Consumer Insights & Product Strategy Lead (Cape Town, Johannesburg)

Job description

Would you stake a brand decision on this evidence? Show us what earns your trust—and what doesn’t.
Pikaboo is building tools that turn shopper responses gathered through games into useful evidence for brand teams. We’re hiring a hands-on consumer-insights practitioner who can shape Ask Pikaboo and sell its value to the teams making price, pack, range and campaign decisions.
You know the moment when a decision needs an answer and the available research doesn’t quite resolve it. You can identify the missing question, judge the evidence and explain what a buyer should do next. Now help build a better way of doing that work.

What you will own:

• Discover the actual decision, deadline, current approach, evidence gap, working user and accountable budget owner.
• Explain and demonstrate Ask Pikaboo in a brand team’s language, handle objections and progress suitable opportunities toward a scoped, paid next step with the hiring managers.
• Turn decisions into clear questions, relevant audiences, feasible methods and useful recommendations, checking delivery feasibility with the product team.
• Tell us what is useful, what is wrong and what should change. Prioritize a fix and test whether it helps users act on the answer.
• Devise original AI-assisted workflows and reusable briefs that remove bottlenecks while preserving evidence quality.
• Track decision use, commercial progression and repeat work—not just interest in a demo.

The experience that fits:

• Consumer/shopper insights, category or brand management, or research consulting experience. Food, household and personal-care decisions are especially relevant to our initial market focus.
• A decision you materially shaped and the reasoning that persuaded the decision-maker.
• Evidence of securing support, funding or a commercial next step; explain your contribution and the outcome.
• A problem you solved without waiting for a detailed brief, including an inventive use of AI and how you checked its work.
• Ability to challenge a conclusion, listen to contrary evidence and collaborate constructively.

We value initiative, original thinking and useful work over a particular degree, employer logo or follower count. You do not need to be a software engineer; you do need to go beyond using AI to polish text.

Why this role:

Your work connects buyer conversations, product decisions and commercial outcomes. Help define the evidence standard and workflow, then see whether people actually use what you help build. This is an early-stage product: testing assumptions and fixing what fails are part of the job.

Employment and location:

Full-time employment; contract arrangements considered. Regular 9–5 hours. Hybrid work from Cape Town or Johannesburg; our offices are in Cape Town. Candidates based in Côte d’Ivoire are also welcome, with the working arrangement discussed during hiring. Compensation will be discussed during the hiring process.

Application and selection:

Apply through the linked LinkedIn listing with your profile or CV. No cover letter or application video. Be ready to discuss two short examples: a decision you influenced and a bottleneck you solved using AI.
Shortlisted candidates meet Phelelani Mkhize and Takalani Malivha for a structured conversation and a 35-minute supplied product case. Explain its value to a buyer, handle an objection and identify what you would preserve, fix and test. No take-home preparation is required. Specific criticism is welcome. No purchase, customer introduction or confidential employer material is required. Any separate research use of feedback will be explained and optional.

Requirements