Brand and Marketing Director at Safaricom Kenya

We are looking for a senior global business leader, a Brand and Marketing Director, with a solid marketing background and work experience managing a large marketing portfolio who shall provide strategic leadership, from a market and product perspective to the overall Safaricom Brand, which include M-PESA, Safaricom Business, and Safaricom Foundation.

Role purpose:

• As a custodian of the Safaricom and MPESA brand, maintain and evolve the company’s brands by devising its overall strategy, architecture, positioning, and look and feel to build brand awareness, perception and equity in Kenya and other markets.
• Provide leadership and oversight for insights and strategic developments based on business intelligence, data analytics and customer and consumer behavior to ensure that the organization is wining.
• Shall provide direction and marketing mix recommendations that support the business objectives and collaborate with cross-functional partners to ensure Safaricom is developing the most effective marketing plans to meet targets.
• To ensure robust brand custody by creating powerful integrated communications delivered through an effective mix of channels.
• Lead Marketing Research and Customer insights to support decision-making.  To lead in the sourcing of customer insights expertise within the Research & Customer Insights team
• To provide an integrated platform of accessing all the different brands under the overall Safaricom Brand, which include M-PESA, Safaricom Business, and Safaricom Foundation.
• To enhance the position of Safaricom with key external stakeholders including the diverse customer to create a receptive market for growth of the brand, enhancing brand equity across customer segments.
• As a critical player in terms of input to brand/products ensure brand/product decisions are driven by actionable consumer insights in an effort to maximize effectiveness and profitability
• From a range of research and data analysis techniques, identify strategic requirements and lead long-term opportunity development for innovation projects and their fit with overall business strategy for portfolio and Safaricom brand development
• Shall be the champion of ‘consumer focus’ and ‘customer insights’ within the business

Key accountabilities and decision ownership:

• Brand custodian responsible to ensure conformity with the published guidelines and defined brand architecture.  Lead in any changes, developments and innovations required in the guidelines.
• Championing brand equity
• Manage the agency creative development process Safaricom to ensure delivery of above the line, and below the line advertising materials for execution.
• Take lead in the review and optimization of the advertising charter and contract with Safaricom from time-to-time.
• Management of research and integrated media communications agency to deliver to strategy on Brand.
• Oversee internal coordination of advertising and promotional briefs to deliver world class advertising with regards to brand, brand assets, sponsorships, Safaricom Foundation, and all internal departments.
• Champion standardization, negotiation and driving down of production costs directly related to advertising production in concert with procurement.
• Embed and drive the understanding of consumer motivation and identification of opportunities that will unlock growth for the business
• Champion and drive world class consumer understanding and insights that will drive growth using a variety of best practice and processes
• Putting the consumers at the heart of everything, actively inspire and influence Research and product teams to ensure they ingrain consumer feedback/insights in the brand/product strategy and marketing activities to maximize effectiveness and profitability
• Global & Kenya liaison for Research and customer insights
• Understand the value of M&E to the research agenda and to the brand/products’ performance and its fit into the brand/product planning process.
• Champion the search and spin of knowledge, information and ideas that will make M&E a creative process that appeals to brand/product teams
• Continually challenge the processes and procedures for current supply service levels/ challenging convention
• Talent management and staff development initiatives proposed and implemented annually.  Develop and execute initiatives to build and maintain team cohesion and engagement

Key performance indicators:

• Ensuring Safaricom advertising and Communication resonates and delivers world class material and execution and positively contributes to the brand image hence delivering the brand promise. 
• Positively impact brand health metrics of brand love, brand consideration, net promoter score, etc.
• Champion brand conformity as well as the understanding of the brand framework across the organization. Excellent brand and product positioning
• Monitoring and reporting on the OPEX budget, maximizing efficacy and efficiency of spend.
• Review approaches affecting brand equity targets as set by the business.  Measure and increase brand equity across targeted customer segments.
• Ensure and maximize ROI with regards to Agency performance, production, and resourcing level
• Management (design and execution) of key brand initiatives ensuring the Safaricom Corporate and brand Advertising portfolio:
• Oversee co-ordination of internal or external advertising and promotional material ensuring clear and consistent communication is delivered to the customer.
• Pioneering of new ways to connect with customers and analyze different data sources

QUALIFICATIONS

Business and Leadership Competencies:

• Agile
• Influence through networks
• Organizational performance
• Planning decisions
• Leads change
• Lead cross-functional programmes with multiple projects

Functional Competencies:

• Uses a range of research and data analysis techniques to identify, prioritize customer segments and their values, attitudes and lifestyles 
• Translates data into insights that identify opportunities to drive value in target customer segments
• Builds a brand that connects emotionally and rationally with our customers now and in the future
• Measures and increases brand equity across customer segments
• Refines propositions to maximise acquisition, retention and advocacy over the product and service lifecycle  
• Applies knowledge of marketing processes and techniques to shape propositions.

Technical Competencies:

• Can cohesively pull together Customer VOC, Insights, and financial performance in Multiyear segment plans.
• Can create compelling segment propositions that give Safaricom a multi-year edge in the market.  Plans and executes activities that bring the brand to life across specific segments and touch points.
• Owns and uses P&L knowledge to proactively influence commercial actions for shareholder value creation
• Builds integrated and targeted delivery methods, sets brand aligned content strategy and measures impact
• Develops systems, guidelines and tools to diagnose customer issues.
• Demonstrates continual success in performing increasingly more complex projects and studies that require seasoned/ technical skills.
• Identifies and resolves functionality issues between products and services.
• Can conduct training of different products and services to different stakeholders.
• An acknowledged thought leader in your area in your industry; pioneer new ways of creating and delivering value
• Defines KPIs to measure objectives of specific campaigns.

Must have technical / professional qualifications:

• Degree holder in Business Administration/Marketing & Research or relevant degrees 
• Minimum of 12 years’ experience in a senior sales, marketing, research, or customer management role
• Leadership skills and experience

Closing: July 4 2022