Senior Account Manager (Airline Catering)

Location: Windsor, UK Salary: Up to £65,000 per annum Job Type: fulltime, permanent Benefits Up to 15% bonus Private Medical Cover Life Cover Income Protection Critical Illness Cover Pension Social Events Holiday- 25 days per year plus your Birthday and Bank Holidays Gym Membership – 50% off at Snap Fitness, Windsor Hybrid working (2 days WFH) We’re En Route. We’re a welcoming bunch, with a down-to-earth outlook that helps build lasting relationships with customers and colleagues alike. As global specialists in passenger solutions, supply chain services and sourcing for airlines and airline caterers, we operate globally as part of dnata, one of the world’s largest combined air services providers. En Route’s expertise is one of the many reasons why we’ve enjoyed more than 20 years as a global food solutions partner, with offices in the UK, USA, Australia and UAE. Are you ready to become part of our story? Job Purpose The Senior Account Manager (SAM) is responsible for leading and exceeding sales & profit targets for the region through the development and execution of strategic business strategies. Working within company guidelines and investment parameters, the SAM will drive growth by acquiring new net sales, increasing sales to existing customers, and maintaining customer retention. Collaboration with operational and cross-functional teams is essential to ensure exceptional service delivery and customer satisfaction. Additionally, the SAM may have line management responsibilities, overseeing a team of account managers to achieve collective goals and objectives. Key responsibilities Take ownership of sales budget performance and engage in contract negotiations with key stakeholders across the UK/EU to impact the departmental P&L significantly. Expand market share, achieve, and surpass sales & gross margin objectives. Lead negotiations and strategy with key prospective accounts, making critical decisions. Conduct quarterly meetings with key prospects and customers to review performance and strategize. Cultivate and manage commercial relationships for En Route in the region. Develop in-depth insights into customer businesses and establish strategic partnerships with decision-makers up to the main board level. Understand customer business development plans and align En Route’s support to enable their success. Conduct periodic product/range reviews to ensure offerings meet account needs and drive growth and profitability. Generate market activity reports, analyse trends, and present findings to the senior team as needed. Provide accurate and timely performance, financial, and volume forecasting and reporting for accounts, considering market dynamics and business fluctuations. Collaborate with Marketing to analyse competitor activities and propose strategic changes based on data insights. Develop and implement a strategic sales plan in coordination with Commercial, NPD, and Creative teams to achieve sales and margin targets. Contribute to business development initiatives in the region, including tender processes (RFQ/RFP, etc.). Ensure adherence to approved business case and pricing models as per company standards. Manage project implementations in collaboration with the operational team to ensure a seamless transition from concept to operation. Inspire and motivate the local team to enhance performance and meet customer expectations. Serve as a role model for the team, offering coaching and support to the operational team as needed. Provide monthly reports to the senior management team. Maintain up-to-date customer and prospect records in En Route systems, ensuring accurate CRM data management for effective opportunity tracking. Establish measurable goals for short- and long-term sales and overall growth aligned with En Route’s vision and targets, regularly evaluating performance against set standards to drive profitable growth. To undertake any other duties, which may from time to time be assigned. This job description is not intended to be either prescriptive or exhaustive, but it is issued as a general framework at the time of writing. Person Specification Qualifications and training Educated to University Degree level or equivalent business experience Experience partnering with a Key Account customers Sales and/or Airline Catering experience and at least 5 years in strategic sales or commercial account management or business development Knowledge and skills Proven sales ability and customer account development Strong commercial awareness required Understanding of the Airline Industry Experience in regional catering/food/logistics markets Highly numerate (to interpret and produce financial plans, account profit, margins, etc.) Good data and business analysis and reporting skills PC literate including Excel, Word, PowerPoint, etc. Able to construct and deliver influential commercial selling presentations Superior negotiation skills Native speaker level English (spoken/written), plus one European language Must have the right to live and work in the UK Job Dimensions Geographic Responsibility: Europe Type of Employment: Full time Travel Required, primarily within Continental Europe, willing to travel at short notice