Brand Manager

Job description

This role requires you to Own and lead the end-to-end KFC marketing agenda in Zambia, translating regional brand strategy into commercially grounded, locally relevant plans and flawless in-market execution. As the in-country marketing lead, the role champions the brand agenda across functions and partners to grow sales, transactions, profitability and brand health by improving accessibility, affinity and mental availability.

Responsibilities

• COUNTRY MARKETING LEADERSHIP AND COMMERCIAL OWNERSHIP
• • Own the annual and rolling three-year Zambia marketing plan, calendar, budget and performance agenda.
• • Act as the single point of accountability for the Zambia marketing agenda; establish priorities, workback plans, RACI, decision forums and a disciplined operating cadence.
• • Use sales, transaction, mix, margin, consumer, competitor and restaurant data to identify growth opportunities, make trade-offs and recommend decisive action.
• • Build robust commercial cases and align the Country Manager, Operations, Finance and Franchisee teams on choices, resources, execution requirements and measurable outcomes.

BRAND STRATEGY

• • Translate regional KFC strategy into locally relevant plans that strengthen brand and preference in Zambia.
• • Develop and apply consumer, cultural, category and competitive insight to communications, occasions, innovation, menu choices and the restaurant experience.
• • Adapt brand platforms and toolkits, while protecting KFC standards, distinctive assets and long-term brand consistency.
• • Drive community impact, brand purpose ensuring activity builds the brand over time.

MENU AND CHANNEL GROWTH

• • Lead menu architecture, pricing, promotions and the value ladder in partnership with Operations, Finance and Supply Chain.
• • Build strategies for priority consumer use occasions and translate them into executable channel plans.
• • Improve the ease of finding, buying and justifying KFC channels.

MEDIA

• • Lead the integrated media strategy and plan, including digital, OOH and relevant local channels, to build competitive share of voice, high reach and sufficient frequency.
• • Establish an always-on communications approach and land one recognizable, consistent message across consumer touchpoints.
• • Intensify local store marketing, store-led visibility, signage and high-impact restaurant openings.
• • Track top-of-mind awareness/salience, reach, frequency, traffic, conversion and execution compliance; optimize plans quickly as performance or market conditions change.

OPERATIONAL EXECUTION

• • Own end-to-end delivery from brief through post-evaluation across creative, production, media, PR, digital, influencer and partner activation.
• • Translate strategy into detailed action plans with milestones, owners, dependencies, resources, risk mitigation and contingency plans.
• • Drive cross-functional launch readiness and rapid issue resolution, making sound and timely decisions under ambiguity and with incomplete information.
• • Deliver activity on time, in full, on budget and to brand and operational standards; build repeatable processes and operating routines that can scale in 2027 and 2028.

AGENCIES AND EXTERNAL ECOSYSTEM

• • Establish and lead a fit-for-purpose in-market agency ecosystem across media, PR, creative/activation, digital, influencer and research capabilities.
• • Manage agency scopes, fees, quality, integration with Johannesburg teams and performance against commercial, brand and execution outcomes.
• • Build high-value partnerships to extend reach, value and local relevance.

FINANCIAL STEWARDSHIP, MEASUREMENT AND LEARNING

• • Lead annual budget input, monthly tracking, forecasting and the disciplined reallocation of marketing investment to the highest-value opportunities.
• • Define clear objectives, KPIs and measurement plans before launch; complete post-campaign evaluations and embed learning into future activity.
• • Report commercial, brand and execution performance to Country and EWI leadership with clear implications, decisions and corrective actions.
• • Hold agencies and stakeholders accountable for outcomes and share Zambia market learning and best practice across the wider organization.

Qualifications

EDUCATION

• • Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing, Business, Commerce or a related field.
• • Post-graduate qualification preferred.

EXPERIENCE

• • Minimum 5-7 years of progressive brand/marketing experience in a consumer-facing business, with evidence of independently owning market or business results.
• • Proven end-to-end execution of complex, multi-channel campaigns in a multi-site operational environment; QSR, retail, FMCG or a similar sector strongly preferred.
• • Demonstrated commercial planning, pricing/promotion/value, budget management and ROI analysis.
• • Strong strategic marketing, consumer insight, brand-building and media capability.
• • Deep knowledge of and practical operating experience in the Zambia market; an established local network is strongly preferred.
• • Proven agency/partner management and cross-functional leadership without formal authority, ideally in an ambiguous, turnaround or growth-market context.

SKILLS & COMPETENCIES

• • Commercial acumen: Understands P&L drivers, unit economics, pricing, margin, transactions, business cases and return on investment.
• • Executional and operational excellence: Turns strategy into detailed plans, anticipates dependencies and verifies delivery in restaurants and in market.
• • Bias for action and results: Moves with pace, focuses on outcomes, persists through obstacles and holds self and others accountable.
• • Strategic marketing capability: Connects consumer insight, brand strategy, occasions, innovation, communications, media and experience.
• • Comfort with ambiguity and judgment: Prioritizes and makes sound decisions with incomplete information; escalates selectively and proposes solutions.
• • Enterprise influence: Champions the marketing agenda as the sole local lead and influences senior stakeholders, Franchisee teams, agencies and partners.
• • Analytical problem solving: Synthesizes data into insight, action and clear performance narratives; course-corrects quickly.
• • Communication, resilience and integrity: Communicates with clarity and conviction, performs under pressure, works hands-on and builds trust.