At a Glance
- Tasks: Manage customer accounts, ensuring satisfaction and driving revenue growth.
- Company: Dynamic waste management company focused on sustainability and innovation.
- Benefits: Competitive salary, hybrid working, 25 days leave, and career development.
- Other info: Inclusive culture that values diverse perspectives and promotes innovation.
- Why this job: Take ownership of accounts and make a real impact in a fast-paced environment.
- Qualifications: Experience in account management and strong commercial awareness required.
The predicted salary is between 30000 - 40000 £ per year.
Join Our Team as a Key Account Manager! We are looking for a Key Account Manager to manage a portfolio of customer accounts, ensuring strong service delivery, high customer satisfaction, and growth in revenue and margin. This is a hands-on role working in a fast-moving service environment. The successful candidate will manage day-to-day customer relationships, support service delivery, carry out site visits and audits, and identify opportunities to improve service and grow existing accounts.
This role would suit someone with experience in account management, customer management or operations within industries such as waste management, facilities management, logistics, utilities or other service-led environments. We specialise in bespoke recycling and waste management solutions. We're dedicated to partnering with suppliers who share our values and align with our customers' needs. Our approach focuses on enhancing Corporate Social Responsibilities, maximising recycling efforts, and delivering significant cost savings.
We foster an inclusive environment where every employee feels welcomed and valued. We promote equality of opportunity, embracing a diverse range of talent and perspectives to drive innovation and excellence. We fully embrace new ideas and challenge old practices to find the very best solutions for our customers, suppliers, and people.
About the Role
Role Overview: This role owns the commercial performance of a defined portfolio of customer accounts (c.£2–3m revenue). The Key Account Manager is accountable for retaining revenue, protecting and improving margin, and driving growth within existing customers. While service delivery is a critical part of the role, this is not a coordination or support position. The successful candidate will take full ownership of account performance — balancing customer needs with commercial outcomes.
Key Accountabilities include:
- Revenue retention across portfolio
- Net revenue growth within existing accounts
- Margin performance (at renewal and in-life)
- Customer satisfaction and account stability
- Delivery of account plans and improvement initiatives
About You
Experience:
- Essential: Experience managing customer accounts in a service-led environment; Evidence of owning or influencing revenue, retention or margin; Experience dealing directly with customers and resolving complex issues; Ability to manage workload independently.
- Desirable: Waste management, facilities management, logistics, utilities or similar; Experience with pricing, renewals or commercial negotiations; Experience improving account performance (growth, efficiency or value creation).
Skills:
- Strong commercial awareness and confidence in managing pricing and margin
- Ability to balance customer relationships with business outcomes
- Structured, organised and able to manage multiple accounts
- Proactive mindset — identifies and drives improvements, not just reacts
- Comfortable operating in a fast-paced, service-led environment
- Resilient and able to handle challenging customer situations
Knowledge:
- Obtain and maintain a knowledge of the waste industry (including closed-loop-solutions, circular economy, sustainability, and resource management) and waste management regulation, laws and best practice.
Qualifications:
- GCSE Maths & English (or equivalent)
- Full UK driving licence
- Willing to travel to customer sites
Other:
- Be willing to travel and work away from home location on a weekly basis.
Requirements
- Identify opportunities for cross selling and upselling waste/resource management solutions.
- Maintain an understanding of the current law and best practice relating to waste/resource management.
- Provide accurate and timely information as required by the business.
- Contribute to the timely preparation of financial forecasts and budgets.
- Assist with the preparation of tenders to potential new customers and existing customers and providing support to submit tenders timeously in accordance with agreed tender process.
- Represent the Company at external events, conferences, and meetings. Anticipate that meetings with customers and site waste audits will be conducted on a weekly basis.
- Any other reasonable duties as required by the Company in connection with the effective and efficient management of accounts to ensure exceptional service levels, retention and growth of the accounts.
This role suits someone who:
- Takes ownership of outcomes, not just activity
- Is comfortable being accountable for revenue and margin
- Can manage relationships while making commercially sound decisions
Benefits
Why Join Us?
- Competitive salary and benefits package
- Hybrid working options
- 25 days annual leave per year, plus bank holidays
- Comprehensive career development and training programs
- Subsidised canteen and gym memberships
- Employee Assistance Programme
- Company Pension scheme and Life Assurance scheme
- On-site parking
Key Account Manager (Commercial) - Newark employer: First Mile
Contact Detail:
First Mile Recruiting Team
StudySmarter Expert Advice 🤫
We think this is how you could land Key Account Manager (Commercial) - Newark
✨Tip Number 1
Network like a pro! Get out there and connect with people in the industry. Attend events, join relevant groups on social media, and don’t be shy to reach out to potential contacts. You never know who might have the inside scoop on job openings!
✨Tip Number 2
Prepare for interviews by researching the company and its values. Understand their approach to customer service and sustainability, as this will help you align your answers with what they’re looking for. Show them you’re not just another candidate, but someone who truly gets their mission.
✨Tip Number 3
Practice your pitch! Be ready to explain how your experience in account management can drive revenue and improve customer satisfaction. Tailor your examples to reflect the specific challenges and opportunities in the waste management sector.
✨Tip Number 4
Don’t forget to apply through our website! It’s the best way to ensure your application gets noticed. Plus, we love seeing candidates who take the initiative to engage directly with us. Let’s make it happen together!
We think you need these skills to ace Key Account Manager (Commercial) - Newark
Some tips for your application 🫡
Tailor Your Application: Make sure to customise your CV and cover letter for the Key Account Manager role. Highlight your experience in account management and any relevant industries, like waste management or logistics, to show us you’re the right fit!
Showcase Your Achievements: Don’t just list your responsibilities; we want to see your successes! Include specific examples of how you've improved customer satisfaction or driven revenue growth in previous roles. Numbers speak volumes!
Keep It Professional Yet Personal: While we love a professional tone, don’t be afraid to let your personality shine through. Share your passion for customer relationships and service delivery, and let us know why you’re excited about this opportunity!
Apply Through Our Website: We encourage you to apply directly through our website. It’s the best way for us to receive your application and ensures you don’t miss out on any important updates from our team!
How to prepare for a job interview at First Mile
✨Know Your Accounts Inside Out
Before the interview, make sure you research the company’s existing customer accounts and their service delivery approach. Familiarise yourself with their portfolio and think about how you can contribute to revenue retention and growth. This will show your potential employer that you're proactive and ready to take ownership of account performance.
✨Demonstrate Your Problem-Solving Skills
Be prepared to discuss specific examples where you've resolved complex customer issues in previous roles. Highlight your ability to balance customer satisfaction with commercial outcomes, as this is crucial for a Key Account Manager. Use the STAR method (Situation, Task, Action, Result) to structure your responses effectively.
✨Showcase Your Industry Knowledge
Brush up on the latest trends and regulations in waste management and sustainability. Being knowledgeable about closed-loop solutions and the circular economy will set you apart from other candidates. It shows that you’re not just interested in the role but also invested in the industry’s future.
✨Prepare Questions That Matter
Think of insightful questions to ask during the interview that reflect your understanding of the role and the company’s goals. For instance, inquire about their strategies for improving customer satisfaction or how they measure account performance. This demonstrates your genuine interest and strategic thinking.