Activation jobs in Cape Town, Western Cape

Marketing & Activation Lead

Reports to: Chief Operating Officer

Brand & content oversight: Chief Executive Officer (approval authority on brand and public-facing content)

Direct reports: 2 × Community Activation Coordinators; 1 × Marketing & Content Creator (existing role); 1 × Customer Experience Officer (during hub launch phases); agencies and contractors as appointed

Purpose of the Role

The Marketing & Activation Lead owns household activation and active participation across REACT's recycling network. The role is accountable for achieving signups to ensure full hub capacity — and, critically, for converting those signups into actively participating households through each hub's three-month incubation phase. A signup only counts as success once the household is participating; this role is measured on both. The mandate is delivered through two parallel workstreams:

• Filling existing capacity — driving signups and active participation across REACT's 10 operational Decentralised Recycling Hubs (DRHs) to bring each to full capacity.
• Launching new Super DRHs — leading the activation and marketing campaigns for the rollout of 5 Super DRHs (SDRHs), launched sequentially at one per month.

This is a strategic and operational leadership role, not a design or content production role. The successful candidate will build and run the activation engine — campaigns, coordinators, channels, events, and partnerships — that converts communities into active recycling households, while managing REACT's digital and physical marketing presence and protecting brand consistency across the network.

Key Responsibilities:

Household Activation (Primary Mandate)

• Own the household signup target across all DRHs and SDRHs, with clear monthly and per-hub milestones.
• Lead, manage, and develop two Community Activation Coordinators, each responsible for activation delivery within assigned communities.
• Design the activation playbook for each catchment area: door-to-door, street-level, school, faith-based, and community organisation channels.
• Drive active participation rates post-signup, not just registration numbers.
• Manage cost per household acquired against budget, and continuously optimise channel mix for efficiency.

Marketing Strategy & Campaigns

• Develop and execute integrated marketing campaigns across digital and physical channels.
• Direct and manage the existing Marketing & Content Creator, who is responsible for content creation, design, and posting — this role sets the content strategy, campaign briefs, content calendar, and quality standards, rather than producing content directly.
• Prioritise the channels that move households in REACT's communities: WhatsApp-based community marketing, local and community radio, taxi rank and spaza-level visibility, schools, and community events.
• Manage REACT's digital presence, including social media, website content, and community WhatsApp ecosystems.
• Plan and coordinate SDRH launch campaigns, ensuring each launch lands with momentum and a full activation pipeline behind it.
• Design and run capacity-fill campaigns for the existing 10 DRHs.
• Develop business acquisition campaign support for the Business Development team.

Remali Community Communications

• Own the community-facing communication of the Remali rewards platform, including the lottery-based prize draw model.
• Position Remali as a core activation and retention tool within each hub's community.
• Coordinate prize draw events, winner stories, and reward communications to drive ongoing participation.

Onboarding Experience & Communications

• Design and own the household onboarding journey from signup to first active participation, for each new hub launch.
• Develop the onboarding communications strategy: welcome messaging, how-to guidance, first-collection nudges, and early retention touchpoints.
• Manage and direct the Customer Experience Officer, who executes the onboarding journey on the ground — this role designs the strategy, processes, and communication templates; the CX Officer delivers them to households.
• Monitor onboarding performance through the CX Officer's delivery, and refine the journey based on household feedback and completion data.
• Hand over steady-state customer experience to the Operations team once each hub is fully operational, with documented processes, templates, and the CX Officer transitioning to work alongside Operations.

Incubation Phase & Active Participation (First 3 Months Per Hub)

• Own the active participation rate of every hub during its three-month incubation phase — the period in which signups must convert into consistently participating households.
• Track and drive the critical early-participation milestones: first collection success rate (signed-up households who participate in their first collection) and second collection success rate (households who participate again), as the leading indicators of genuine activation.
• Monitor active rates weekly per hub during incubation, and act immediately on drops: instruct the Activation Coordinators or Customer Experience Officer to investigate root causes on the ground (wrong messaging, missed collections, confusion about the process, Remali rewards not landing, competing informal collectors, etc.).
• Design and run re-engagement interventions for signed-up but inactive households: follow-up visits, WhatsApp nudges, Remali prize draw reminders, and community reinforcement.
• Diagnose patterns across hubs — if a particular community, channel, or message produces signups that don't participate, feed that insight back into the activation playbook and campaign design.
• Declare each hub's incubation complete only when it sustains its target active rate, and hand over to Operations with a documented participation baseline.

