Lead, Item Data & Coding — AI-Driven Master Data

BuddiesHR; Cape Town; On-site; ZAR 900,000 - 1,300,000; Full time

Job summary

Circana is seeking a Team Lead - Item Coding Management to guide a cross-functional team responsible for item acquisition, coding, enrichment, matching, and content management. The primary objective is to establish scalable, accurate item dictionaries that support client requirements and high-quality delivery.

The leader will ensure quality and scalability of the item dictionary, partnering with Product, Technology, and Engineering to improve automation, speed, and data foundations for

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Business, Engineering, Computer Science, Information Systems, Data Analytics, or a related field, or equivalent professional experience.
• 5+ years of progressive experience in Item Management, Product Information Management, Master Data, Data Operations, Analytics Operations, or related environments.
• Experience leading operational teams and delivering business-critical outcomes.
• Experience building, managing, or improving item dictionaries, classification frameworks, product hierarchies, or master data structures.
• Demonstrated success improving quality, productivity, consistency, or scalability.
• Strong understanding of how data quality impacts client delivery.
• Ability to identify operational constraints and translate them into actionable improvements.
• Experience partnering effectively with Product, Technology, and Engineering teams.

Responsibilities

• Lead the Item Management team and deliver client-ready item dictionaries.
• Own dictionary quality, completeness, consistency, and client readiness.
• Ensure item structures scale across categories, customers, and business needs.
• Evaluate and validate third-party content and data sources.
• Build, develop, and lead a high-performing team focused on quality, continuous improvement, and professional growth.

Skills

People leadership

Operational excellence

Data quality focus

Cross-functional collaboration

Process improvement

AI-enabled thinking

Education

Bachelor's degree in Business/Engineering/CS/IS/Data Analytics

Tools

PIM systems

Data management tools

AI tools

Job description

Circana is seeking a Team Lead - Item Coding Management to guide a cross-functional team responsible for item acquisition, coding, enrichment, matching, and content management. The primary objective is to establish scalable, accurate item dictionaries that support client requirements and high-quality delivery.

The leader will ensure quality and scalability of the item dictionary, partnering with Product, Technology, and Engineering to improve automation, speed, and data foundations for