Title (External) Key Account Manager - Prestige (London)

The Sazerac Prestige team are responsible for building Sazerac’s reputation as having one of the most desired spirits portfolios in the world. This will be done by increasing brand distribution and visibility, accelerating sales and developing brand equity of the Sazerac Prestige UK portfolio within the Prestige and Specialist sectors of on and off trade outlets. They will build and manage influential account and wholesaler relationships to grow sales, advocacy, and partnership activation amongst this influential community.

Key Responsibilities:

• Manage a core number of accounts within a territory to deliver the Sazerac Prestige brand building plan and activation programme (Perfect Serve, Sampling, Tailored Competitions, Menu Presence, permanent unique brand visibility, Single Cask Sales, Whisky Shows).
• Sazerac’s Bourbon Portfolio to be the clear No.1 on territory, with Buffalo Trace being the volume driver.
• Implement and cultivate “Lighthouse” strategy to embed our brands within the most influential operators of prestige and specialist on and off trade retailers.
• Grow distribution and activation to increase visibility and advocacy for the portfolio of brands within venue.
• Create a community of external brand ambassadors within these customers to drive engagement and fame our brands amongst the trade key opinion leaders.
• Achieve preferred partner status with key outlets by developing tailored solutions to meet consumer needs and establishing expert status through advice on the Spirits Category, with a focus on premium/super premium, proposing range by segmentation.
• Adopt a consultative approach to deliver real value for your customers through brand training and education, access to unique and exclusive products, such as Single Casks and Buffalo Trace Distillery NBD.
• Establish Sazerac as the experts of the American Whiskey category within the UK.
• Manage budgets to deliver headline KPI of doubling net sales and profit each year, as well as other KPIs e.g. Pouring Accounts, Menu Presence, Listings, Activation, Incentives etc.
• Identifying opportunities via market intelligence and networking with customers to identify key HNWI (High Net Worth Individuals) within the territory.
• Effectively plan and manage the working day to ensure coverage is achieved at key trading times of customers. This will involve evening work and a requirement to live within reasonable travelling distance of the core area.

Qualifications/Requirements

Required Qualifications:

• Specialised knowledge of UK prestige trade/RTM, with strong commercial experience and a comprehensive understanding of brand building, balancing commercial delivery with brand objectives.
• Experience activating brands in the On Trade, with at least 3 years of account management experience within the spirits industry.
• Strong influencing, negotiation, and relationship management skills, with the ability to build and maintain relationships and influence stakeholders at all levels.
• Strong IT and analytical skills, with the ability to use data and insights to support decision-making.
• Excellent presentation and training skills, comfortable presenting to large groups and tailoring content to different customer and consumer audiences.
• A strong interest in super-premium spirits, combined with a creative, entrepreneurial mindset and passion for building and developing the B&R business.
• Ability to demonstrate professionalism, credibility, trust, and respect both internally and externally.
• Adaptable, resilient, and able to thrive in a dynamic environment.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Educated to degree level.
• WSET qualification Level 2.
• General certificate in Distilling (GCD) preferred.