Looking for a job

Jude Gaya

@judegaya

A strategic, people-centric & results-driven marketing, brand and comms lead with 20+ years experience in various sectors across sub-Saharan Africa.

Kenya

Message

What I'm looking for

I'm looking for a new challenge to further enhance my skills and experience and to be in a position to mentor others. I'm looking to discover new markets and cultures to further continue to disrupt industries and markets to have a sustainable impact for the betterment of the global populace.

Senior strategic marketing, brand and communications leader with 20+ years of experience building integrated, growth-focused campaigns across healthcare, agency, media, technology, events and professional services environments. I bring deep expertise in client/customer acquisition, premium brand positioning, digital and traditional advertising, lifecycle engagement, partnerships, experiential marketing and performance reporting.

Currently lead enterprise marketing, branding and communications at LifeCare Hospitals, where integrated campaigns across seven hospitals delivered a 35% increase in national brand awareness and patient service uptake, alongside a 48% growth in digital engagement. Experienced in combining creative storytelling with commercial discipline – linking campaign performance to conversion, service uptake, customer experience, retention and return on marketing investment. I also reduced campaign production timelines by 72% through AI-enabled marketing operations and secured strategic partnerships supporting organisational expansion.

Passionate about combining creativity, experimentation, analytics and AI to build efficient, scalable marketing systems that accelerate profitable growth whilst delivering exceptional customer experiences.

I offer my highly transferable experience in various sectors: building trust-led client journeys, strengthening brand reputation, activating media and community partnerships, managing high-consideration service marketing, and ensuring every campaign and touchpoint reflects a premium customer experience. I have an extensive agency, media, vendor and stakeholder network across Kenya, East Africa and sub-Saharan Africa, looking to continue building globally.

Experience

Work history, roles, and key accomplishments

Current

Deputy GM - Marketing, Branding & Comms

Current

LifeCare Hospitals

Sep 2023 - Present (3 years)

Lead the Group’s marketing, brand & comm's function across 7 hospitals & the academic institution, serving diverse communities. Serve as senior advisor to the CEO, ExCo & unit Directors on comm's, brand reputation, CX & stakeholder engagement
Key Responsibilities & Contributions:
Marketing Strategy & ROI
Tech & AI Transformation
Event Management
Customer Experience
Stakeholder & Partner Engagement

Marketing Brand Strategy Brand Management Community Management Community Engagement Community Building Communication Skills Community Outreach Communications Planning Communications Strategy Communications Management Marketing Collateral Marketing Operations Marketing Planning Marketing Strategies Reputation Management Brand Reputation Corporate Reputation Monitoring Martech

Current

Deputy General Manager

Current

LifeCare Hospitals

Sep 2023 - Present (3 years)

Lead the Group marketing, brand and communications function across seven hospitals and a new academic institution, delivering a unified integrated communications strategy that drove 35% growth in awareness and patient service uptake within six months.

Integrated Communications Brand Strategy Crisis Communications Digital Transformation Customer Experience Stakeholder Engagement Event Management

Current

Founding Partner & CMO

Current

Idea Nine Strategies

Feb 2016 - Present (10 years 7 months)

Founded and led a strategic marketing and communications consultancy delivering brand, fundraising and donor communication strategies for clients including Safaricom and Nairobi Hospital.

Brand Strategy Fundraising Communications Stakeholder Engagement Digital Strategy Consulting

BD Manager – Private Sector (SSA)

Coseke Kenya Limited

Mar 2022 - Aug 2023 (1 year 5 months)

Led communication-driven business development for enterprise digital solutions across the region.
Key Achievements:
•
Negotiated, secured and managed multi-million-shilling partnerships with Canon, CFAO, Telkom Kenya and others through executive communication materials, pitches and corporate positioning.

B2B B2B SaaS Business Development Business Development Strategy Business Development Management

Business Development Manager

Coseke (K) Ltd

Mar 2022 - Aug 2023 (1 year 5 months)

Led communication-driven business development for enterprise digital solutions across Sub-Saharan Africa, negotiating and securing multi-million-shilling partnerships with Canon, CFAO and Telkom Kenya.

Business Development Executive Communication Negotiation Sales Strategy Stakeholder Management B2B Sales Proposal Development Account Management

Customer Retention Manager

Smart Applications International Ltd

Apr 2021 - Dec 2021 (8 months)

Consulted on retention, upselling and lifecycle engagement, creating a customer retention department and negotiating a high-value loyalty partnership with Kenya Airways.

Customer Retention Upselling Lifecycle Marketing Negotiation Loyalty Programs Process Design Stakeholder Engagement

Customer Retention Manager (Consultancy)

Smart Applications International Limited

Apr 2021 - Dec 2021 (8 months)

Focused on retention, upselling & lifecycle engagement with Corp. partners, donor-funded & enterprise Prog's.
Achievements:
CX: Developed & implemented a strategy aligned mainly with upselling, improving client loyalty & established a CX Dpt, embedding systems for sustainable partner & donor-facing engagement
Stakeholder Engagement: Structured & negotiated a high-value loyalty partnership with KQ

CRM Customer Retention Customer Relationship Management B2C Marketing

Head of Sales & Marketing

Skeme Advertising Group

Jun 2015 - Nov 2015 (5 months)

Led experiential marketing, launch activations and stakeholder campaigns for blue-chip brands, delivering high-ROI activations for clients including Unilever and Safaricom.

Experiential Marketing Campaign Management Stakeholder Management Team Leadership Agency Management

Group Commercial & Creative Manager

Media 7 Group Kenya

Oct 2008 - Feb 2015 (6 years 4 months)

Directed commercial strategy, advertising and sponsorship acquisition, securing partnerships with KICC and CMC Motors to drive integrated media and event-linked brand campaigns.

Commercial Strategy Sponsorship Sales Advertising Sales Partnerships Revenue Growth Customer Relationship Management

Advertising Manager & Editor

Media 7 Group Kenya

Oct 2005 - Sep 2008 (2 years 11 months)

Managed integrated advertising campaigns across print and digital, authored sponsorship proposals and delivered partner-funded initiatives to meet client objectives.

Advertising Management Campaign Execution Content Strategy Revenue Generation Partnership Management

Education

Degrees, certifications, and relevant coursework

Chartered Institute of Marketing

CIM Level 6, Marketing

2025 -

Enrolled in CIM Level 6 studies beginning in 2025 (ongoing).

Academy of Graphic Technologies

Certificate, Electronic Publishing

Completed a Certificate in Electronic Publishing at the Academy of Graphic Technologies in 2005.

United States International University - Africa

Bachelor of Science, Information Systems and Technology

2000 - 2003

Grade: 3.5

Graduated with honours, specialised in Marketing and Networking

International School of Advertising

CIM(UK), CIM (Level 6)

2025 -

CIM has supported, represented & developed marketers, teams & leaders globally in marketing.
The CIM Curriculum was developed following extensive employer-led research across a range of sectors; qualification providers; academics & students.
After successful completion of the program, ISA guarantees certified global recognition, which can culminate into the respected title of ‘Chartered Marketer’