National Account Manager

Job Purpose 

• The Customer Business Manager takes full responsibility for the strategic development of the specific account’s annual plans and the day to day management of the account to deliver the Nett Sales, Profit and Category Market Share Objectives.
• Develop and nurture the head office relationships with all Buyers / Warehouse ordering departments and develop links with Finance & Marketing.
• Ø  Flexible Thinking     
• Ø  Developing People  
• Ø  Continuous Improvement   
• Ø  Enable & Drive Change       
• Ø  Customer Driven     
• Ø  Building Relationships       
• Ø  Externally – Through consistent development and review meetings with all key partners.
• Ø  Interpersonal Skills – This role involves high level internal and external interaction.

EXTERNAL

• Strategic customer interface to articulate our company’s direction, negotiate trade terms and ensure delivery of our company’s Business plan.
• Competency to set, facilitate and direct cross functional interaction with trade partners at senior and middle management level.
•  Ability to create the forum for and develop long term strategic trade customer partnerships.
• Ability to negotiate – Implement a clear negotiation framework for all issues and opportunities achieving the best possible result at the lowest possible cost. Prepares compelling and persuasive presentations and customer proposals.
• Effective listening skills that uncover opportunity and provide basis upon which proposals are based.

INTERNAL

•  Leadership proficiency to motivate, support and challenge the entire team to deliver our Customer Trade plans and achieve our commercial objectives
• Represent his/her at a wider company forum through ILT team participation when appropriate.
• Ability to engage and contribute to the wider company direction through the various meeting Qtr. Pounder – Brand, Shopper and CCM meeting interaction
• Communication – Document and communicate effectively all issues and opportunities relating to the Customer in a succinct, effective and compelling manner enabling others internally to understand the issue/opportunity coupled with the proposed action. 

Accountability

•  The Customer Business Manager –takes on full responsibility for the strategic development and management of the accounts to ultimately deliver the sales and profit numbers.
•  Implement the Account Trade Plan.
• The role will require internal cross functional working with our UK office specifically to ensure that there is consistency & alignment between the Irish and International agreements.
• Lead – Growth Sales – Profit and Market share Objectives through the negotiation and implementation of Joint Business Plans.

Expected Delivery    

Customers

• Develop and implement the Customer Strategy to deliver our revenue objectives and drive brand share and consumption growth ahead of our key competitors through delivery of customer commercial plans.
•  Develop excellent customer relationships with Customer Commercial Teams.
• Forge cross functional interaction with the top customer accounts on Finance, Logistics and Marketing Activation.
• Design and Implement JBP’s

Business Management

• Effective management of the Customer Portfolio to maximise sales and profit.
• Smart investment (Budget) allocations with the appropriate mix between LTA, short term and ‘More for More’ investment strategies along with deployment of resources to meet sales and profit targets.
• Manage Gross to Nett within agreed budgets.
• Implement European price corridors within the local competitive context.
• SKU Forecasting Monthly, 0-6 months & 6-12 months through collaboration with finance and marketing.
• Finance – Accurate forecasting of LTA spend, Gross to nett spend, and retros, promotion and activation spend within agreed budgets. Lead corrective action plans to ensure budget targets are adhered to.
• Negotiate and implement pricing strategy in market including increases or decreases.

Strategic Planning

• Active role in developing longer term strategic plan for the customers.
• Develop and execute Plan Ireland 3>1 Plan to deliver Revenue, Profit Share and Growth Objectives.
• Develop and deliver Category Strategy with Customer Accounts.

Winning in Store

• Lead Category and Brand activation with close collaboration with Brand, Shopper and CCM Teams and Field Sales to win the purchase.
• Ensure greater visibility for our brands in permanent, innovation, promotional avenues using the appropriate shopper touch points.
• Develop and implement core ranges for each brand as input to category, channel and customer assortment optimization.
• Drive an external focus by completing regular field visits, in-store checks and competitive benchmarking.

Environmental Health & Safety (EHS) Responsibilities

• Perform duties in a compliant manner and behave in accordance with site SOP’s, standards and guidelines and relevant legal requirements
• Read and understand Standard Operation Procedures applicable to your role
• Report all accidents, incidents and any EHS issues using the appropriate process /system to your line manager.
• Maintain work area in an inspection ready state and clean as you go to maintain good safe housekeeping standards.
• Be aware of the impact of your job activities on EHS issues

Quality Responsibilities

• Perform duties in a compliant manner and behave in accordance with our Quality Management System requirements
• Participate fully in our site’s quality initiatives and ensure that all relevant quality standards are adhered to
•  Maintain GMP standards where appropriate to your role
• Read and understand relevant Standard Operating Procedures and Global Quality applicable to role
• Management Policies relevant to your job role
• Attend training and complete assessments as required

Requirements:

Education           

• Educated to a Leaving Certificate level

Preferred Education     

• Educated to a Degree level

Basic Experience       

• FMCG Account Management experience.
• Proficient understanding of the principles of category management.
• Basic analytical skills

Preferred Experience          

• A minimum of 3-5 years in FMCG Account management
• Highly self-motivated individual who has a track record of delivering the Sales & Profit targets across the customer base.
• A solid understanding of the Category Management principles coupled with ability to work cross functionally.
• Finance experience to a level of customer and channel profitability.
• Cross functional working experience with Demand Planning & Supply Chain.
• People management skills with the ability to lead, coach and empower team players to deliver results over a prolonged period of time.