Category Head

Women First Jobs; Dubai; On-site; AED 500,000 - 900,000; Full time

Job summary

Women First Jobs in Dubai seeks a seasoned Leader to head the Africa Cluster from the UAE, driving strategic growth, profitability, and long-term market share across the region. The role requires shaping vendor partnerships, digital and omnichannel strategies, and high-impact stakeholder engagement.

The ideal candidate brings 15+ years of senior leadership experience, deep P&L accountability, and a proven ability to execute growth initiatives in complex, multi-country environments.

Qualifications

• P&L management at scale.
• Proven track record in developing and executing growth strategies.
• Ability to identify and strategize new opportunities.
• Understanding of operational complexity in large organizations.
• Experience in managing teams across functions.
• Knowledge of distribution and logistics dynamics.
• Familiarity with omnichannel and Everything-as-a-service models.

Responsibilities

• Provide leadership to the business and drive strategic and operational growth.
• Oversee talent development to scale organizational capacity.

Skills

P&L management

Growth strategy

Identify opportunities

Operational excellence

Team leadership

Distribution & logistics

Omnichannel & As-a-service

Job description

To strengthen the growth momentum that we have achieved in the region and ensure that we continue to gain market share and increase top- line and bottom-line in a competitive and rapidly evolving industry, we are seeking a sharp, seasoned and strategic leader to lead the business for Africa Cluster based in UAE.

This is a senior position within the Leadership team and the incumbent will be responsible for influencing the next phase of growth and success leading to our overall business success.

The key accountabilities of the role will be to:

• Provide leadership to the business. One of the key tasks for the Category Head will be to provide strategic and operational leadership to outpace the market, in terms of growth and Profitability. He/ she will lead a highlight-motivated team that will be focused on target attainment through superior customer centricity. He/ she will Identify potential vendors and onboard the same across the region and ensure dominant market share in the product category assigned.
• Manage human capital effectively to build organizational capability and capacity to meet the pressing demands of rapid growth in a competitive and changing environment.
• Bring credibility and gravitas to internal and external relationships. He/she will be responsible for establishing and growing long-term relationships with key clients. A high degree of customer-centricity will be critical in this role. In addition, the role will influence and collaborate effectively with a large group of internal stakeholders within the organization.

CandidateProfile

Experience

• The ideal candidate for this role will be a seasoned and highly qualified leader with 15+ years of experience of having managedthe business of comparable size, scale, and complexity.
• The individual will bring a strong grasp of the key operating and profitability levers of the business to execute the overall strategyand achieve the shortand long-term goals. He/ She will therefore have demonstrated experience of driving growth, the ability to think out-of-the-box, a willingness to experiment, and the ability to re-imagine the business for growth.
• He/She will be responsible to develop and implement different strategies and demonstrate a solutions orientation, a strong businessacumen, and an understanding of strategic issuesfacing customers.
• Execute aggressive plans by working closely in association with sales to market the new products. Build and execute the yearly, quarterly business plan in sync with the vendors strategy. Manage and drive vendor programs and promotions.
• Overall P&L responsibility for this business in line with the goals set by the company for the financial year. He/ she should have a strong executive presence, relationship-building skills and an ability to make an impact with external stakeholders. He/ She should be a visionary leader with extensive experience of global best practices and the ability to inspire the organization towards continued success.

Experience

Must have

• P&L management at scale
• Proven track record in developing andsuccessfully executing growth strategies
• Ability to identify and strategize new opportunities
• Exposure to significant operational complexity
• Managing Teams
• Understanding of distribution and logistics
• Understanding of business models–Omnichannel, Everything-as-a-service

Personal Attributes

The individual will be an independent, dynamic, high-energy personality with strong interpersonal, influencing and relationship skills. He/She will have the gravitas, maturity and credibility to be accepted at the seniormost levels in client organizations as well as in industry and have the clout to ‘open doors’ and ‘win businesses’.

Personal Attributes

Must have

• Strong business acumen
• Energetic, self-motivated leader who can cultivate a culture of pride and high performance
• Strong collaboration and influencing – internal and external
• Results oriented leader with a bias towards action

Leadership Skills

• Results Orientation: Energized by a challenge and drives innovative business solutions. Develops new insights into solutions that result in organizational improvements. Sets new and stretching goals for self and team and achieves beyond what is expected. Exploits opportunities to exceed goals and workstowards them, even under adversecircumstances.
• Operational excellence: Demonstrates flexibility to adjust to changing markets, conditions and technologies and create a roadmap towards continuous improvement in a complex business environment.
• Team Leadership: Actively engages the team to develop plans and resolve issues through collaborative problem-solving. Gains commitment by using logic. Agrees individual tasks based on previousexperience and shows them how their work fits in with what othersare doing. Holds individuals accountable for agreed plans and rewards those who support team objectives.
• Collaboration and Influencing: Uses the informal structure, dynamics and culture of an organization to get thingsdone, resolve issues through collaborative problem solving. Activelyseeks input in decision-making. Shows others how their objectives align with the overall organizational objectives & goals. Actively contributes to the broader organization or team, compromising on own preferences where necessary. Invests in building relationships
• Commercial orientation: Focused on implementing ways to improveprofitability. Looks beyond the numbers in making value-creating decisions, combining hard data and personal insights.Acts quickly on and prioritizes commercial opportunities within own area of responsibility. Anticipates evolving commercial trends and takes steps to refocus business activities accordingly.
• Digital leadership: understanding and ability to leverage technology towards a digital first and digital only organization for all internal and external processes.

What do we offer?

A progressive, entrepreneurial, growth-oriented and agile operating environment that offers employees an opportunity to achieve their potential. A strong culture with deep-rooted values and leadership behaviors that position us as a Great Place To Work. It offers great learning to manage a complex multi-country and multicultural and very diverse workforce in a constantly dynamic economic environment.