National Account Manager in Surrey

About the Role: Responsible for the day-to-day management, development and growth of a portfolio of strategic customer accounts spanning multiple categories across both branded and own-label products. Accountable for delivering sales, profit and margin targets while identifying and executing opportunities to drive sustainable business growth in line with company objectives.

What will I be doing?

• Deliver sales, profit and margin targets for a designated customer portfolio, managing and growing multi-million-pound customer accounts and Joint Business Plans (JBPs) to achieve both short and long-term commercial objectives.
• Develop, lead and execute robust Joint Business Plans that are fully aligned to Kinisla’s strategic priorities, ensuring buy-in from all key stakeholders and delivering agreed sales, profit, category and brand growth targets.
• Build and maintain strong, strategic relationships with key customer decision-makers and retail buying teams, acting as a trusted partner to identify growth opportunities and drive mutually beneficial business outcomes.
• Develop customer growth plans aligned to channel strategy, including revenue by category, distribution plans, promotional activations, visibility initiatives, pricing strategies, new product listings and successful implementation plans.
• Leverage customer, shopper, category and market data to generate actionable insights, using these to optimize promotional effectiveness, pricing strategies, range decisions and overall account performance.
• Identify and commercialize growth opportunities across both traditional retail and e-commerce channels, ensuring Kinisla products are positioned for success across physical stores, online platforms and emerging digital retail formats.
• Work closely with Demand Planning to ensure customer forecasts are accurate, risks and opportunities are identified early, and account demand is appropriately reflected within the wider business forecast.
• Monitor, analyse and communicate customer, channel, consumer and competitor developments, translating insights into clear recommendations and strategic actions that support continued growth.
• Coordinate and collaborate with cross-functional teams including Category, Marketing, Trade Marketing, Supply Chain, Finance and Demand Planning to ensure the appropriate level of support, resource and execution is delivered for each account.
• Negotiate and implement pricing, promotional and commercial agreements that align with Kinisla's overall commercial strategy while delivering sustainable value for both Kinisla and its customers.
• Partner with the Trade Marketing team to develop and execute best-in-class activation and promotional plans that deliver against budget requirements, drive customer engagement and support Kinisla strategic priorities.
• Regularly review account performance against agreed KPIs, proactively identifying risks, opportunities and areas for improvement, and implementing action plans to maximize sales, profitability and market share.

What do I need to be successful?

• Bachelor's degree in Business, Marketing, Commercial Management or a related discipline.
• Minimum of 5 years' experience in National Account Management within the FMCG sector, including direct responsibility for major UK grocery retail customers.
• Proven track record of delivering sustainable sales, profit and market share growth within fast-paced food categories such as chilled, fresh, ambient or impulse.
• Demonstrated success managing complex, multi-million-pound customer accounts and Joint Business Plans (JBPs), delivering against commercial and strategic objectives.
• Strong experience developing and executing multi-category growth strategies across branded and retail brand (private label) portfolios.
• Proven understanding of retail brand development, from concept and product development through to commercial negotiation, launch execution and the management of long-term supply agreements.
• Extensive experience developing promotional, pricing and category plans that drive customer growth while maximising profitability.
• Strong commercial acumen with the ability to interpret financial data, identify opportunities and make informed business decisions.
• Proven ability to build and maintain strong relationships with key retail buyers and stakeholders at multiple levels within customer organisations.
• Experience managing customer accounts across complex retail environments, with the ability to influence decision-making and secure customer commitment to strategic initiatives.
• Strong understanding of omnichannel retailing, including physical stores, online grocery and e-commerce platforms, with experience identifying and commercialising growth opportunities across both channels.
• Exceptional selling, presentation, negotiation and communication skills, with the ability to influence both internal and external stakeholders.
• Highly analytical with the ability to translate customer, market and category data into actionable insights and commercially compelling recommendations.
• Excellent forecasting, planning and account management skills, with a strong attention to detail and results-focused approach.
• Advanced proficiency in Microsoft Excel and PowerPoint, with the ability to produce clear analysis, business cases and customer presentations.
• Proven ability to build effective cross-functional partnerships and work collaboratively across Sales, Marketing, Category, Supply Chain, Demand Planning and Finance functions.

What will I get in return?

• 25 days annual leave (excluding bank holidays).
• Health Care.
• Bonus Plan.
• Matched pension scheme up to 10% Employer Contribution.
• Benefits platform offering discounts and cashback on major retailers.
• Employee Assistance Policy.

About Kinisla

Kinisla is a vertically integrated farm-to-fork business with a very substantial consumer foods presence and a leading nutritional and dairy ingredients division, delivering high-quality dairy solutions with a focus on sustainability and innovation. Our dairy comes from some of the world’s richest grazing land and is produced by a network of Irish family farms that have one of the lowest carbon footprints in the world.