Airtel Money - Brand & Communications Manager

Job DescriptionWhy Airtel Africa?At Airtel Africa, we act with passion, energy, and a can-do attitude. Innovation with an entrepreneurial spirit drive us. If you like “ordinary”, then we are not for you.We champion diversity. We anticipate, adapt, and deliver solutions that enrich the lives of communities we serve. we roll up our sleeves to win with our customers.By choosing Airtel, you choose to be part of a winning team. All this in addition to a brilliant opportunity to build a career in your field of expertise, across our different operating companies in Africa.Airtel Africa is proud to be an equal opportunity employer and remain fully committed to diversity and inclusion in the workplace.ResponsibilitiesSupport development of the Airtel Money Brand and manage the brand across the brand lifecycle Provide strategic inputs and support in developing value proposition around the Airtel Money Brand (Brand Architecture, Values) and developing the overall brand strategyEnsure consistency in brand communication across touch points/segments/channelsMonitor and maintain brand equity scores/ other parameters that reflect health of the brand and undertake actions/initiatives to enhance brand valueProactively capture insights on changing market dynamics/ consumer perceptions to ensure continued effectiveness of the brandProvide strategic input on critical decisions on brand deployment, like finalizing ads/ brand ambassadors and partnerships/ tie-ups with causes/ events etcProvide strategic inputs to the development of the overall marketing strategy for Airtel Money (including aspects such as market segmentation)Support CSD team in designing material such as customer acquisition forms, subscriber user kits, interactive voice recorders in line with the overall brand Track annual plan and budget for the department in line with the overall marketing strategy and planEstimate overall marketing communication/media requirements/schedule for the year in line with the overall marketing plan, commercial launch targets, operations and sales plansDevelop the annual plan and budget for the department in line with the overall marketing strategy and planMonitor and ensure achievement of plan, conduct reviews on periodic basis and develop mitigation plan to manage time/ budget deviationDirect development and delivery of the marketing message across various channels/media of communication as per set targetsDirect the team to study the marketing operations plan for and assess opportunities and threatsProvide guidance to assess the business parameters that exist in the market to enable mapping out the existing and expected competition in the market in complete detailReview and analyze the overall marketing and branding strategy and customer segmentation and draw insights from them to develop a detailed marketing communications strategy/plan and specific messages for the OpCo.Direct detailing out of the marketing communication plan and messages for each channel - outdoor, print, voice, below the line, digital, retail Oversee deployment of the marketing communications/ messages across customer segments in the OpCoMonitor performance/effectiveness of the deployed marketing and branding messages and incorporate learnings to refine themManage the marcom budget in terms of buys, benchmarking and controllingMonitor effective management of vendors/ service providers (agencies) to ensure high levels of service delivery in line with the overall department targetsIdentify, evaluate and select (with the procurement/ SCM team) vendors/service providers (Agencies providing expertise in Marketing /Branding /Advertising /Media /Outdoor /Digital /BTL,Retail Merchandising etc.) required for marketing communicationsDefine Service Level Agreements/ Delivery terms and finalize (with the procurement/ SCM team) rate agreements with the selected vendors/service providersDevelop and implement processes for identifying and monitoring quality of service provided by vendors (agencies) and partners Communicate Airtel Tanzania's overall business/ marketing strategy, brand strategy and specific marketing communications strategy (for respective OpCo) to the external agencies, review proposals, briefs and creative inputs to shortlist most effective ads/ communication initiativesEvaluate vendor performance at regular intervals to ensure effectiveness of the messaging creation and deployment and address performance gaps effectivelyOversee and monitor consistency in all marketing communications with the Airtel brand values Maintain strong working relationships with vendors/service providers to ensure continued high quality support QualificationsEducational Qualifications & Functional / Technical SkillsBachelor of Arts/ Bachelor of Technology with in-depth understanding of telecom trendsMBA in MarketingRelevant Experience (Type of experience and minimum number of years)7+ years of experience in leading a highly qualified and experienced team in a highly complex environment5+ years of experience in leading cross-cultural teams 15+ years of in-depth experience in product Brand & Media in the telecom/ FMCG/ Retail spaceStrong understanding of all aspects of marketing, good communication and people skills, understanding of local marketsOther Requirements (Behavioural Etc.)Team Leadership ResilienceAbility to influence and get things done quicklyAbility to work in a cross-cultural/ cross-country environmentCreativity (out-of-the box thinking) and Commercial AcumenCustomer Service OrientationEffective Communication and Negotiation SkillsIn the coming years, the challenge will be in managing OpCo expectations and in planning different marketing/branding strategies to cater to the different market segments. It will be imperative to increase focus on each market segment