Category Lead – Food & Snacks

About the role

The Category Lead will own the marketing strategy for the Food & Snacks portfolio, driving growth, profitability and brand equity across key sub‑categories such as noodles, cereals and snacks.

Key responsibilities

• Develop and execute the annual marketing plan for the Food & Snacks portfolio, aligning with growth and profitability targets.
• Identify consumer and channel opportunities, translate insights and category trends into actionable initiatives.
• Lead brand positioning, communication and storytelling for brands like Noodies, Shapies, Fillows, Elbbin and Nibble.
• Design and launch 360° marketing campaigns (ATL, digital, in‑store) to boost awareness, trial and loyalty.
• Plan and implement trade activation programmes across general trade, modern trade and institutional channels, measuring ROI and optimizing spend.
• Support innovation projects from concept through launch, collaborating with R&D, supply chain and sales.
• Track category performance using dashboards and external data, preparing quarterly reviews for leadership.

Required profile

• Bachelor’s degree in Marketing, Business Administration or related field; CIM or MBA preferred.
• 5–8 years of FMCG marketing experience, with at least 3 years in food or snacks category management.
• Proven experience managing brands targeting youth, family and mass‑market segments.
• Strong understanding of traditional and modern trade in Kenya and East Africa.
• Analytical thinker with creative problem‑solving and execution discipline.
• Experience managing agencies, budgets and promotional programmes.

Required skills