Customer Growth Director SSA

What are we looking for?

• Extensive FMCG Commercial Leadership: A proven FMCG sales and commercial professional with 15–20+ years of progressive experience, demonstrating a strong track record in sales execution, customer development, category strategy, and joint business planning.
  
• Educational Background: A bachelor’s degree is required; an MBA or advanced degree in Business Administration or a related commercial discipline is strongly preferred.
  
• Regional & Channel Agility: Broad market understanding across Sub-Saharan Africa, with hands-on expertise navigating Traditional Trade route-to-market, Modern Trade partnerships, and emerging D-Commerce channels.
  
• Financial & Budget Mastery: Proven experience owning and optimizing multi-market customer, shopper marketing, and display budgets to maximize commercial return on investment (ROI).
  
• People Leadership & Talent Development: Demonstrated track record of leading, inspiring, and developing high-performing teams, fostering inclusion, engagement, and personal growth for direct reports and cross-functional associates.
  
• Mindset & Strategic Vision: A strategic thinker with strong business acumen and executive presence who can navigate complexity, influence key stakeholders, and convert shopper insights into tangible retail execution.
  

What would be your key responsibilities?

• Lead the SSA Customer Growth Agenda: Guide and mentor the Customer Growth Team to formulate and deliver efficient, profitable, and sustainable commercial growth plans across Sub-Saharan Africa.
  
• Drive In-Store & Digital Excellence: Spearhead execution for Intelligent Perfect Store and Perfect Digital Store programs, Transaction Zone initiatives, and impactful shopper activations that improve on-shelf conversion and physical availability.
  
• Deliver Insight-Led Strategies: Translate shopper, channel, and market insights into high-impact category and display solutions, partnering closely with regional sales teams and service partners.
  
• Budget Optimization & Governance: Oversee customer, display, and shopper marketing budgets across SSA, ensuring rigorous evaluation, measurement, and optimal ROI for commercial investments.
  
• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Partner actively with the Growth, Marketing, and Demand Planning teams to feed actionable market intelligence into regional innovation, forecasting, and brand strategies.
  
• Contribute to Business Leadership: Serve as an active member of the Africa Business Team, driving business objectives, organizational capability, and Mars culture across the region.