Marketing Specialist (Sunsilk & Lux Brands)

Job Description – Marketing Specialist, Sunsilk & Lux Brands

Function: Marketing
Reports to: Marketing Manager, BWPC & Lifebuoy Brand Ethiopia
Scope: Local – Ethiopia
Location: Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Terms & Conditions: Full-time, Local conditions apply
Work Arrangement: Office-based role

ABOUT UNILEVER
Unilever is one of the world’s leading suppliers of Beauty & Wellbeing, Personal Care, Home Care, Foods and Ice Cream products, with sales in over 190 countries and products used by 3.4 billion people every day. We have 128,000 employees and generated sales of €60.8 billion in 2024.
For more information about Unilever and our brands, please visit http://www.unilever.com

JOB PURPOSE
Unilever is the place where you can bring your purpose to life with the work that you do – creating a better business and a better world.
In this role, you will lead the Sunsilk and Lux brands in Ethiopia, developing and executing brand strategies that drive growth, equity, and consumer love. You will be passionate about digital, eager to learn, and thrive on understanding consumer motives, drivers, barriers, and needs.

MAIN RESPONSIBILITIES
• Lead the execution of market development plans for Sunsilk and Lux, ensuring alignment with brand strategy and equity.
• Project manage through local agency groups, fostering strong partnerships and seamless collaboration with global and local marketing teams.
• Develop best-in-class brand experiences across all touchpoints, building brand equity and driving marketing objectives.
• Pioneer digital and social-first marketing plans, working closely with internal teams and external agency partners to deliver seamless consumer experiences.
• Act as the primary escalation point for all PR and reputation management issues related to Sunsilk and Lux, developing and executing strategies to protect and enhance brand image.
• Understand the 6 Ps for Sunsilk, Lux, and competitors, driving specific actions and owning them with the wider team and creative agency.
• Analyze market dynamics across Ethiopia and bring in winning consumer insights.

WHAT YOU NEED TO SUCCEED
Experiences & Qualifications
• Brand Management Leadership: Proven experience in brand management, marketing, or a related field, with a track record of developing and executing brand strategies, leading teams, and driving business growth.
• Consumer Goods Expertise: Extensive experience in the consumer goods industry, ideally with a focus on beauty, personal care, or related sectors.
• Integrated Marketing Planning: Ability to develop and execute integrated marketing plans across digital, social, experiential, and traditional media.
• Financial Management: Strong financial acumen and experience managing budgets, tracking performance, and making data-driven decisions.
• Agency Management: Experience managing and collaborating with external agencies (creative, media, digital).
Additional Desirable Experience:
• Social-First Marketing Expertise: Deep understanding of social-first marketing strategy, including content, influencer, community management, PR/earned, experiential, and paid media.
• Data Analytics Skills: Proficiency in using data analytics tools to measure marketing performance and derive insights.
• Crisis Communication & Issue Management: Ability to anticipate, manage, and mitigate reputational risks and communicate effectively during a crisis.
Skills
• Strategic Brand Management
• Strategic thinking and vision: Ability to develop and articulate a clear and compelling brand vision, translate business objectives into actionable strategies, and anticipate future market trends.
• Brand planning and execution: Proven ability to develop and execute integrated brand plans across all relevant touchpoints.
• Passion for beauty and personal care: Demonstrable enthusiasm for the category, keeping up with trends, innovations, and key players.
• Marketing & Innovation
• Deep understanding of marketing principles, strategies, and tactics across multiple channels.
• Strong understanding of consumer behavior, community insights, market trends, and competitive dynamics.
• Leadership & Collaboration
• Team leadership and management: Ability to lead, inspire, and develop high-performing teams, fostering a collaborative and results-oriented culture.
• Cross-functional collaboration: Exceptional interpersonal and communication skills to collaborate with teams, agencies, and stakeholders.
• Agency management: Experience managing and directing external agencies, ensuring alignment with brand objectives.
• Financial & Analytical Acumen
• Financial management: Budgeting, forecasting, and data-driven decision-making.
• Data analysis & insights (preferred): Proficiency in using analytics tools to track performance and derive actionable insights.
Leadership Behaviors (Unilever Winning Behaviors)
Below are Unilever’s Winning Behaviors, which guide how we work and lead:
Behavior Description
Focus on what matters Ruthlessly prioritize, do fewer things brilliantly, set clear goals, avoid distractions
Deliver with excellence Take ownership, execute with precision, avoid mediocrity, deliver on commitments
Care deeply Value consumer experience, people’s growth, wellbeing, lead with empathy and integrity
Three steps ahead Think boldly, anticipate trends, stay curious, shape the future, stay ahead of competition

Unilever embraces diversity and encourages applicates from all walks of life! This means giving full and fair consideration to all applicants and continuing development of all employees regardless of age, disability, gender reassignment, race, religion or belief, sex, sexual orientation, marriage and civil partnership, and pregnancy and maternity. 

Unilever is an organisation committed to equity, inclusion and diversity to drive our business results and create a better future, every day, for our diverse employees, global consumers, partners, and communities. We believe a diverse workforce allows us to match our growth ambitions and drive inclusion across the business. At Unilever we are interested in every individual bringing their ‘Whole Self’ to work and this includes you! Thus if you require any support or access requirements, we encourage you to advise us at the time of your application so that we can support you through your recruitment journey.