Marketing Manager: RFO (6 Month Contract)

The Marketing Manager is responsible for leading all marketing activity for the RFO brand, from strategy to execution. The role drives brand awareness, customer acquisition & loyalty across all channels, while leading a diverse team of 5 marketing professionals spanning brand, design, visual merchandising & digital. The successful candidate will serve as both strategic leader & hands-on executer, working cross-functionally with buying, merchandise, store ops & e-commerce, & managing a portfolio of external agencies & contractors.

Qualifications and Experience

• Bachelor's degree in Marketing, Business or related field
• 5–8 yrs marketing, at least 2–3 years managing a multi-disciplinary team
• Retail or fashion environment strongly preferred

Skills:

• Link marketing activity to sales performance, footfall, online conversion
• Hands-on experience with paid social, Google Ads, email platforms & analytics tools
• Ability to manage multiple campaigns and workstreams simultaneously across a team in a fast-paced retail environment
• Comfortable with campaign analytics, customer segmentation, performance reporting and translating data & insights into decisions

Behaviours

• Consumer-obsessed — deeply understands the aspirational yet budget-conscious SA family shopper
• Energetic and fast-moving — thrives in the pace of retail, where seasons and promotions don't wait
• People-first leader — invests in their team, leads with empathy and brings out the best in individuals
• Collaborative — works cross-functionally with buying, merchandise, e-commerce and store operations
• Creative with commercial discipline — brings fresh ideas anchored in sales and brand outcomes
• Inclusive mindset — appreciates the diversity of RFO's customer base & team across income levels, cultures and geographies
• Resilient and solution-oriented — adapts quickly and steadies the team under pressure

1. Team Leadership & People Management

Lead, inspire & develop a diverse internal marketing team of 5 people across brand, design, visual merchandising & digital disciplines

Foster an inclusive, high-performance team culture that reflects RFO's "Hustling For You" values

Set clear individual & team objectives, conduct regular performance reviews & support career development

Manage workload allocation, priorities & deadlines across disciplines for seamless campaign delivery

Identify skills gaps & champion learning opportunities, including AI tool adoption & upskilling across team

Manage relationships with external creative, media, PR and production agencies and freelance contractors — ensuring briefs are sharp, output is on-brand and value for money is maintained

2. Brand & Campaign Management

Develop and execute seasonal marketing campaigns aligned to RFO's positioning across ATL, BTL and digital channels

Manage the brand calendar in sync with buying & merchandise cycles

Oversee catalogue and lookbook production and in-store visual merchandising alignment

Serve as ultimate brand guardian, ensuring consistency of tone, look and feel across all touchpoints — internal team and external partners alike

3. Digital & E-commerce Marketing

Drive online traffic and conversion for exact.co.za and the Bash platform presence

Manage paid media, SEO/SEM, email marketing and social media strategy

Leverage customer data and CRM for personalised, targeted campaigns

Work closely with the digital sub-team to test, learn and optimise performance continuously

4. Visual Merchandising & Design

Oversee design & VM teams to ensure execution is aligned to campaign strategy & brand standards

Brief and sign off all creative output — from digital assets to store graphics and window displays

Balance creative ambition with production budgets and delivery timelines

5. Retail & Trade Marketing

Partner with store operations on in-store activations, window campaigns and promotional material

Support new store openings & mall-level marketing requirements nationally

6. Insights & Reporting

Track campaign performance, ROI and brand health metrics

Conduct ongoing consumer and competitor analysis within the value-fashion segment

Translate customer insights into actionable marketing initiatives

Report regularly to senior leadership on team output, marketing performance and budget utilisation

7. Agency & Budget Management

Own and control the full marketing budget, including internal team costs and external spend

Negotiate contracts & retainers with agencies & contractors, driving efficiency without compromising quality

Ensure all suppliers and partners deliver on time, on brief and on budget