Senior National Account Manager

The Client

Our client is one of the UK’s leading Cheese businesses and they are genuinely obsessed with the category, the products, the consumers and the opportunity ahead. Cheese is not just a category to them, it is a passion. They are driven by a clear mission to bring outstanding Cheese, in exciting and innovative formats, to more consumers across the UK market.

The business combines strong commercial ambition with real entrepreneurial energy. They move quickly, back ideas, invest in innovation and genuinely love what they do. Once consumers discover their products, loyalty tends to follow for life.

This is a business full of personality, pace and ambition. If you enjoy working with great food, exciting customers and passionate people, this could be the role for you.

So, do you fancy managing key retail customers and selling Cheese until the cows come home?

The Role

As Senior National Manager, you will take full ownership for two strategically important customer accounts, leading the commercial agenda across the full P&L whilst helping drive the next stage of growth for the business.

Reporting directly into the Sales Director, you will operate with a high degree of autonomy and visibility across the wider organisation. This is a role for somebody who enjoys accountability, thrives in a fast paced food environment and wants to play a genuine part in shaping commercial direction.

The category itself is dynamic, innovative and highly customer focused, combining strong NPD activity, category development and commercially driven partnerships.

Key Responsabilties include

• Lead commercial responsibility across multiple product and category areas
• Build influential relationships across the retailer matrix including Buying, Supply Chain, Finance, Marketing and Category teams
• Work closely with the internal NPD function to deliver exciting customer and consumer focused innovation
• Take full ownership of the P&L, including contribution to profit, understanding the wider commercial impact of business decisions
• Lead annual Joint Business Planning processes and customer negotiations
• Drive distribution, promotional effectiveness and profitable product mix management
• Deliver commercially sound category growth strategies aligned to consumer and retailer needs
• Operate confidently with senior internal stakeholders including Executive Board members and external retail leadership teams
• Manage complex commercial scenarios with the ability to balance internal priorities alongside external customer demands
• Support the effective communication and execution of NPD, category initiatives and customer solutions

Candidate Requirements

The ideal candidate will already have strong experience managing Own Label customer accounts within FMCG, ideally within Chilled categories. That said, the client is also very open to high calibre candidates from adjacent Own Label categories including Ambient, Frozen or Bakery.

Equally important is personality, energy and commercial drive. This business values people who can build relationships, influence naturally and bring genuine passion for food and the category.

The client is also willing to consider candidates who may currently be operating at a slightly more junior level, provided they are clearly outperforming their peer group and are ready to step into a broader, more challenging commercial role.