National Account Executive - Food Service in Leeds

Company Description

At Valeo Foods UK we bring together a family of much-loved UK food brands supported by the scale and ambition of a global investment partner. From Kettle’s bold crunch to Rowse’s natural sweetness, through to Matthew Walker and Barratt Sweets, our portfolio blends heritage, craft and category-leading innovation. Alongside our branded portfolio, we are also one of the UK’s largest suppliers of private label products, partnering with major retailers to deliver quality and category expertise that meets the needs of millions of households every week. As a business, we’re on a journey of transformation. We’re strengthening our operations, driving quality and investing in our people. It’s an exciting, fast-moving environment where heritage meets new thinking, and where every colleague contributes to shaping the future of food across the UK. Join us and play your part in building the next chapter of some of Britain’s most loved brands.

Job Description

Ready to make your mark in Foodservice? We're looking for a driven and commercially minded National Account Executive to join our team and take ownership of some exciting national foodservice relationships across a fantastic portfolio of well-known food brands. This is a great opportunity for someone who knows the foodservice channel, enjoys building strong customer relationships and wants the opportunity to work across a broad and diverse FMCG portfolio.

What will you be doing?

• You'll play a key role in developing and growing our foodservice business, working closely with major national customers and distributors to maximise sales, profitability and long-term growth.
• You'll be responsible for managing and developing key national foodservice accounts, including buying groups, CRG, Caterforce and Sterling.
• Building strong, trusted relationships with customers and key stakeholders.
• Delivering sales, profit and distribution targets across a broad product portfolio.
• Identifying new business opportunities across Foodservice and working with the NAM / SNAM to turn these opportunities into realised sales.
• Developing customer plans and delivering against agreed joint business objectives.
• Supporting new product launches, range reviews and promotional activity.
• Working cross-functionally with Marketing, Category, Supply Chain and Finance teams.
• Using customer and market insight to identify opportunities and strengthen our position.
• Negotiating commercially to deliver the best outcomes for both the customer and the business.

Qualifications

What we're looking for

We're looking for someone who is commercial, energetic and customer-focused, with a genuine understanding of the foodservice environment. Ideally, you'll bring:

• Experience within FMCG National or key account experience.
• Strong knowledge of the foodservice/wholesale channel.
• Experience working with major foodservice distributors or wholesalers such as Brakes, Bidfood or similar would be highly advantageous.
• A proven track record of delivering sales and commercial results.
• Excellent negotiation, influencing and relationship-building skills.
• The confidence to work across multiple categories and products.
• A proactive, entrepreneurial approach and the ability to spot opportunities.

Additional Information

This is an opportunity to join a business with a broad portfolio of much-loved food brands, giving you the chance to work across multiple categories rather than being restricted to a single product area. You'll have genuine ownership of your customers, the opportunity to influence commercial strategy and the chance to make a visible impact on the growth of our foodservice business. If you're an ambitious foodservice or FMCG sales professional looking for your next challenge, we'd love to hear from you. Apply now and let's talk about your next move.