Wholesale Retail National Account Manager in Reading

Location: UK (Field-Based with travel to Bestway Head Offices (York & Stoke) and PepsiCo sites)

Department: Commercial – Impulse & Wholesale

Reports To: Senior National Account Manager / Account Controller

Brand: Walkers Crisps and Quaker cereals

Responsibilities

Role Purpose

As the National Account Manager for Bestway Retail, you will be responsible for leading one of the most strategically important customers within the Impulse channel. The National Account Manager (NAM) for Bestway Retail is responsible for delivering sustainable growth, distribution, and visibility for the Walkers brand portfolio across the Bestway Retail estate. This role combines strategic joint business planning with day-to-day commercial execution to maximise volume, value share, and profitability within the retail environment.

You will act as the primary commercial interface between Walkers and Bestway Retail, leading the agenda for impulse snacks, identifying growth opportunities, and executing best in-class customer activation.

Qualifications

• Customer Ownership & Joint Business Planning

• Lead the commercial relationship with Bestway Retail for the Walkers portfolio.
• Build, negotiate, and deliver the annual Joint Business Plan (JBP), including pricing, investment strategy, promotions, and distribution targets.
• Ensure alignment with internal stakeholders including category, finance, revenue management, and field sales teams.

• Deliver against volume, net revenue, profit, and share targets.
• Manage trade investment responsibly, ensuring ROI and strong financial control.
• Lead promotional planning across Bestway Retail fascias (e.g., Bargain Booze, Costcutter, Select Convenience) ensuring compliance and effectiveness.

• Use shopper insights and category data (e.g., Circana and store EPOS) to create compelling category stories and recommendations.
• Drive distribution gains for core ranges and NPD, ensuring Walkers is visible, available, and recommended across the Bestway estate.
• Work with Bestway's category and retail teams to optimise planograms, merchandising, and store execution.

• Partner with PepsiCo Field Execution teams to deliver flawless implementation in-store.
• Collaborate with supply chain to ensure accurate forecasting, improved availability, and efficient stock flow.
• Work closely with marketing to deliver impactful customer-specific activation.

• Build strong relationships with Bestway Retail's buyers, trading teams, and operational leads.
• Influence at multiple levels internally and externally to drive commercial agendas forward.

• Provide accurate forecasting of weekly, monthly, and annual performance.
• Analyse EPOS data to identify opportunity gaps, risks, and success drivers.
• Report performance and insights to senior stakeholders with clear recommendations.

Essential

• Strong experience in FMCG account management, ideally within impulse, wholesale, or convenience channels.
• Proven ability to deliver commercial results in a competitive category.
• Strong negotiation, influencing, and customer management skills.
• Competence in using commercial data sources (Market data, EPOS, forecasting tools).
• Ability to manage complexity and competing priorities across a wide customer base.
• Strong financial and analytical acumen.

Desirable

• Experience working with Bestway, or other wholesale/retail groups.
• Exposure to snacks, impulse categories, or FMCG in retail.
• Understanding of revenue management principles (promo strategy, pricing, investment).

Personal Attributes

• Commercially curious with a growth mindset.
• Confident, persuasive communicator.
• Collaborative and highly relationship driven.
• Entrepreneurial, with the ability to identify and turn insights into action.
• Resilient, adaptable, and energised by working in a fast-paced environment.

What Success Looks Like

• Achievement of annual revenue, profit, and market share targets.
• Increased Walkers availability, visibility, and distribution in Bestway Retail.
• A strong, credible partnership with Bestway's commercial team.
• High-quality store execution and sustained performance through NPD cycles.
• Clear contribution to the wider Walkers/PepsiCo commercial strategy.