About the position
Role Purpose
Lead the strategic, commercial, and technical management of the company's Head portfolio, with responsibility for Eyewear, Respiratory Protection, Hard Hats and Hearing Protection. The role is accountable for category growth, profitability, product compliance, innovation, forecasting, sales enablement, and lifecycle management across African markets.
Primary Responsibilities
- Develop 3-year category strategies and annual operating plans.
- Own revenue, gross profit, and margin performance for assigned categories.
- Manage supplier selection, negotiations, rebates, exclusivity, and quarterly business reviews.
- Oversee sourcing, product specifications, certifications, and technical files.
- Lead new product identification, business cases, launches and discontinuations.
- Approve pricing strategies and monitor competitive positioning.
- Partner with Supply Chain on forecasting, inventory turns and stock availability.
- Provide technical leadership, customer presentations, and distributor support.
- Develop product training, launch packs and sales tools.
- Monitor competitor activity and market trends across Africa.
Location
Gauteng, South Africa with travel across Africa
Leadership
- Build cross-functional alignment with Sales, Marketing, Operations and Finance.
- Drive a high-performance culture.
Qualifications
- Degree/Diploma in Business, Engineering, Safety or related.
- 8-10+ years PPE product/category management.
- Experience across African distribution markets.
- Advanced Excel and ERP experience.
Competencies
- Commercial acumen
- Negotiation
- Strategic thinking
- Technical expertise
- Leadership
- Project management
- Analytical skills
- Communication
Authority
- Recommend supplier appointments
- Approve product specifications
- Recommend pricing within delegated authority
- Approve product launches
- Manage category budgets.
Success Measures
- Sustained profitable category growth
- Market-leading product portfolio
- Excellent supplier relationships
- High service levels
- Successful product launches
- Recognized technical leadership across Africa.
***CTC - R600,000.00 - R700,000.00 per annum (Negotiable further, based on skills, experience and in relation to current package)
Desired Skills:
