Who We Are

Fueled by passion, KAYALI was founded in 2018 by beauty mogul and fragrance fanatic, Mona Kattan. Translating to ‘my imagination' in Arabic, KAYALI provides a modern fragrance experience inspired by Mona's rich Middle Eastern heritage and the art of layering scents to help you create your mood; where sharing scents is a ritual and smelling good is both an act of goodwill and self-love.

Mona collaborates with some of the world's most renowned perfumers and sources the finest ingredients to create unique juices that are infinitely memorable, long-lasting, and cruelty-free. Each luxurious fragrance is an ode to true craftsmanship and tells a special story, from the addictive notes to the multi-faceted jeweled bottles.

Our Mission

To make everyone feel like the diamond they are! To build a global community of fragrance lovers through the power of scent and by providing them with the most innovative & luxurious fragrances, education and sharing our Middle Eastern fragrance rituals with the world.

Role Summary

The Strategy Manager is the right hand to the Strategy & Corporate Development Director, extending the reach of the strategy function across decision support, execution tracking, market intelligence, and cross-functional alignment.

This is a hands-on, output-driven role. You will own the engine behind Kayali's strategic agenda: building the models, dashboards, and materials that inform executive decisions; running the tracking rhythm that keeps high-impact initiatives on course; and producing the insights and intelligence that shape where the business plays and how it wins in the global fragrance and beauty space.

Core Responsibilities & Deliverables

1. Business Performance & Decision Support

• Build and maintain financial and commercial models that support strategic decisions: business cases, scenario modelling, market sizing, channel and portfolio economics

• Own recurring business performance reporting, turning data from across the business into clear, decision-ready views of growth, margin, and operational health

• Pressure-test assumptions and recommendations with data; deliver structured go/no-go inputs for new market, channel, and category opportunities

• Prepare high-quality executive and board-level materials that turn complex information into clear insights and recommendations

2. Strategic Initiative Management & Tracking

• Run the tracking and reporting rhythm for the strategic project portfolio: milestones, owners, risks, dependencies, and status against plan

• Drive follow-through on actions and decisions from leadership forums, keeping initiatives moving between reviews

• Flag risks and slippage early, with proposed fixes rather than just status updates

• Support the Director in the design and operation of the business operating rhythm (leadership forums, strategy reviews, planning cycles)

3. Insights & Intelligence

• Own ongoing market, competitor, and consumer intelligence for the global fragrance and beauty category: launches, pricing, distribution moves, M&A activity, and category trends

• Deliver regular, sharp “so what” intelligence briefings tied directly to Kayali's positioning and strategic choices

• Build and maintain the data and insight infrastructure of the strategy function, including AI-enabled research and monitoring workflows

4. Cross-Functional Alignment & Execution Support

• Act as connective tissue across Marketing, Commercial, Product Development, Operations, Tech, People and Culture and Finance on strategic initiatives, aligning priorities, timelines, and interdependencies

• Prepare and coordinate materials, pre-reads, and follow-ups for cross-functional and leadership meetings

• Support high-priority projects for the Director and CEO office, from expansion feasibility work to investor and board preparation

Key Outputs

• Business cases & feasibility studies

• Strategic project tracker & initiative reporting

• Market & competitive intelligence briefings

• Business performance dashboards

• Executive & board-level materials

• Leadership forum coordination & follow-through

• ~3-5 years of experience in strategy consulting or an in-house strategy, insights, or commercial role at a high-growth consumer brand; strong finance backgrounds (FP&A, corporate finance, commercial finance) are also welcome

• Exposure to beauty, fragrance, luxury, or premium consumer categories strongly preferred

• Track record of producing executive-grade work at pace and to a high quality bar

• Comfortable with ambiguity, minimal supervision, and shifting priorities in a fast-moving, founder-led environment

• Low ego, high ownership: equally willing to build a business case, chase down a project owner, and polish a board slide