Head of Demand Creation – Foods | Southern Africa

Location: South Africa, Durban
Function: Marketing
Level: Senior Leadership

About the role

We are looking for a Head of Demand Creation to lead the marketing agenda for our Foods portfolio in Southern Africa. This role is responsible for driving consumer demand, strengthening brand equity, and delivering sustainable business growth across a diverse portfolio of global and local brands.

You will translate business strategy into impactful, social‑first marketing plans, lead high‑performing teams, and shape how consumers experience our brands across digital, social, experiential and in‑store touchpoints.

What you’ll do

• Lead the development and execution of integrated, consumer‑centric marketing strategies for the Foods portfolio in Southern Africa

• Drive demand creation through insight‑led, social‑first campaigns that build relevance, engagement and conversion

• Inspire and lead high‑performing demand creation teams, fostering a culture of collaboration, experimentation and accountability

• Champion innovation by deploying global launches and shaping locally relevant innovations that drive growth and margin

• Strengthen brand storytelling through compelling content, creators, experiential activations and digitally enabled platforms

• Partner closely with commercial, R&D, finance and agency teams to deliver shared business objectives

• Build and scale demand creation capabilities across social, digital, experiential and in‑store execution

• Oversee marketing investment, ensuring strong ROI and disciplined budget management

What you’ll bring

• 10+ years’ experience in FMCG marketing, with strong expertise in demand creation, brand building and innovation (Foods or related category essential)

• Proven experience translating strategy into high‑impact marketing plans that drive growth and brand equity

• Deep expertise in social‑first and digital marketing, including content, creators, SEO and performance amplification

• Strong people leadership capability, with experience building and developing diverse, high‑performing teams

• Solid commercial and financial acumen, with proven experience partnering closely with Customer Development teams to translate brand strategy into winning customer, channel and in‑market execution; ability to manage and optimise marketing investment to deliver strong ROI and sustainable growth.

• Highly collaborative approach with the ability to influence across functions and external partners

• Passion for food, consumer trends and building brands that people love

Why join us

You’ll have the opportunity to shape iconic food brands, work in a fast‑moving, purpose‑led organisation, and make a visible impact on how consumers experience brands across Southern Africa.

Unilever is an equal opportunities employer and committed to diversity and inclusivity in the workplace.  We are intentional in employing the best talent that reflects the demographics of our country, and which will help build representation of currently under-represented groups. We therefore invite applications from all candidates representing diversity of age, sex, disability, sexual orientation, race, religion or belief. When appointing potential candidates, the South African Employment Equity and Broad Based Black Economic Empowerment Legislation will be considered.  

We are required by law to verify your ability to work lawfully in South Africa. If you are applying as a foreign national, please note that you may be requested to provide supporting documents supporting this.

This is an office-based role in Durban and requires 100% of time attendance on site.

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.