National Account Manager (Grocery) – Global Soft Drink business – London / South  Up to £70,000 plus benefits  

We are excited to be partnering with one of the leading soft drinks businesses. This business has over 30 years of production and heritage, spanning various other brand acquisitions and product development. The brand itself has a strong track record across both on and off premise accounts, with a high-quality product range.

We are looking for an ambitious, commercially driven National Account Manager to support their Grocery business across the UK for a leading international soft drink business. This is a high-impact role with responsibility for driving sustainable, profitable growth across the Top 4 grocery retailers and the wider grocery channel. You will own key customer relationships and be responsible for turning commercial strategy into measurable sales and market growth.

This role will require a passion for new business along with the ability to unlock listings with large scale, national accounts in the off-trade.  

What this business offers:

• A competitive salary and performance-based bonuses, including travel allowances and expenses.
• Opportunities for professional development and career growth.
• A collaborative and supportive work culture with a fast-growing brand.

The National Account Manager responsibilities:

• Own and deliver the Grocery channel strategy, with a clear focus on driving revenue, volume, distribution and rate of sale.
• Lead relationships and commercial plans across the Top 4 grocery retailers, alongside a wider portfolio of grocery customers.
• Develop and execute robust Joint Business Plans (JBPs) that deliver mutual growth for both the customer and the business.
• Lead annual negotiations, trading terms, pricing and promotional strategy, balancing revenue growth with margin and profitability.
• Identify opportunities to grow distribution, improve rate of sale and maximise the performance of existing brands and products.
• Lead the commercial process for new product launches, from customer sell-in through to activation and execution in-store and online.
• Work closely with Marketing, Category, Supply Chain and Finance to ensure plans are commercially compelling and operationally deliverable.
• Develop customer-specific activation plans that drive visibility, conversion and incremental sales.
• Analyse customer, category and market data to identify opportunities and translate insight into action.
• Monitor performance closely, identifying risks and opportunities and taking decisive action to deliver against targets.
• Build strong, senior-level relationships with buyers and key customer stakeholders.
• Influence internal stakeholders and ensure customer priorities are aligned with wider business objectives.
• Champion a growth mindset, continuously looking for new ways to increase distribution, rate of sale, value and profitability.

The ideal National Account Manager Candidate:

• Significant National Account Management experience within FMCG, ideally soft drinks, drinks or another fast-moving consumer category.
• Proven experience managing major UK grocery customers, particularly the Top 4.
• A strong track record of delivering sales and profit growth through customers.
• Experience leading JBP development, annual negotiations, pricing and promotional planning.
• Strong commercial acumen, with the ability to understand the numbers and turn insight into action.
• Experience launching and scaling new products within grocery.
• A strong understanding of rate of sale, distribution, promotional effectiveness and customer profitability.
• Excellent negotiation, influencing and relationship-building skills.
• The confidence and credibility to operate with senior customer stakeholders.
• A proactive, entrepreneurial approach — someone who sees opportunities and goes after them.
• The ability to balance strategic thinking with outstanding execution.

If you are interested in having a chat about this role, please forward updated CVs to Mark at COREcruitment / mark@corecruitment.com

COREcruitment are experts in recruiting for Hospitality, Catering, Leisure, Retail, FM, Property and Construction sectors. We currently have over 1350 live roles across the UK, Middle East, Europe, Africa, North & Central America and South East Asia.
To view other great opportunities please check out our website www.corecruitment.com or call us for a confidential chat about upcoming opportunities. Likewise, if you are looking to recruit then we would love to hear from you.
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