Role Purpose
Lead the Africa Operating Unit’s (AOU) long-term growth agenda by shaping, driving, and governing the Long-Range Plan (LRP), the Africa 2035 Strategy, andhigh‑impactstrategic and transformational initiatives across the OU. This role partners closely with theStrategic GrowthLeadfor Africa Operating Unittoidentifynext‑generationgrowth opportunities and workscross‑functionallyto translate strategy into execution, ensuring alignment with AOU priorities and enterprise ambitions. The role acts as the custodian of Africa 2035, safeguardinglong-termstrategic bets, governance, communication, and continuous evolution of the strategy to keep the AOUfuture‑readyandgrowth‑focused, while providing compelling strategic storytelling that elevates Africa’s role, visibility, and contribution within the global enterprise.
Key Responsibilities
Shape and SteerAfrica’sLongTermGrowth Agenda
Partner with the AOU Strategic GrowthLead, to lead thedevelopment of the AOU Long-Range Plan (LRP) with the Strategic Growth & Insights Lead.
Working with theStrategic Insights and Competitive Strategy team toAssess macroeconomic, competitive, and consumer trends to informlong-termstrategic choices and enterprise-level bets
Identifyfuture growth opportunities across markets, categories, consumers, and business models.
Monitor and analyze market, consumer, and competitive trends toidentifyopportunities for innovation.
Work closely with the Strategic GrowthLeadto surface emerging growth spaces, disruptive opportunities, and category expansion pathways.
Orchestrate Strategic Planning
Establish and manage robust governance routines for long-term planning, ensuring cross-functional input, executive alignment, and disciplined decision-making.
Ensure the LRP and Africa 2035 priorities cascade effectively into annual business plans, investment decisions, andexecution priorities
Translate strategy into clearexecutionroadmaps, KPIs, milestones, and risk management plans.
Facilitate collaboration across Commercial, Marketing, Finance,TISC,PACS, and Franchise teams to ensure consistent execution of long-termpriorities.
Lead Strategic and Transformational Initiatives
Identify, prioritize, and oversee execution of enterprise-critical transformation programs across markets and functions.
Lead high-priority strategic and transformational programs from design to executione.gAOU Recruitment Playbook, Acceleration of per cap in select markets, Scenario Planning Playbook, Bottler Footprint, Optimization ofSystemEconomics.
Custodian of the Africa 2035 Strategy
Serve as the custodian of the Africa 2035 Strategy, ensuring itremainsactionable
Safeguard the long-term strategic direction of the AOU by ensuring continuity, clarity, and coherence of strategic bets.
Maintain and evolve Africa 2035 narrative, communication materials, engagement forums, and leadership updates.
Regularly stress-test strategic choices to ensure resilience and future readiness
Performance metrics,trackingand monitoring
Develop andmonitormeasurement frameworks and dashboards to track progressoflong-term plans and transformation initiatives.
Ensure insights from performance tracking feed back into prioritization and strategyrefreshcycles
Drive continuous improvement and course correction through performance tracking and insights.
Experience Required
10+ years in Strategy, Transformation, Management Consulting, Business Planning, or Corporate Development.
Experience leading strategic programs across markets or functions.
Proven track record delivering large-scale transformation initiatives from strategy through execution.
Strong experience analyzing macro trends, competition, consumer insights, and category dynamics.
Experience influencing senior leadership within complex matrix organizations.
Operating Unit or regional/global experience preferred.
Strong strategic thinking and ability to translate insights into long-term strategic choices.
Skills & Competencies
Expertisein scenario planning and structured problem-solving.
Strategic foresight and growth opportunity mapping
Stakeholder management, influencing, strategicnarrativeand storytelling
P&L literacy and value creation
Enterprise System Thinking
Exceptional leadership and collaboration skills across multi-functional teams.
Strong analytical capability and comfort working with diverse data sources.
Excellent program and project leadership skills with governance and milestone management.
Exceptional communication and storytelling skills for senior leadership audiences.
High agility, resilience, and ability to manage ambiguity.
Key Deliverables
Africa 2035 Strategy stewardship and periodic updates.
AOU Long-Range Plan (LRP) with clear growth pathways and priorities.
Strategicinitiativeroadmaps, governance frameworks, and dashboards.
Portfolio of transformation programs with KPIs and accountability.
OULT communication materials(presentations, narratives, briefs).
Growth opportunity analyses across consumers, shoppers, competition, and categories.
Skills:
Analytics Software, Communication, Competitor Analysis, Customer Insights, Data Mining, Financial Analysis, Financial Modeling, Influencing, Key Performance Indicators (KPI), Long Term Planning, Microsoft Office, Professional Presentation, Relationship Building, Risk Mitigation Strategies, Stakeholder Management, Storytelling, Strategic Thinking, Syndicated Research, Tactical Planning, Waterfall Model
Location(s):
South Africa
City/Cities:
Johannesburg
Travel Required:
00% - 25%
Relocation Provided:
No
Job Posting End Date:
July 10, 2026
Our Purpose and Growth Culture:
We are taking deliberate action to nurture an inclusive culture that is grounded in our company purpose, to refresh the world and make a difference. We act with a growth mindset, take an expansive approach to what’s possible and believe in continuous learning to improve our business and ourselves. We focus on four key behaviors – curious, empowered, inclusive and agile – and value how we work as much as what we achieve. We believe that our culture is one of the reasons our company continues to thrive after 130+ years. Visit Our Purpose and Vision to learn more about these behaviors and how you can bring them to life in your next role at Coca-Cola.
From our roots at the counter of a local Atlanta pharmacy, to our current portfolio of more than 200 beverages, The Coca-Cola Company is one of the most globally-recognized brands in the world. Today, our lineup features beloved beverage brands, including
Coca-Cola, Sprite, Fanta, smartwater, Dasani, Topo Chico, BODYARMOR, Powerade, Costa, Georgia, Goldpeak, Minute Maid, Simply, fairlife and more.
The Coca-Cola Company is committed to bringing about real change – to our industry, to our local economies, and to the world around us. Through constant evolution, we continue to reimagine the way we refresh the world and make a difference.
We're innovating our portfolio with products that give people more varieties that meet our consumers where they are.
We're working with global partners to transform our business, and grow it in more sustainable ways.
And we're providing jobs and opportunities to the local economies where our people live and work, employing 700,000 people throughout our global system alongside bottling partners.
If you're a changemaker looking to make a change, come join us in our mission to refresh the world and make a difference.
Learn more at: www.coca-colacompany.com/careers
