Item Coding Team Lead

Let’s be unstoppable together!

Circana is a leading provider of technology, AI, and data solutions for consumer packaged goods companies, manufacturers, and retailers. Our predictive analytics and Liquid Data® platform help clients measure market share, uncover consumer behavior, and drive growth-powered by six decades of expertise and an expansive, high-quality data set.

At Circana, we are fueled by our passion for continuous learning and growth, we seek and share feedback freely, and we celebrate victories both big and small in an environment that is flexible and accommodating to our work and personal lives. We’re a global company dedicated to fostering inclusivity and belonging. We value and celebrate the unique experiences, cultures, and viewpoints that each individual brings. By embracing a wide range of backgrounds, skills, expertise, and beyond, we create a stronger, more innovative environment for our employees, clients, and communities. With us, you can always bring your full self to work. Join our inclusive, committed team to be a challenger, own outcomes, and stay curious together. Circana is proud to be Certified™ by Great Place To Work®. This prestigious award is based entirely on what current employees say about their experience working at Circana.

Learn more at www.circana.com.

What will you be doing?

We are seeking an Item Coding Team, responsible for overseeing and maintaining the quality, accuracy, and integrity of Circana's Point-of-Sale (POS) Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) database. This role supports the US business by managing assigned product categories, maintaining product attributes and coding standards, responding to coding-related inquiries, and partnering with internal stakeholders to ensure high-quality product data. As a trusted advisor for operations, the Item Coding Team Lead is always searching for ways to improve the client's business through the high-quality data we supply. The Lead for Item Coding Team must always look for methods to increase productivity and optimize and simplify operating procedures. The Item Coding Team Lead is a highly adaptable individual that cultivates excellent relationships within the business and adeptly manages several work streams while providing leadership, guidance, and support to team members.

Job Responsibilities

• To take full accountability for all the Item Coding BAU process areas, leading the local team to achieve company, department, team and personal objectives.
• Responsible for the recruitment, training and development of personnel, ensuring that all team members have effective development plans which are regularly reviewed and evaluated.
• Take full ownership of all assigned item coding client change requests and project management of expansions.
• Ensuring the highest quality of the central Circana Dictionary (this Dictionary DB is called Fusion and contains all new items coded by Coding team received in the Retailer sales data).
• Establish and drive the operational item coding process and item coding governance process.
• Actively seeks out client product performance in the market to keep relevant.
• Maintaining strong internal cross-departmental relationships.
• Display a solid understanding of the business and our service offerings.
• Assists and helps the Data Production, Client Delivery, CPG and Retail teams with troubleshooting where necessary.
• Adheres and enforces to all relevant policies and procedures.
• Communicates issues and deadlines to the affected stakeholders and Item Coding Manager as required.
• Able to work extra hours as and when required to ensure deadlines are met.
• Conducts regular team knowledge shares.
• Mentor and develops the operational and quality assurance skills of the members of the team in a constructive manner.
• Oversee and guide new junior team members and assist in their orientation and on boarding.
• To support the Item Coding Manager with the management of the team and implementation of strategic initiatives, etc.

Measures of Success

• To take full accountability for all the Item Coding BAU process areas, leading his/her team to achieve company, department, team and personal objectives.
• Effectively manage work processes by prioritizing and effectively managing the team workload through a systematic approach to task completion.
• Implementation and ongoing maintenance of Fusion coding specific processes, including Category Hierarchies, Bulk Updates, etc.
• Build strong functional & technical skills for self and team members
• Strong problem-solving skills and a solutions focused approach
• Have advanced MS Excel and troubleshooting skills (using worksheets, pivot tables, VLOOKUP’s etc.
• High quality communication skills -written and spoken

Requirements

• Working Hours / Supporting Global Teams
  • Supporting the US Business: This role supports Circana's United States business and requires regular collaboration with internationally based colleagues, stakeholders, and client-facing teams.
  • Team members will be required to work later afternoon hours on a regular basis and, on occasion, early evening hours to accommodate overlap with United States business hours for meetings, training, project work, and collaboration activities.
  • Flexibility in working hours is therefore required to ensure effective support of business operations and stakeholder engagement across time zones.
• Bachelor's Degree in Business, Marketing, Analytics, Information Management, or a related field with a quantitative component
• Excellent verbal and written communication
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills
• High attention to detail and commitment to data accuracy.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced environment.
• Strong organizational and time management skills.
• Ability to work both independently and collaboratively within a virtual global environment.
• Strong Leadership Skills
• 4+ years experience within Retail, FMCG/CPG, Market Research, or Data Operations environments
• (Required) Proficiency in all Microsoft Office applications: Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Teams, and Outlook (and SQL knowledge preferred)

Circana Behaviors

As well as the technical skills, experience and attributes that are required for the role, our shared behaviors sit at the core of our organization. Therefore, we always look for people who can continuously champion these behaviors throughout the business within their day-to-day role:

• Stay Curious: Being hungry to learn and grow, always asking the big questions
• Seek Clarity: Embracing complexity to create clarity and inspire action
• Own the Outcome: Being accountable for decisions and taking ownership of our choices
• Center on the Client: Relentlessly adding value for our customers
• Be a Challenger: Never complacent, always striving for continuous improvement
• Champion Inclusivity: Fostering trust in relationships engaging with empathy, respect and integrity
• Commit to each other: Contributing to making Circana a great place to work for everyone

Location

This position can be located in the following area(s): South Africa