National Account Manager

Job content

Key Result Areas – job role and deliverables:

Reporting to the Grocery Sales Director, this role is to manage all aspects of our product portfolio within at least one top 4 grocery accounts. This isn’t a newly created role.

You will maximise profitable growth for IPN and our grocery retail partners by ensuring that our customer / customers in this channel view IPN as a key strategic suppler for both branded and, where applicable, private label pet food solutions.

Managing all of the day-to-day aspects of the customer relationship the main objectives will be to:
• Manage the day-to-day sales relationship for at least one of our top 4 grocery customers
• Negotiate, with the assistance of the Grocery Sales Director, the annual Joint Business Plans for the customer / customers (where applicable)
• Develop account specific promotional plans to help maximise profitable sales
• Ensure that the online area of the retailer / retailers is given clear focus to maximise the growth opportunity that online can deliver
• Manage internal forecasts for all the retail account / accounts
• Conduct regular meetings with the key buyers at all the accounts under your management
• Work closely with other teams within the IPN business (finance, nutrition, marketing, category, production) to ensure that we excel in terms of product, promotions and proposition for these key retail accounts
• Report regularly as part of monthly Grocery DBU sales meetings on the progress of the accounts under your management
• Construct annual budgets for each of the accounts and regularly review performance of each account against the agreed budget
• When required, deliver cost price increases to all customers under your management
• Present NPD to all customers under your management with the goal of gaining incremental listings
• Monitor customer Epos (where available) and report back to the wider IPN business with any noticeable trends

Key skills and capabilities:

The successful candidate will be an experienced account manager or buyer operating within the UK pet specialty, grocery, online or vet sectors. You will be a highly driven, self-starter with a history of delivering profitable growth. You will be an engaging and clear communicator, able to build effective trusted partner relationships internally and with our retail partners. You will be an impactful presenter, able to persuade customers based on your story-telling of the market data and IPN product offering

You will be highly commercial and used to working in an autonomous and fast paced entrepreneurial environment. You will constantly be looking for ways to use market knowledge, channel data and insight to optimise the sales, growth and profitability of the accounts that you manage

You will be analytical and highly numerate with a collaborative partner style, working closely with all teams within IPN to develop strategies that drive profitable growth for both the IPN business and our retail partners

You will be fastidious in terms of admin and set the benchmark within the IPN sales team with regards to forecast accuracy, customer relationship management, S&OP development, business planning and financial reporting.