Customer Insights Manager

AVI Limited; Johannesburg; On-site; ZAR 750 000 - 900 000; Full time

Job summary

A leading FMCG company is seeking a Customer Insights Manager in Johannesburg. This exciting role involves managing data and insights across Sales, Marketing, and Finance. The ideal candidate will have at least 8 years of experience in customer insights within the FMCG sector and will excel in analytical and interpersonal skills. This position offers a unique opportunity to directly impact business strategy and success.

Qualifications

• Minimum 8 years’ experience in customer insights or category management.
• Proven experience engaging major retail customers.

Responsibilities

• Develop and execute business strategy for customer insights.
• Lead market insights procurement for NBL.
• Ensure timely delivery of actionable insights.

Skills

Strong analytical and commercial acumen

Ability to influence across functions

Sound understanding of market research principles

Proficiency in insight software

Advanced written communication skills

Education

Bachelor’s Degree in Commerce, Marketing, Economics, Data Analytics, Informatics, or Statistics

Postgraduate qualification (MBA or MSc in Data Analytics)

Tools

SQL

Power BI

Tableau

Excel

Nielsen

IRI

Job description

Job title : Customer Insights Manager

Job Location : Gauteng, Johannesburg

Deadline : December , 2025

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• An exciting opportunity exists for a Customer Insights Manager. This newly created role will act as a strategic liaison between Sales, Marketing, and Commercial Finance, with responsibility for the management of data, insights, interpretation, and execution.
• The role provides a cross-functional lens across Marketing, Customer, and Finance teams to interpret and triangulate solutions that add value and deliver win–win outcomes for NBL and its customers.

Key Outputs

• Develop and execute business strategy for customer and shopper insights aligned to the company’s growth, category development, and commercial objectives.
• Lead market insights procurement for NBL.
• Lead the development of integrated insights across consumer, shopper, customer, brand, and category domains.
• Develop prioritised commercial category plans to support sustained, profitable systems growth.
• Inform product and pack / price innovation by channel.
• Balance customer margin and growth targets with internal financial goals.
• Ensure timely and accurate delivery of actionable insights to support strategic decision-making.
• Establish platforms for centralised insight sharing and collaboration.
• Ensure integrity and standardisation of customer point-of-sale data and inventory levels (including effective aggregation and dissemination to stakeholder base for performance management).
• Monitor daily / weekly, and monthly sales performance (sell in / sell out and customer inventory levels) vs prior year, run rates, and targets.
• Conduct monthly and quarterly margin performance reviews for key value items (KVIs).
• Lead planogram optimization strategies, commencing with PnP category champion planogram development and roll out (followed by roll out to other key accounts in time). Ultimately this should logically include supporting execution and managing Channel Marketing budget and activities.
• Lead cross functional program to optimise biscuit portfolio and ranging across Shoprite / Checkers / Usave banners, leveraging Rex data.
• Integrate Spar accelerate and Boxer customer data into NBL customer database.
• Provide insights driven support for informal trade activations.

Attend meetings as required

• Monthly Sales Manco meeting
• Quarterly Customer Governance Forum (CGF)
• PnP category champion meetings (determined by the roll out agenda)
• Key customer joint business planning sessions (as per demand)

Minimum requirements

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s Degree in Commerce, Marketing, Economics, Data Analytics, Informatics, or Statistics
• Ideal : Postgraduate qualification (MBA or MSc in Data Analytics)

Experience

• Minimum 8 years’ experience in customer insights, category management, or commercial analytics within the FMCG or retail sector
• Proven experience engaging major retail customers and managing shopper insights data

Skills and Knowledge

• Strong analytical and commercial acumen
• Ability to influence across functions and organisational levels
• Sound understanding of market research principles
• Proven ability to work with large data volumes
• Proficiency in insight software, analytics tools, and retail measurement systems (e.g. SQL, Power BI, Tableau, Excel, Nielsen, IRI)
• Advanced written communication and business report writing skills