
Reference Number: 144850
Closing Date: 13/10/2025
Purpose of the role:
The Growth & Innovation Manager is responsible for leading and crafting sustainable brand revenue growth through market and trend analysis, consumer, customer, shopper insight, fostering an innovative culture and developing the 5-year innovation pipelines in and beyond the bottle. Including the ideation, design, development and execution of innovation, packs, formats, experiences, with robust research and commercialization of initiatives. Robust revenue management guardrails for pricing, mix management, PPA, promotional effectiveness and performance analysis. Management of teams and budget resources, and project management with cross functional stakeholder collaboration.
Key Responsibilites:
Identification of growth opportunities

• Define and prioritize growth opportunities for brand / category based on deep-dive into demand space, occasions, PPA, region, consumer target, market trends and competitors weaknesses.
• Consumer Behaviour Forecasting: Analyse changes in consumer behavior and preferences, adjusting strategies to maintain relevance. Ensuring all strategies are rooted in category, consumer and shopper insight and complemented by a solid understanding of demand spaces, consumer needs, emerging underserved consumer groups like GenZ and females, and category white spaces with CMI.
• Identify growth opportunities and develop clear trade marketing and sales guidelines for 'maintain' brands within the category.

Innovation Pipeline Development:

• Innovation Culture: Foster a culture of innovation within the marketing team, encouraging creative thinking and experimentation with new marketing and innovation ideas.
• Innovation Opportunities: Identify and pursue opportunities for new products, packs, formats, beyond the bottle and consumer experience innovations ideas. Developing 5 Year Innovation Pipelines that will be margin enhancing by working closely with cross functional teams and the regional Innovation Hub.
• Product Development: Lead the ideation and manage the innovation development process and guardrails, concepts, design, implementation, PIPO management, and execution of the identified projects through Stage Gate process, supported by the SC Project Management Teams.

Research and Commercialisation of Innovation:

• Consumer Research: Conduct robust testing in collaboration with the CMI team to validate new concepts with consumer, customer, and shopper insights. Including qualitative, quantitative, conjoint elasticity, and shopper studies to assess volumetric impact of initiatives on total business incremental growth.
• Commercialisation of Innovation Projects: Costing analysis of liquid and pack COGS, and production costs and overheads with Finance and RMG stakeholders to optimize margin accretion of all innovation projects.

TTL Campaigns, Trade Marketing, and Shopper Strategies:

• TTL Campaign: Support all campaigns related to innovation and pack launches.
• Trade Marketing and Shopper Strategies: Co-creation of trade marketing strategies using shopper market research to understand consumer behavior and preferences across channels. Collaborate on playbook guardrails with trade marketing for segmentation strategies, visibility, promotions, and activations.

RMG Commercial Capability: Pricing, Mix, and PPA

• Commercial Capability: Support price positioning guidelines for sustainable revenue growth and profitability across the portfolio in partnership with RMG. Monitor market trends, competitor pricing, and consumer and customer behaviour to adjust pricing strategy accordingly.
• Mix and Margin Management: Analyse product mix and margin performance to identify areas for improvement ensuring a full value chain and total P&L assessment of pack, product, and category mix.
• Pack and Price Marketing: Assess competitor landscape pack value curves and pricing gaps for new profit pools to optimize and develop new pack and format launches at magic price points.

Promotional Effectiveness and Performance Analysis

• Promotional Effectiveness: Evaluate promotional activities and campaign effectiveness in driving volume, revenue, and profitability return on investment.
• Performance Analysis and Metrics: Conduct regular performance analysis to measure the effectiveness of revenue management, brand, and trade marketing initiatives. Establish and monitor key KPIs vs business plan including volume, revenue, GP, listings, ranging, weighted and numeric distribution, promotion, rate of sale, open orders, stock on hand, expiry and write off risks.

Operational Management:

• Cross Functional Collaboration: Engage with internal and external stakeholders to gather insights and foster partnerships that support growth and innovation: including RMG, finance, sales, trade marketing, legal, supply chain, the Innovation Hub, and external agencies and partners, to align innovation, growth and revenue management strategies with overall business goals. Work closely with brand and trade marketing to ensure successful execution of growth and innovation initiatives.

Presentations:

• Develop presentations for MT, Global visitors and other stakeholder engagement.

Education and Experience:

• A relevant and recognized Bachelor's, Masters or Post-Graduate qualification in Commerce, Marketing, Economics, Business Science or related field. Advanced degree preferred.
• 8+ years of experience in growth strategy, innovation management, or a similar role within the alcohol industry.

Skills :

• Excellent understanding of market trends and consumer behaviour.
• Proven track record of successfully managing growth and innovation projects.
• Results oriented and experience with brand, insights, RMG, and trade marketing.
• Strong business and commercial acumen, with revenue management principles and best practice.
• Excellent communication and leadership skills to work cross functionally.
• Strong analytical and strategic thinking skills.
• Strong project management, budget management, and organizational skills.
• Team management and ability to work in agile, fast paced environment.

Competencies:

• Consumer, Customer, and Shopper Centric with a Growth Mindset.
• Focused on Competitor Landscape and Global and Local Trends.
• Strategic Thinker and Results Oriented with Drive to Win and Deliver.
• Risk Management, Stakeholder Management
• Adaptable, Flexible and able to Integrate Perspectives.
• Fosters Team Collaboration and Connections
• Acts as Role Model to Inspire Team and Others
• Develops People and Teams

The Company's approved Employment Equity Plan and Targets will be considered as part of the recruitment process. As an Equal Opportunities employer, we actively encourage and welcome people with various disabilities to apply. Heineken Beverages (South Africa) (Pty) Ltd) is committed to an organisational culture that recognises, appreciates and values inclusion and diversity. You must be fully eligible to live and work in South Africa to apply.

Skills Required