National Grocery Category Manager - FMCG Growth

Placements24; Sandton; On-site; ZAR 900,000 - 1,500,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive remuneration

Performance bonuses

Medical aid

Pension fund

Job summary

Placements24 is seeking a National Category Manager to lead the grocery category within South Africa, based in Sandton, Gauteng. You will drive growth, profitability, and market share by developing assortment plans, pricing strategies, promotions, and merchandising in collaboration with sales, marketing, and supply chain teams.

The ideal candidate has 5–7 years in category or brand management within FMCG, with deep knowledge of groceries, shopper insights, and SA retail dynamics.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Marketing, Business Administration, Commerce, or related field.
• MBA is a plus.
• Minimum 5–7 years in category/brand management within FMCG, groceries.
• Proven track record of growth and profitability in retail.
• Strong understanding of SA retail dynamics and shopper insights.
• Excellent analytical, negotiation, and communication skills.

Responsibilities

• Develop and execute category strategies to grow sales, market share and profitability in groceries.
• Analyze market data, shopper insights and trends to identify growth opportunities.
• Manage product assortment, portfolio optimization and pricing strategies.
• Create promotional plans and merchandising strategies with sales and marketing.
• Build relationships with key retail partners and act as category lead contact.
• Monitor competitor activity and retail execution.
• Collaborate with supply chain to ensure stock availability.
• Present category reviews and business plans to stakeholders and accounts.
• Lead or coordinate cross-functional category teams to meet objectives.

Skills

Analytical thinking

Strategic planning

Negotiation and communication

Presentation skills

Data analysis tools

Excel

Stakeholder management

Education

Bachelor's degree in Marketing, Business Administration, Commerce, or related field

MBA (advantage)

Tools

Nielsen

IRI

MS Office (Excel)

Job description

Placements24 is seeking a National Category Manager to lead the grocery category within South Africa, based in Sandton, Gauteng. You will drive growth, profitability, and market share by developing assortment plans, pricing strategies, promotions, and merchandising in collaboration with sales, marketing, and supply chain teams.

The ideal candidate has 5–7 years in category or brand management within FMCG, with deep knowledge of groceries, shopper insights, and SA retail dynamics.