Senior National Account Manager (Grocery)

• £70K/yr - £75K/yr
• London
• 

Position: Senior National Account Manager (Grocery)

Location: London Area

Package: £70K/yr – £75K/yr

Following significant growth since its inception, a rapidly expanding SME drinks company is seeking an experienced, proactive, and highly commercial individual to manage grow their UK

off-trade customers. You will manage all of the key customers including Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Waitrose and Ocado. Previous Top 4 grocery customer experience is essential.

This position entails responsibility for day-to-day communication and relationship management with key customers, including negotiating Joint Business Plans (JBPs) and annual agreements, managing promotions, and overseeing customer P&Ls. The individual will also provide insights and recommendations to the broader team, driving sales through proactive trade marketing and new product development (NPD) initiatives.

Key Responsibilities:

• Develop and expand existing UK off-trade relationships by fostering strong connections with retailers to unlock new opportunities.
• Take full responsibility for negotiating JBPs and delivering retailer P&Ls.
• Collaborate with the Head of Category to grow sales and distribution across the off-trade sector, securing Category Partner status with key customers.
• Manage promotional strategies, in-store implementation, and online activation.
• Work with the marketing team to create top-tier activation plans across off-trade retailers.
• Set and manage the off-trade marketing budget to deliver JBP and activation plans with retailers.
• Oversee sales data and reporting, including forecasting and budget management for UK sales, and implement best practices.
• Collaborate closely with the operations team on demand forecasts to meet KPI targets for stock holding and forecast accuracy.

Key Skills and Experience Required:

• A graduate degree.
• Experience in an FMCG sales-focused role, ideally with a mix of experience in both blue-chip companies and SMEs (with at least 2 years in a blue-chip company).
• National Account Management experience working with major UK retailers, particularly the Big 4: Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Waitrose, Asda, and Morrisons.
• Proven experience in building and tracking annual retail forecasts, negotiating JBPs, and managing P&Ls.
• Strong interpersonal skills and an ability to build effective relationships.
• Excellent negotiation skills.
• Exceptional attention to detail.
• A self-starter who takes the initiative.

The Compensation Package Includes:

• A salary of approximately c£70-75k (flexible based on experience)
• Bonus
• Equity options
• 25 days of holiday
• Flexible working policy