Portfolio Manager: Beauty

Clicks Group; Cape Town; On-site; ZAR 1,000,000 - 1,800,000; Full time

Job summary

Clicks Group is seeking a commercially sharp Portfolio Manager: Beauty to lead our Beauty categories. Reporting to the Commercial Executive: Beauty, you will drive performance, lead product innovation, and develop the category teams who bring our Beauty offer to life.

You will develop operating plans, forecast targets, and manage sales, margins and vendor relationships while exploring private label and exclusive brands to grow market share and loyalty.

Qualifications

• 4 to 6 years' experience at Merchandise Manager/Senior Buyer level or equivalent, including leading and developing a team of Buyers or Category Managers
• Proven track record of delivering sales, margin and market share growth across a multi-category retail portfolio
• Strong financial and commercial knowledge of retail trading, including P&L management, gross margin, budgeting and forecasting
• Sound understanding of South African retail market trends and competitor activity
• Advanced negotiation skills, with the ability to secure favourable trading terms while maintaining long-term vendor partnerships

Responsibilities

• Leading the development of Beauty category operating plans that align with business objectives
• Reviewing top-down and bottom-up financial plans against the merchandise calendar to forecast portfolio targets
• Achieving and exceeding portfolio sales, margin and profit targets, and maintaining vendor relationships
• Providing direction on global Beauty trends to grow market share and customer loyalty
• Driving innovation through product selection, in-store presentation and exclusivity
• Coordinating promotional and day-to-day sales and margin targets and analysing market performance
• Coaching and developing Category Managers, creating clear career paths

Skills

Leadership of Buyers/Category Managers

Negotiation

P&L management

Forecasting

Vendor relationships

Analytical skills

Strategic planning

Communication

Education

B Comm/ Retail and/or Purchasing Management Degree

Tools

SAP

Power BI

Excel

Job description

Job category: FMCG, Retail, Wholesale and Supply Chain

Location: Cape Town

Contract: Permanent

EE position: No

About our company

Clicks Group

Introduction

Clicks Group is looking for a commercially sharp and innovative Portfolio Manager: Beauty to lead our Beauty portfolio of categories. Reporting to the Commercial Executive: Beauty, you will drive best-in-class performance within the South African retail context, lead product innovation and differentiation, and develop the category teams who bring our Beauty offer to life.

About the role You will lead the Beauty portfolio to achieve and exceed its financial targets, while coordinating, directing and developing the category teams to build the commercial capability needed to sustain that performance.

• Leading the development of Beauty category operating plans that align with business objectives
• Reviewing top-down and bottom-up financial plans against the merchandise calendar to accurately forecast portfolio targets
• Achieving and exceeding portfolio sales, margin and profit targets, and ensuring strong vendor relationships are built and maintained
• Providing direction on global Beauty trends, including private label and exclusive brand opportunities, to grow market share and customer loyalty
• Driving innovation and differentiation through product selection, in-store presentation and exclusivity
• Coordinating promotional and day-to-day sales and margin targets, and analysing market and category performance to take corrective action
• Coaching and developing Category Managers, creating clear career paths and succession cover for the portfolio

Minimum requirements

• B Comm/ Retail and/or Purchasing Management Degree
• 4 to 6 years' experience at Merchandise Manager/Senior Buyer level or equivalent, including leading and developing a team of Buyers or Category Managers
• Proven track record of delivering sales, margin and market share growth across a multi-category retail portfolio
• Strong financial and commercial knowledge of retail trading, including P&L management, gross margin, budgeting and forecasting
• Thorough knowledge of retail buying and merchandise planning processes, and of supplier commercial agreements, trading terms and vendor income
• Sound understanding of South African retail market trends and competitor activity
• Strong strategic and commercial planning, analytical, range, pricing and promotional planning skills
• Advanced negotiation skills, with the ability to secure favourable trading terms while maintaining long-term vendor partnerships
• Strong people leadership, conflict resolution, communication and influencing skills

Advantageous

• Business Science, BCom, MBA or CIS qualification
• In-depth knowledge of the beauty and personal care market, including skincare, cosmetics, fragrance and haircare, and of global beauty trends and emerging brands
• Experience developing and launching private label or exclusive brands, and working with global or multinational beauty brand partners
• Experience using customer loyalty and data insights to shape range, pricing and promotions, and trading across omnichannel and e-commerce
• Advanced proficiency in retail planning, BI and reporting tools such as SAP, Power BI and Excel

If you are a results-driven retail leader who thrives on innovation, vendor partnerships and developing high-performing teams, we would love to hear from you.