NEXTCom is the 360° creative and marketing agency arm of Next Media, a 16-year-old leading Ugandan media house that houses top television stations, radio brands, digital publishing platforms, and streaming products. NEXTCom exists to support the Group’s ecosystem while delivering integrated brand, creative, content, experiential, and trade marketing solutions to local and regional clients.

As Next Media accelerates its transformation into a digital-first, audience-led media and marketing powerhouse, the Head of Marketing, Brands plays a critical role in shaping how brands are built, experienced, and monetized across every consumer touchpoint.

ROLE PURPOSE

The Head of Marketing, Brands is responsible for defining, governing, and elevating brand strategy across Next Media’s portfolio of brands and NEXTCom’s client accounts.

The role ensures that all brands are clearly positioned, consistently expressed, creatively compelling, and commercially impactful across TV, radio, streaming, digital platforms, and on-ground experiences.

Working closely with the Head of Marketing, Digital and the Senior Creative Director Lead, this role ensures that strong brand strategy and storytelling sit at the core of Next Media’s growth agenda.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

1. Brand Strategy & Architecture

• Is the Brand Manager for NBS – Next Media’s current Affairs, leading brand and Nile Post
• Develop and execute enterprise-wide brand strategy for Next Media’s portfolio.
• Lead brand consolidation and alignment across the 26 brands.
• Define brand positioning, value propositions, and tone of voice.
• Establish brand governance frameworks and guidelines.

2. Creative & Brand Experience Leadership

• Provide strategic oversight to creative, content, and brand execution teams.
• Ensure creative output aligns with brand strategy and business objectives.
• Champion audience-centric storytelling across platforms.

3. Campaign & Experience Planning

• Lead development of brand campaign strategies.
• Oversee brand-led events, activations, and experiential marketing.
• Ensure seamless integration between brand, creative, and digital execution.

4. Trade Marketing & Partnerships

• Oversee trade marketing strategy and partner activations.
• Grow and strengthen Tier 1 and Tier 2 trade marketing partners.
• Ensure strong brand visibility in partner environments.

5. Commercial Brand Support

• Support proposal development and pitches with strong brand strategy.
• Package brand and creative solutions for clients.
• Identify monetizable brand-led opportunities.

6. Team Leadership & Development

• Lead:
  • Senior Trade Manager(s)
  • Senior Creative Director Lead
  • Trade Marketing Manager
  • Department Events Coordinator
• Build a high-performance brand and creative culture.
• Drive continuous capability development.

7. Performance Management & Governance

• Define brand KPIs and dashboards.
• Track brand health, awareness, and sentiment.
• Ensure consistency and compliance across all touchpoints.

REQUIRED EXPERIENCE & QUALIFICATIONS

• 8–10 years of experience in brand or marketing leadership in the FMCG sector
• Background in media, agency, or integrated marketing environments.
• Proven experience managing multiple brands.
• Strong strategic, creative, and commercial acumen.

REQUIRED COMPETENCIES

• Strategic brand thinker
• Strong people leader
• Commercially minded
• Excellent communicator
• High attention to detail
• Strong stakeholder management

KEY TOOLS & PLATFORMS (WORKING KNOWLEDGE)

• Brand management & asset management tools
• Adobe Creative Cloud (working knowledge)
• Presentation tools (PowerPoint, Google Slides)
• Project management tools (Asana, Monday.com, ClickUp)
• Social listening & brand tracking tools
• Research & analytics platforms

KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS (KPIs)

Brand Health & Equity

• Brand awareness growth
• Brand sentiment score
• Brand consistency compliance

Campaign & Experience Performance

• Campaign reach and engagement
• Event attendance vs targets
• Brand lift per campaign

Commercial Impact

• Brand-led revenue contribution
• Sponsorship and partnership revenue
• Proposal win rate (brand-led)

Operational Excellence

• On-time campaign delivery
• Reduction in brand-related rework

Team & Capability

• Team performance scores
• Training and development milestones

WHY THIS ROLE MATTERS

This role ensures that Next Media’s brands remain distinct, trusted, culturally relevant, and commercially powerful, forming the foundation upon which digital growth, audience loyalty, and revenue scale are built.