Marketing & Innovation Manager - BWPC

Unilever is currently hiring for a Marketing & Innovation Manager - BWPC

Function: General Management
Reports to: General Manager
Scope: Local – Ethiopia
Location: Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Terms & Conditions: Full-time; Local conditions apply

With 3.4 billion people in over 190 countries using our products every day, Unilever is a business that makes a real impact on the world. Work on brands that are loved and improve the lives of our consumers and the communities around us. We are driven by our purpose: to make sustainable living commonplace, and it is our belief that doing business the right way drives superior performance. At the heart of what we do is our people – we believe that when our people work with purpose, we will create a better business and a better world.

At Unilever, your career will be a unique journey, grounded in our inclusive, collaborative, and flexible working environment. We do not believe in a “one size fits all” approach and instead equip you with the tools you need to shape your own future.

Job Purpose

We are looking for a creative, resilient and commercially minded Marketing and Innovation Manager BWPC - Beauty & Wellbeing and Personal Care to lead the end-to-end innovation agenda across key categories.

This role is responsible for identifying consumer needs, building a strong innovation pipeline, developing business cases and driving innovation from concept through to launch and post-launch performance. The successful candidate will play a critical role in delivering consumer-relevant, profitable growth across the Ethiopia business.

The role requires someone who can work cross-functionally across Marketing, Research & Development, Supply Chain, Finance and Customer Development, while being able to influence stakeholders, manage complex projects and deliver innovation with speed and excellence.

• Lead the development and management of the innovation strategy and pipeline aligned to the business growth ambition.
• Identify key consumer trends, market opportunities and unmet needs to unlock future growth.
• Build innovation plans that support both premium portfolio expansion and value-led solutions for consumers.
• Ensure innovation priorities are clearly aligned with business objectives, category plans and market opportunities.

• Lead consumer insight generation to identify growth opportunities across categories.
• Translate consumer needs and market dynamics into commercially viable innovation ideas.
• Use data, trends and shopper understanding to shape innovation concepts and business cases.
• Ensure innovation plans are consumer-relevant, locally appropriate and able to drive sustainable growth.

• Drive innovation projects from concept development through to launch and scale-up.
• Lead cross-functional project teams across Marketing, R&D, Supply Chain, Finance and Customer Development.
• Ensure project timelines, milestones and deliverables are clearly managed and delivered.
• Drive accountability across stakeholders to ensure smooth execution and commercialization.

• Own innovation budgets, business cases and financial delivery.
• Ensure innovation projects are supported by strong financial analysis, including P&L, ROI, pricing and margin considerations.
• Assess commercial viability and make clear recommendations on whether to start, stop, scale or pivot innovation projects.
• Monitor the financial performance of innovation launches and drive corrective actions where required.

• Partner with cross-functional teams to ensure strong go-to-market planning and execution.
• Support pricing, channel planning, activation strategy and launch readiness.
• Ensure launch plans are aligned with customer, shopper and category priorities.
• Track post-launch performance and recommend optimization, scaling or exit decisions.

• Build strong relationships with key internal stakeholders across Marketing, R&D, Supply Chain, Finance and Customer Development.
• Influence without direct authority to ensure innovation priorities are delivered at pace.
• Create strong alignment across teams to unlock growth opportunities and remove barriers.
• Demonstrate collaborative leadership, ownership and resilience in a fast-paced environment.

• Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing Management or a similar field.
• 5–8+ years’ experience within FMCG, preferably in Marketing, Innovation or Product Development roles.
• Proven track record in delivering end-to-end innovation from insight to launch.
• Strong consumer insight and analytical capability.
• Experience managing cross-functional teams and complex projects.
• Strong financial acumen, including business case development, P&L management, pricing and margin understanding.
• Experience across multiple categories such as Hair Care, Oral Care, Foods, Home Care or Personal Care would be advantageous.
• Strong stakeholder management and influencing capability.
• Ability to operate effectively in a fast-paced, complex and evolving business environment.

Why Join Unilever?
• Work for one of the world’s most purpose-led and trusted brands.
• Drive meaningful impact on business capability and performance.
• Be part of a supportive, culture driven environment that values people and growth.
• Enjoy opportunities for regional exposure and professional development.
 

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.