Specialised Projects and Partnerships Lead, CIB Brand & Marketing

Driving Strategic Partnerships for Liberty's CIB Brand & Marketing

This role at Liberty, based in Johannesburg, is a pivotal position within the Corporate and Investment Banking (CIB) Brand & Marketing division. The core objective is to identify, cultivate, and leverage strategic partnerships to unlock sustainable value and achieve the group's overarching strategic goals. This involves not only identifying opportunities but also developing robust partnership frameworks, acting as a trusted advisor, and implementing specialised engagement programmes designed to anticipate future market needs and business intentions. The successful candidate will play a crucial part in aligning priorities and driving cohesive action across specialised projects and group marketing campaigns, ensuring they effectively support the CIB brand's strategic direction.

Liberty, as part of the Standard Bank Group, is a prominent African financial services group with a global outlook. The organisation prides itself on offering career-enriching opportunities and fostering an environment where talented professionals can thrive. Their client base is diverse, encompassing individuals, small to large businesses, high-net-worth families, and multinational corporations. A deep-seated passion for driving growth across Africa, delivering tangible value to clients and communities, and instilling a sense of purpose in their employees is central to their ethos.

Key Responsibilities and Strategic Focus

The primary responsibility of the Specialised Projects and Partnerships Lead is to spearhead the development and execution of strategic partnership initiatives. This will involve a proactive approach to exploring and capitalising on opportunities that contribute to the sustainable growth and impact of the CIB Brand & Marketing function. A significant aspect of the role will be to craft and implement comprehensive partnership strategies and frameworks, ensuring they are aligned with broader business objectives.

The role demands a consultative approach, serving as a valuable advisor to internal stakeholders and external partners alike. This involves anticipating the future needs and strategic intents of the business unit, proactively identifying potential collaborations that can address these requirements. Furthermore, the lead will be instrumental in driving cohesive priorities, ensuring that specialised projects and broader group marketing campaigns are seamlessly integrated and effectively delivered through these strategic partnerships. A key outcome will be the successful execution of go-to-market strategies and initiatives in collaboration with partners.

Key duties will likely include:

• Identifying and evaluating potential strategic partners.
• Developing and implementing partnership agreements and frameworks.
• Managing relationships with key internal and external stakeholders across various geographical boundaries and complex organisational structures.
• Designing and executing go-to-market strategies with partners.
• Negotiating mutually beneficial agreements, adeptly resolving differences and overcoming obstacles.
• Providing insights and recommendations to senior leadership on partnership opportunities and their potential impact.
• Ensuring that partnership activities contribute directly to defined business objectives and metrics.

Essential Skills and Experience

To excel in this role, candidates will need a strong foundation in business, commerce, marketing, or social sciences, typically evidenced by a first-degree qualification. The role requires a substantial amount of experience, with a minimum of five to seven years dedicated to managing a broad spectrum of projects from inception to completion, with a clear focus on achieving defined business objectives.

Crucially, the candidate must possess extensive experience in brand management, ideally spanning eight to ten years, demonstrating a proven ability to safeguard and enhance an organisation's public image. Experience in both business-to-consumer (B2C) and business-to-business (B2B) marketing environments is highly desirable, as is exposure to marketing across multiple industries and international markets, particularly within Africa. A track record of successfully leading marketing specialist teams to achieve strategic goals is also essential.

Furthermore, the role demands significant expertise in stakeholder management, with candidates expected to have cultivated a robust network of internal and external stakeholders over eight to ten years. This includes navigating complex environments and fostering relationships across geographical divides. Deep knowledge and demonstrable success in the strategic partnering process and its execution are also critical requirements. Experience in designing and implementing go-to-market strategies, coupled with strong negotiation skills to forge win-win agreements, will be vital.

In terms of behavioural competencies, the ideal candidate will possess strong skills in articulating information clearly, challenging ideas constructively, and convincing others. They should be adept at developing strategies, empowering individuals, establishing rapport, and generating innovative ideas. Analytical abilities, including interpreting data and providing insightful outputs, alongside effective teamwork, will be highly valued. Technically, a strong business acumen, ability to analyse and interpret information, conduct research, develop marketing insights, and engage effectively with stakeholders are paramount. Strategic planning, risk awareness, and supplier relationship management will also be key.

In South Africa, a role of this seniority, focused on strategic partnerships and brand marketing within a large financial institution, would typically command a competitive salary, reflecting the required experience and strategic impact. Such positions are often found within the corporate and investment banking arms of major financial groups, as well as large multinational corporations operating in the country. Career progression from this role could lead into more senior leadership positions within marketing, strategy, or business development functions.

Type of Qualification: First Degree
Field of Study: Business Commerce / Marketing / Social Sciences

Experience Required

5-7 years experience managing broad range of projects to completion to achieve defined business objectives or metrics.

8-10 years experience in effective management of a brand, ensuring the best public image of the organisation is seen. B2C and B2B experience, experience in multiple industries and marketing in different African or other international countries would be advantageous, leading a team of marketing specialists to achieve the strategic objectives and goals of the Business.

8-10 years experience in stakeholder management and having fostered a network of internal and external stakeholders across geographical boundaries and complex environments.

8-10 years experience in strategic partnering process and execution knowledge with demonstrable success metrics. Experience designing go-to-market strategies and implementing go-to-market initiatives with partners. Negotiation skill, ability to overcome obstacles, resolve differences, and forge win-win agreements with partners.

Behavioural Competencies:

• Articulating Information
• Challenging Ideas
• Convincing People
• Developing Strategies
• Empowering Individuals
• Establishing Rapport
• Examining Information
• Generating Ideas
• Interpreting Data
• Producing Output
• Providing Insights
• Team Working

Technical Competencies:

• Analysing and Interpreting Information
• Business Acumen (P&C)
• Coaching and Mentoring
• Competitor Analysis
• Conducting Research
• Developing Marketing Insights
• Leadership to Stakeholder Engagement
• Operational Planning
• Risk Awareness
• Risk/ Reward Thinking
• Strategic Planning and Reporting
• Strategy Definition
• Supplier Relationship Management
• Value Identification
• Write Effective Communications