Mr D - Merchandising Lead

takealot.com; Cape Town; On-site; ZAR 900,000 - 1,500,000; Full time

Job summary

Mr D, a division of the Takealot Group, is seeking a Merchandising Lead in Cape Town to own merchandising across Mr D marketplace verticals and lead a high-performing team. You will shape hyperlocal strategies, partner with Product and Data Science to drive AI-enabled personalisation, and oversee partner onboarding and data feeds for scalable merchandising.

You will manage a diverse team, influence pricing and promotions, and work closely with product, data science, and engineering to deliver

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Commerce / Engineering / Science / IT
• 3-5 years experience in an Ecommerce Marketplace Environment/Online B2B or Retail
• 1-2 years leading a team
• Experience with Product or Data Science on digital/personalisation initiatives

Responsibilities

• Direct promotion and merchandising initiatives across Mr D vertical channels
• Head up merchandising efforts, prioritizing partner visibility alongside conversion rates
• Optimize engagement with Mr D mobile application assets and assess operational insights
• Partner closely with media sales teams for seamless fulfillment of reserved placements
• Direct a team of Merchandising Associates in handling daily operations and analytics
• Provide stakeholders with everyday progress tracking and metric performance
• Drive smart, product-led personalisation shifts by collaborating with Product and Data Science teams regarding specifications, rules, and outcomes
• Set catalog standards for storefront presentation, including metadata and navigation layout
• Supervise technical integrations for onboarding platform partners to guarantee stable data feeds across pricing, inventory, and promotions

Skills

Proactive drive

Advanced quantitative skills

Effective cross-functional contributor

Cross-departmental partner

Agile orientation

Meticulous listing oversight

Education

Bachelor's Degree in Commerce / Engineering / Science / IT

Job description

Mr D, a division of the Takealot Group, is looking for a highly talented Merchandising Lead to join our team in Cape Town.

Think you’ve been challenged before? Think again!

• Scale: Show the millions of Mr D customers what you can do
• Learn: We work with the best of the best, and then some.
• Grow: Expand your career in the fast-growing Takealot Group: Mr D, Takealot.com, and TFS. We like to promote from within: Here’s your chance.

At Mr D, we are passionate about delivering exceptional customer experiences through innovation and data-driven strategies. As the Merchandising Lead, you will play a critical role in shaping how we engage with our customers, driving growth, and building long‑term loyalty. If you thrive in a fast‑paced, collaborative environment and are excited about the opportunity to lead a high‑performing team, we’d love to hear from you!

About the role:

To own merchandising efforts across the Mr D marketplace verticals, ensuring order mix and commercial goals are achieved by reviewing and carefully curating hyperlocal merchandising strategies. In addition, to lead the evolution of merchandising toward a product‑led, AI‑enabled personalisation function — owning the vision and requirements for personalised customer experiences, partnering with Product and Data Science to build and optimise recommendation and personalisation algorithms, and overseeing the technical integration of shops and partners onboarding to the platform, ensuring robust product, pricing, and promotional feeds that power automated merchandising at scale.

Your responsibilities will include:

• Direct promotion and merchandising initiatives across Mr D vertical channels
• Head up merchandising efforts, prioritizing optimal partner visibility alongside conversion rates
• Optimize engagement with Mr D mobile application assets and assess operational insights
• Partner closely with media sales teams for seamless fulfillment of reserved placements
• Direct a team of Merchandising Associates in handling daily operations and analytics
• Provide key stakeholders with everyday progress tracking and metric performance
• Drive smart, product‑led personalisation shifts by collaborating with Product and Data Science teams regarding specifications, rules, and outcomes
• Set catalog standards for storefront presentation, encompassing detail page image guidelines, metadata, navigation layout, and seller landing pages
• Supervise technical integrations for onboarding platform partners to guarantee stable data feeds across pricing, inventory, and promotions

Skills & Attributes required:

• Proactive drive with full accountability for deliverables
• Advanced quantitative skills
• Effective cross‑functional contributor
• Cross‑departmental partner skilled at interfacing with Product, Data Science, and Engineering functions
• Agile orientation with high capacity for shifting technical environments
• Meticulous oversight of listing benchmarks across partner systems and catalog assets

Qualifications:

• Bachelor's Degree in Commerce / Engineering / Science / IT
• Minimum 3-5 years experience in an Ecommerce Marketplace Environment/Online B2B or Retail
• A minimum of 1-2 years leading a team
• Experience working with Product or Data Science teams on digital or personalisation initiatives

Let’s talk about life @ Mr D

• The power is in your hands: We offer a market‑related, Total Remuneration Package which allows full flexibility according to your needs. Go on, be the master of your own destiny.
• No doors: We aren’t fans of stuffy offices or siloed work environments. See someone you like? High five, collab and make something great.
• Online Learning: Share ideas and grow with global industry leaders who are all just a Slack message away. Love to learn? Up‑skill with free access to courses on Prosus Academy and more.
• Good times: Get to know the other extraordinary minds in the takealot group during regular social events and out‑of‑office activities (think hikes, think mini golf, think good times).
• Birthday leave: Cake Day all the way. Enjoy your day off - you deserve it.
• Help when you need it most: Confidential counselling, legal support and financial guidance, for free, anytime, anywhere.
• Free parking: No more 5km fun runs to your desk (unless you want to).

Mr D is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Applicants from previously disadvantaged groups and people with disabilities will be given preference