Item Coding Team Lead

Circana-South-Africa; Johannesburg; On-site; ZAR 420,000 - 660,000; Full time

Job summary

Circana is seeking an Item Coding Team Lead for the Johannesburg area. This is a temporary contract through May 31, 2028. You will oversee daily BAU operations, drive process improvements, and mentor team members while coordinating with multiple internal groups to deliver high-quality data.

You will recruit and develop staff, manage change requests, and ensure the Circana Dictionary (Fusion) remains accurate and up-to-date. A background in FMCG and strong communication are essential.

Qualifications

• Degree or associates’ degree.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Strong time management and organizational skills.
• Strong attention-to-detail in fast-paced FMCG environment.
• 4+ years FMCG experience.
• Proficiency in all Microsoft Office applications; SQL knowledge preferred.

Responsibilities

• Lead the Item Coding BAU processes and guide the team to meet objectives.
• Recruit, train and develop personnel with regular developmental plans.
• Own item coding change requests and manage expansions.
• Maintain the central Circana Dictionary (Fusion) data quality.
• Establish and drive item coding governance and processes.
• Collaborate across departments and mentor junior team members.

Skills

Strong written and verbal comms

Analytical and problem-solving

Time management & organization

Attention to detail

FMCG experience

Education

Degree or associates’ degree

Tools

SQL knowledge

Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Teams, Outlook)

Job description

Circana (formerly IRI and NPD) is the leading advisor on the complexity of consumer behavior. Through unparalleled technology, advanced analytics, cross-industry data, and deep expertise, we provide clarity that helps almost 7,000 of the world’s leading brands and retailers take action and unlock business growth. We understand more about the complete consumer, the complete store, and the complete wallet so our clients can go beyond the data to apply insights, ignite innovation, meet consumer demand, and outpace the competition.

At Circana, we are fuelled 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 have a global commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion as we believe in the undeniable strength that diversity brings to our business, 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. Learn more at www.circana.com.

What will you be doing?

The Item Coding Team Lead oversees and manages all the business-as-usual (BAU) including expansions daily operations of the team. As an inside trusted advisor for operations, the Item Coding Team Lead is always searching for ways to improve the client's business through the high-quality data we supply. The Lead for Item Coding Team must always look for methods to increase productivity and optimize and simplify operating procedures. The Item Coding Team Lead is a highly adaptable individual that cultivates excellent relationships within the business and adeptly manages several work streams while providing leadership, guidance, and support to team members.

This is a temporary contract until May 31st, 2028

Job Responsibilities

• To take full accountability for all the Item Coding BAU process areas, leading his/her team to achieve company, department, team and personal objectives.
• Responsible for the recruitment, training and development of personnel, ensuring that all team members have effective development plans which are regularly reviewed and evaluated.
• Take full ownership of all assigned item coding client change requests and project management of expansions.
• Ensuring the highest quality of the central Circana Dictionary (this Dictionary DB is called Fusion and contains all new items coded by Coding team received in the Retailer sales data).
• Establish and drive the operational item coding process and item coding governance process.
• Actively seeks out client product performance in the market to keep relevant.
• Maintaining strong internal cross-departmental relationships.
• Display a solid understanding of the business and our service offerings.
• Assists and helps the Data Production, Client Delivery, CPG and Retail teams with troubleshooting where necessary.
• Adheres and enforces to all relevant policies and procedures.
• Communicates issues and deadlines to the affected stakeholders and Item Coding Manager as required.
• Able to work extra hours as and when required to ensure deadlines are met.
• Conducts regular team knowledge shares.
• Mentor and develops the operational and quality assurance skills of the members of the team in a constructive manner.
• Oversee and guide new junior team members and assist in their orientation and on boarding.
• To support the Item Coding Manager with the management of the team and implementation of strategic initiatives, etc.

Measures of Success

• To take full accountability for all the Item Coding BAU process areas, leading his/her team to achieve company, department, team and personal objectives.
• Effectively manage work processes by prioritizing and effectively managing the team workload through a systematic approach to task completion.
• Implementation and ongoing maintenance of Fusion coding specific processes, including Category Hierarchies, Bulk Updates, etc.
• Build strong functional & technical skills for self and team members
• Strong problem-solving skills and a solutions focused approach
• Have advanced MS Excel and troubleshooting skills (using worksheets, pivot tables, VLOOKUP’s etc.
• High quality communication skills -written and spoken

Requirements

• Degree or associates’ degree
• Strong written and verbal communication skills
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills
• Strong time management and organizational skills
• Strong attention-to-detail, while working in a fast-paced environment
• 4+ years FMCG experience
• (Required) Proficiency in all Microsoft Office applications: Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Teams, and Outlook (and SQL knowledge preferred)

• 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