Account Executive, Consumer Goods

BuddiesHR; Johannesburg; On-site; ZAR 550,000 - 900,000; Full time

Job summary

Circana is a leading provider of technology, AI, and data solutions for consumer goods, manufacturers, and retailers. The Account Executive drives internal team performance and strong client collaboration, leveraging analytics and our platform to reveal performance insights and competitive advantage.

With FMCG/retail experience and established relationships, you will lead a team, deliver strategic analyses, and present findings to C-suite stakeholders, shaping joint business plans and growth

Qualifications

• Tertiary education with 2–3 years' experience.
• Experience leading a team and managing key accounts.
• FMCG/Retail industry experience desirable.

Responsibilities

• Lead your direct reports to achieve all business objectives.
• Provide advice to the business on areas within this function’s responsibility.
• Drive collaboration across all business streams.
• Support onboarding, training, development and mentoring of the team.
• Presentation development and delivery—ownership of end-to-end process.
• Engage with Exco level stakeholders and trusted advisor to clients.
• Draft proposals for additional services and analytics projects.
• Develop new analytical frameworks to bring data-driven insights.

Skills

Team leadership

Stakeholder management

FMCG/ Retail experience

Data analysis

Excel

PowerPoint

Education

Tertiary education with 2-3 years experience

Tools

Excel

PowerPoint

Job description

Circana is a leading provider of technology, AI, and data solutions for consumer packaged goods companies, manufacturers, and retailers. Our predictive analytics and Liquid Data® platform help clients measure market share, uncover consumer behavior, and drive growth—powered by six decades of expertise and an expansive, high-quality data set.

At Circana, we are fueled by our passion for continuous learning and growth, we seek and share feedback freely, and we celebrate victories both big and small in an environment that is flexible and accommodating to our work and personal lives. We’re a global company dedicated to fostering inclusivity and belonging. We value and celebrate the unique experiences, cultures, and viewpoints that each individual brings. By embracing a wide range of backgrounds, skills, expertise, and beyond, we create a stronger, more innovative environment for our employees, clients, and communities. With us, you can always bring your full self to work. Join our inclusive, committed team to be a challenger, own outcomes, and stay curious together. Circana is proud to be Certified by Great Place To Work.

At the heart of our commercial success is a team of professionals who combine strategic insight, customer-centricity, and executional excellence. These skills represent the core capabilities required to drive value for our clients and sustainable growth for our business.

• Effectively Presents Solutions: Delivers tailored, compelling solutions that align with customer needs and drive action.
• Knows the Buying Influences: Identifies key decision-makers and understands their motivations and influence.
• Manages Buyer Indifference: Recognizes and explores customer hesitation to uncover new needs or opportunities.
• Understands Customer Needs: Operates as a recognized expert to articulate customer needs in the customer's business language and business context.
• Being Resilient: Bounces back from setbacks with composure and positivity; helps others stay productive during tough times.
• Manages Ambiguity: Stays focused and calm in uncertain situations; guides others through change.

What will you be doing?

The Account Executive drives internal team performance and C-suite client collaboration and relationships. They do this by having a solid amount of experience in the FMCG/Retail space, have established relationships and networks and can utilise our technology and their analytics experience to help the client understand their performance and gain competitive advantage. The Account Manager is a sounding board of guidance and advice to their team and understands that their team development and client outputs are critical to their role.

Job Responsibilities

• To lead your direct reports to achieve all business objectives
• To provide advice to the business on areas within this function’s responsibility
• Show initiative in coming up with new ideas and process improvements
• Conduct Performance reviews for all staff under direct report
• Drive collaboration across all business streams
• Support the onboarding, training, development and mentoring of the team

Data Mining & Analysis

• Extraction and interpretation of EPOS data, and several third-party data sources, for various FMCG categories
• Understand and assess current market, consumer, and category dynamics for a portfolio of clients.
• Incorporating various third-party data sources acquired independently or supplied by the client into the analysis
• Identifying market and consumer trends, gaps & opportunities across various consumer categories to provide
• Recommendations for clients based on what has been identified
• Brief-based or Ad-hoc Analysis using the “funnel” analytical approach (drilling down), starting from the macro-economic situation and funneling down to key micro-economic factors and recommendations, such as pricing, promotional and distribution factors
• Brief-based or Ad-hoc Reviews – Business, Strategic, Category, Retailer, Basket, Competitor, Pricing, Special Interest and Seasonal Events e.g., Easter, Christmas, Black Friday, retailer promotions and deals
• Compiling analyses in a clear, summarised format & layout with actionable recommendations and key take outs
• Leading and delivering analysis and insights to a variety of client seniority levels and departments, engaging in both strategic and tactical discussions to highlight areas of strength, weakness, and improvement.
• Workings & outputs are based in Excel & PowerPoint, with the use of internally developed software to support this
• End to end ownership of commercial processes for client portfolio
• Drive Revenue and Margin growth initiatives for client portfolio

  Client and Key Stakeholder Engagement

  • Presentation Development & Delivery - ownership of the end-to-end presentation process
  • Leading engagement with Exco level stakeholders and being a trusted advisor to clients
  • Formal participation in the client’ meetings and face to face engagements
  • Both formal and informal meetings with the client to discuss their portfolio of categories
  • Structured reviews of the client’s key competitors’ performance and unpacking their drivers of growth, followed by suggestions of response strategies to turn performance around
  • Develop and present Joint Business Planning (JBP) presentations to Retail partners to enhance the client’s performance and service levels
  • Assist the client in unlocking additional retailer data feeds to bolster their data universe and expand market coverage to gain a competitive edge and first mover advantage over competitors
  • Draft proposals for additional services i.e., category reads, retailer feeds, and Strategic Analytics projects
  • Develop new analytical frameworks to bring a fresh and data driven perspective to the client
  • To play the lead role in in implementation of global applications and products
  • To drive future direction and adoption of Circana Products
  • Commercial awareness as to how the products are utilized by clients

  Requirements

  • Tertiary Education with 2 – 3 years working experience
  • Demonstrated ability to lead a team
  • Demonstrated ability to manage and grow key stakeholder accounts and relationships
  • Have the credibility of a trusted advisor
  • Experience in the FMCG/ Market Research/ Retail environment.

  As well as the technical skills, experience and attributes that are required for the role, our shared behaviors sit at the core of our organization. Therefore, we always look for people who can continuously champion these behaviors throughout the business within their day-to-day role:

  • Stay Curious: Being hungry to learn and grow, always asking the big questions
  • Seek Clarity: Embracing complexity to create clarity and inspire action
  • Own the Outcome: Being accountable for decisions and taking ownership of our choices
  • Center on the Client: Relentlessly adding value for our customers
  • Be a Challenger: Never complacent, always striving for continuous improvement
  • Champion Inclusivity: Fostering trust in relationships engaging with empathy, respect and integrity
  • Commit to each other: Contributing to making Circana a great place to work for everyone

  Location

  This position can be located in the following area(s): Johannesburg, South Africa