Unilever Food Solutions (UFS) is a €2.5bn+ foodservice division of Unilever, operating across 22 multi‑country organisations in 72 countries. UFS leads the dynamic food service market, providing solutions for restaurants, hotels, contract and independent catering and deli operators. The division is accelerating its digital transformation to fuel growth through data‑driven and technology‑enabled go‑to‑market capabilities.
Job Purpose
The role is an end‑to‑end key country leadership position in South Africa. It starts from strategy and planning and ensures great operational execution in the field, enabled by data‑driven analytics. You lead a team of data analysts, delivering business reporting and insights that drive data‑led business actions. If you are data‑driven, digitally focused and love to tell meaningful stories from data, this role is for you.
Key Responsibilities
* Lead Business Excellence strategy and prioritisation for South Africa, aligning with IBP plans and Country Lead.
* Develop and oversee the data insights strategy, ensuring alignment with business goals and KPIs.
* Own Reach & Penetration OKRs and act as the strategic integrator across CD and Marketing for unified business targets.
* Manage local market reporting, avoiding duplication within regional reporting.
* Drive adoption of reporting utilisation across the business, moving towards a fully data‑driven entity via meaningful insights and data‑led decisions.
* Spearhead collection of external SSD, designing and implementing the SSD roadmap for continuous data improvement.
* Report on lapsed & existing customer lead management flows and support new customer flows.
* Act as functional expert on initiative adoption and implementation in CD, focusing on CD implementation of CX initiatives across all local CD teams.
* Analyse NRM to drive focus on CD ROI promotions and marketing activations based on activity grids.
* Provide data‑driven insights to incentive designs and review key incentives for improvement.
* Lead CX transformation in the country, acting as custodian of technology and improvement across commercial teams (CRM, UDL).
* Manage the BEX budget in the country P&L, forecasting, actuals and contract negotiations with external suppliers.
* Govern data quality and standardisation, integrating external data sources into UDL in adherence to local POPI regulations.
* Ensure local market data is fully integrated to UDL, maintaining highest quality and frequency standards.
Key Interfaces
* Direct Reports – 4 Data Analysts / 2 CEXP & DSR Team
* Collaborate with CD Lead, Territory Lead, Trade Lead, Chains Lead, Marketing Lead, PU BEX Lead, PU CX Lead, PU UniOps Team
Essential Experience & Qualifications
* Strong operational and strategic understanding of B2B and/or FMCG models with RTM.
* 10+ years of total professional experience, with 3+ years focused on Business Excellence leadership.
* Proven track record of delivering business outcomes through data & analytics initiatives.
* Ability to articulate complex business problems into clear actions and deliverables via meaningful data storytelling.
* Highly adaptable, managing multiple priorities in dynamic environments.
* Influence without authority and drive change initiatives.
Desirable
* Project Management Experience.
* Digital Marketing/E‑Commerce knowledge.
* Customer Journey Mapping expertise.
Skills
* Business Acumen / Data Analytics / Data Visualization.
* Communication, Presentation, Selling skills.
Leadership & Behaviours
* Energetic results‑oriented leader, resilient, collaborative, and focused on continuous improvement.
* Demonstrates Unilever behaviours: Focus on What Counts, Care Deeply, Stay Three Steps Ahead, Deliver with Excellence.
Equal Opportunity & Diversity
Unilever is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to an inclusive culture for all employees, regardless of age, disability, gender identity, race, religion or belief, sexual orientation, or pregnancy. Applicants with support or access requirements are encouraged to inform us during the application process.
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