Customer Development Executive in London

Overview of role

Location: Maidenhead

Department: UK Sales

Contract: Permanent

Build relationships. Drive growth. Make an impact. Looking to take the next step in your commercial career? At Hovis Bakeries, we're looking for a motivated and commercially minded Customer Development Executive to join our UK Sales team, supporting one of our major strategic customers. This is a fantastic opportunity to develop your career in customer account management, working with some of the UK's best-loved bakery brands and helping deliver exciting opportunities across both Hovis branded and own-label products. You'll work alongside experienced commercial colleagues, gaining hands-on experience in customer planning, promotional activity, product launches and business development. If you enjoy building relationships, working with data and turning ideas into results, we'd love to hear from you!

What you'll be doing

• Working closely with our Senior Business Development Manager, you'll help manage and develop a key customer account, ensuring we deliver great service while identifying opportunities for growth.
• Building customer relationships – supporting day-to-day account activity and developing positive working relationships with key stakeholders.
• Bringing promotions to life – working with Category and Marketing teams to plan and deliver promotional campaigns.
• Supporting product launches – coordinating new product introductions, customer setup and product changes.
• Keeping customers supplied – partnering with Supply Chain teams to support product availability and customer service.
• Understanding performance – monitoring promotional spend, analysing sales performance and identifying opportunities to improve results.
• Working across the business – collaborating with Sales, Finance, Marketing and Supply Chain to deliver customer plans and commercial objectives.
• Identifying opportunities – using customer and market insights to support business growth and continuous improvement.

What we're looking for

We're looking for someone who enjoys working with people, has a commercial mindset and is keen to develop their skills in customer account management. Ideally, you'll bring:

• Experience in sales, business development, customer support, account coordination or a similar commercial role.
• An interest in understanding customer needs, building relationships and driving business growth.
• Good organisational skills, with the ability to manage competing priorities and meet deadlines.
• Strong communication and relationship-building skills.
• Confidence working with numbers, sales data and commercial information.
• Working knowledge of Microsoft Office, particularly Excel.
• A proactive, collaborative approach and a willingness to learn.

You don't need to have managed a major customer account before. We're interested in people with the right attitude, transferable skills and the ambition to develop their commercial career.

Why this role?

This is more than an opportunity to support a customer account. It's a chance to build your commercial knowledge, develop your confidence and gain valuable experience within a major UK food manufacturing business. You'll benefit from:

• Exposure to a major strategic customer, gaining insight into account management and commercial decision-making.
• Hands-on learning and development, working alongside experienced sales and commercial colleagues.
• Cross-functional experience, building relationships across Sales, Marketing, Category, Finance and Supply Chain.
• Opportunities to grow, developing the skills and experience to take on greater responsibility as your career progresses.

What we offer

We're proud to offer a competitive reward package and a culture that supports growth, wellbeing and development. Our benefits include:

• Competitive salary.
• 6.6 weeks holiday entitlement.
• Career development and progression opportunities.
• Employee Recognition Programme celebrating safety and living our values.
• Pension scheme with employer contributions of up to 10%.
• Life Assurance.
• Bupa Private Healthcare, supporting your health and wellbeing.
• Simplyhealth cash plan, helping you cover the cost of everyday healthcare expenses, including dental, optical and physiotherapy treatments.
• Salary Finance, providing access to financial wellbeing tools, savings options and responsible borrowing solutions.
• Employee Assistance Programme, with 24/7 support, legal and financial advice, and access to the My Healthy Advantage wellbeing app.
• Electric Car Scheme.
• Cycle to Work Scheme.
• Extra Slice employee discount platform, offering savings at over 500 retailers.

Why join Hovis Bakeries?

At Hovis Bakeries, we're proud to bring together some of the UK's best-known bakery brands, including Hovis, Kingsmill, Allinson's and Sunblest. Our people are at the heart of everything we do. From creating great products to building strong customer partnerships, we work together to deliver quality, service and innovation every day. We're committed to creating a workplace where people feel valued, supported and encouraged to grow. Our values guide how we work: Aim High | Work Together | I Do What I Say | Everybody Matters.

Ready to take the next step? If you're looking to develop your commercial career, build valuable customer relationships and make a real contribution to a growing business, we'd love to hear from you. Apply today and join the UK Sales team at Hovis Bakeries!

Our Commitment to Inclusion

At Hovis Bakeries, we are committed to building a diverse and inclusive workplace where everyone feels valued, respected and able to be themselves. We welcome applications from people of all backgrounds, experiences and perspectives and are dedicated to creating an environment where everyone can succeed.