Vaseline Demand Creation Lead

Unilever; Durban; On-site; ZAR 200 000 - 300 000; Full time

Job summary

A leading multinational consumer goods company is seeking a Vaseline Demand Creation Lead for Southern Africa. This role involves developing marketing strategies, managing brand equity, and leading a high-performing team. The ideal candidate has a strong background in brand management, social-first marketing expertise, and exceptional leadership skills. The role is office-based in Durban with flexible attendance requirements.

Qualifications

• Proven ability to lead and inspire high-performing teams.
• Exceptional interpersonal and communication skills.
• Experience in brand management and executing brand strategies.
• Deep understanding of social first marketing strategy.
• Strong financial acumen managing budgets and tracking performance.

Responsibilities

• Planning, managing, and optimizing BMI spend for growth.
• Lead the execution of social first marketing plans.
• Develop and execute integrated Demand Creation marketing strategies.
• Drive digital and e-commerce execution with external partners.
• Manage PR and reputation issues related to the brand.

Skills

Team Leadership & Management

Cross-Functional Collaboration

Brand Management Leadership

Social First Marketing Expertise

Financial Management

Agency Management

Strategic Thinking & Vision

Passion for Beauty

Insight

Product Understanding

Job description

Unilever is hiring for a Vaseline Demand Creation Lead Southern Africa

• Function : Marketing
• Reports to : Head of Demand Creation BWPC Southern Africa
• Scope : Regional
• Location : La Lucia; Katherine Street
• Terms & Conditions : Full-Time; Permanent
• ABOUT UNILEVER With 3.4 billion people in over countries using our products every day, Unilever is a business that makes a real impact on the world.

Work on brands that are loved and improve the lives of our consumers and the communities around us.

We are driven by our purpose : to make sustainable living commonplace, and it is our belief that doing business the right way drives superior performance.

At the heart of what we do is our people – we believe that when our people work with purpose, we will create a better business and a better world.

At Unilever, your career will be a unique journey, grounded in our inclusive, collaborative, and flexible working environment.

We don't believe in the 'one size fits all' approach and instead we will equip you with the tools you need to shape your own future.

Job Purpose

• The Power Brand Lead, reporting to the BPWC Demand Creation Head, is the brand custodian.
• They are responsible for the equity, growth, and social-first strategy of their assigned brand.
• The Power Brand Lead is the driving force behind crafting and executing a holistic brand plan that brings together all demand creation activities, with a strong emphasis on digital and social-first initiatives.
• The Power Brand Lead is responsible for leading integrated brand planning, developing and executing marketing strategies, managing the brand portfolio, and driving multi-year innovation to deliver achieve ambitious business objectives, UBS and brand power.
• The Power Brand Lead is the primary escalation point for all PR, community and reputation management issues related to their brand.
• The Power Brand Lead is also responsible for fostering a strong brand identity, ensuring consistent brand messaging, and championing a social-first approach to consumer engagement.

What Will Your Main Responsibilities Be

• Planning, managing, and optimising your BMI spend for growth
• Lead the execution of social first marketing plans, ensuring alignment with brand strategy and brand equity.
• Lead an integrated Demand Creation squad to develop and execute social first marketing plans in market for their brand driving profitable growth, market share and brand power.
• Lead quarterly OKR planning and execution for the Power Brand, delivering ambitious targets, tracking progress, and holding teams accountable for achieving results.
• Lead and own the development of best-in-class brand experiences across all touchpoints, building brand connection, driving brand marketing objectives, JTBD and UBS.
• Be the digital pioneer, pushing forward digital and e‑commerce execution, working closely with the Demand Creation squad and external agency partners to deliver seamless consumer experiences.
• Act as the primary escalation point for all public relations (PR) and reputation management issues related to assigned brand(s), developing and executing strategies to protect and enhance brand image.

What You Will Need to Succeed

Experiences & Qualifications

• Team Leadership & Management : Proven ability to lead, inspire, and develop high‑performing teams, fostering a collaborative, accountable and decisive, results‑oriented culture.
• Cross‑Functional Collaboration : Exceptional interpersonal and communication skills to effectively collaborate with cross‑functional teams, external agencies, and stakeholders at all levels, creating commitment and achieving ambitious business impact.
• Brand Management Leadership : Proven experience in brand management, marketing, or a related field, with a demonstrated track record of success in developing and executing brand strategies, leading teams, holding people accountable, decisive decision making and driving business growth and brand power.
• Social First Marketing Expertise : Deep understanding of social first marketing strategy, tactics, and best practices, including content, influencer, community management, PR / earned, experiential and paid media.
• Financial Management : Strong financial acumen and experience managing budgets, tracking performance, and making data‑driven decisions to drive growth.
• Agency Management : Proven ability to effectively manage and collaborate with external agencies, including creative, media, and digital agencies.
• Strategic Thinking & Vision : Ability to develop and articulate a clear and compelling brand vision, translate business objectives into actionable brand strategies, and anticipate future market trends.
• Passion for Beauty : A demonstrable passion for the beauty landscape, its products, keeping up with trends, innovations, and key players, reflecting a genuine enthusiasm for the field.
• Insight : Strong understanding of consumer behaviour, community insights, market trends, shopper insights and competitive dynamics within the relevant industry.
• Product Understanding : An ability to turn deep understanding of the brand formulation and how to bring product superiority to life during the shopper journey to drive desire.

Additional Desirable Experience

• E-commerce Experience : Experience developing and executing e-commerce strategies, managing online sales channels, and optimising the digital customer experience.
• Data Analytics Skills : Proficiency in using data analytics tools and techniques to measure marketing performance, derive insights, and make data-driven decisions.
• Crisis Communication & Issue Management : Proven ability to anticipate, manage, and mitigate potential reputational risks, handle sensitive media inquiries, and communicate effectively during a crisis.

Critical SOL (Standards of Leadership) Behaviors

Focus on What Matters; Stay 3 steps Ahead; Care Deeply; Deliver with Excellence

Equal Opportunities

Unilever is an equal opportunities employer and committed to diversity and inclusivity in the workplace.

We are intentional in employing the best talent that reflects the demographics of our country and which will help build representation of currently under-represented groups.

We therefore invite applications from all candidates representing diversity of age, sex, disability, sexual orientation, race, religion or belief.

When appointing potential candidates, the South African Employment Equity and Broad Based Black Economic Empowerment Legislation will be considered.

We are required by law to verify your ability to work lawfully in South Africa.

If you are applying as a foreign national, please note that you may be requested to provide supporting documents supporting this.

This is an office-based role in Durban or Johannesburg and requires % of time attendance on site.

En tant qu'employeur responsable et inclusif, Unilever est attentif à la diversité et à la mixité de ses équipes.

Nos recruteurs sont engagés et veillent à l'application de processus de recrutement non‑discriminants. Tous nos postes sont ouverts aux personnes en situation de handicap et Unilever accompagne ses collaborateurs dans la mise en place d'éventuels aménagements de poste et de dispositifs d'accessibilité.