Brand Management

• Maintain and strengthen the REACT brand across all touchpoints: SDRHs, vehicles, uniforms, signage, social media, and promotional materials.
• Ensure all public-facing content and brand applications are approved through the CEO's brand oversight process.
• Develop and maintain marketing collateral, presentations, and stakeholder communication materials.

Communications & Public Relations

• Develop communication plans for SDRH launches and major milestones.
• Manage media relationships and secure positive coverage for launches and impact stories.
• Coordinate press releases, case studies, newsletters, and stakeholder updates.
• Support fundraising, investor relations, and partnership communications as directed.

Team Leadership & Reporting

• Lead a team of four: two Community Activation Coordinators, the Marketing & Content Creator, and the Customer Experience Officer (during launch phases), plus external agencies and contractors as required.
• Set clear briefs, content calendars, and performance expectations for the Content Creator; review and approve content before publication in line with brand standards.
• Manage the activation and marketing budget; report monthly on spend against signup performance.
• Establish campaign calendars, activation schedules, and per-hub performance dashboards.
• Track and report weekly on signups, participation rates, cost per acquisition, and campaign performance to the COO.
• Coordinate with the SDRH Development Manager to align activation timing with hub readiness.

Ideal Candidate Profile

Experience

• 5+ years in marketing, community activation, campaign management, or grassroots growth roles.
• Demonstrated track record of high-volume customer or household acquisition — candidates should be able to speak to specific signup or acquisition numbers they have delivered.
• Experience running campaigns in township and community contexts.
• Experience managing small teams and external service providers, including briefing and directing creative or content staff.
• Experience with community-based programmes, social enterprises, NGOs, or development projects is advantageous.

Skills

• Field activation planning and execution at scale.
• Low-cost, high-reach channel expertise: WhatsApp marketing, community radio, on-the-ground visibility, schools and community partnerships.
• Campaign planning, budget management, and performance reporting.
• Stakeholder management across community leaders, ward councillors, schools, and NGOs.
• Excellent written and verbal communication.
• Proficiency in Afrikaans and/or isiXhosa is highly advantageous given the communities REACT serves.

Personal Attributes

• A builder: comfortable creating the playbook, team, and systems from the ground up — this is a hands-on role in its first year, not a delegation role.
• Target-driven and accountable; energised rather than intimidated by goals.
• Strong leadership and coordination abilities.
• Passion for sustainability, community development, and social impact.
• Comfortable in dynamic, fast-paced, resource-conscious environments.

Working at Regenize

• Opportunity to work closely with the CEO and COO, gaining broad business exposure
• Be part of a purpose-driven organisation creating real impact
• Room to grow as the company scales
• Collaborative and mission-driven team environment

Job Type: Full-time

Application Question(s):

• If employed, what is your current basic salary?
• What are your salary expectations?
• Why are you interested in working at Regenize?
• Why do you think you are best suited for this role?
• Do you have a clear criminal record?
• This role is field-based across Cape Town communities, including regular work in Cape Flats areas, with some evening and weekend community events. Are you willing and able to work this way?
• Have you managed direct reports (not just interns or freelancers) for at least 1 year?
• This position is based in Cape Town and cannot be performed remotely. Do you currently live in, or are you able to relocate to, the Cape Town area at your own cost?
• Have you ever been directly responsible for a customer, member, or household acquisition target? If yes, what was the target and what did you achieve?
• Have you briefed and managed a designer, content creator, or creative agency where you set the strategy but did not produce the content yourself?

Experience:

• marketing, community activation, or campaign management: 5 years (Preferred)

License/Certification:

• Driver's License (Preferred)

Work Location: In person