Job Details

Head of Private Label, reporting to Head of Business. We’re looking for an exceptional leader who is excited about unlocking the potential of the informal economy and inspired by our mission to empower the local merchants responsible for over $600 billion of sales across Africa every year. You will be responsible for our in-house private label business. You will drive the strategic direction, leadership and execution of world-class products to contribute to Sokowatch’s overall growth and profitability. You are a proven leader with extensive startup and business experience in Africa who can work across functions to drive improvements across any aspect of the business necessary.

Locations:

Initial onboarding will take place in Nairobi, though the role can eventually be based in any of our current markets below with travel expected at least 30% of the time:

1. Kenya (Nairobi)
2. Tanzania (Dar es Salaam)
3. Rwanda (Kigali)
4. Uganda (Kampala)

Duties & Responsibilities:

1. Develop the private label strategy to provide world-class products to our customers
2. Develop a comprehensive go-to-market strategy for Sokowatch private label, including the sourcing and brand management of products
3. Full P&L ownership of Sokowatch’s private label department
4. Establish and manage pricing for all private label products in line with market standards and business objectives
5. Negotiate with 3rd party vendors to maximize returns
6. Establish project management function to scale and support new product lines in collaboration with internal stakeholders and 3rd party vendors
7. Identify new product and/or partnership opportunities to reduce costs and maximize margins
8. Work closely with Sales and Logistics functions to mitigate out of stock and shrinkage
9. Ensure compliance of all private label product with industry and regulatory standards
10. Use stakeholder feedback to inform necessary improvements and adjustments to overall strategy

Requirements

The successful candidate will possess:

1. 5+ years experience overseeing annual sales in private label, manufacturing or brand management
2. Proven track record launching successful private label in the B2B/B2C space
3. Passionate about building brands from the ground up.
4. Ability to work in a hyper growth environment
5. Extensive experience managing multi-country teams in Africa and collaborating across departments
6. Strong business acumen
7. Strong analytical skills
8. Excellent written and verbal communication skills
9. Excellent interpersonal and relationship-building skills
10. French and Swahili language abilities a plus