Commercial Manager Maternity Cover

Pilgrims Europe; Greater London; On-site; GBP 45,000 - 65,000; Full time

Job summary

Pilgrim's Europe is seeking a Commercial Manager on a maternity cover contract (12 months) to join the Branded Commercial Team in the UK. Based in our office, you will own a defined customer portfolio for Richmond, one of the UK's Top 100 brands, driving sales, margin, and volume growth with cross-functional support across Marketing, Insight, Supply Chain and NPD.

You will build strategic partnerships, forecast accurately, and deliver growth plans while travelling to meet customers and site

Qualifications

• Strong commercial and account management experience.
• Experience within FMCG, food manufacturing, or retail environments.
• Excellent negotiation and influencing skills.
• Experience managing customer relationships and delivering growth plans.
• Strong financial acumen and forecasting capability.
• Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills.
• Advanced Excel, PowerPoint, and Microsoft Office skills.
• Full UK Driving Licence and willingness to travel.

Responsibilities

• Take full ownership of a defined customer portfolio, delivering sales, margin, and volume growth.
• Develop and implement Joint Business Plans aligned to customer and business objectives.
• Build and maintain strong relationships with key customer stakeholders.
• Deliver accurate forecasting, budget management, and performance reporting.
• Identify opportunities for profitable growth through customer insight and market analysis.
• Evaluate promotional activity and maximise ROI recommendations.
• Work with Marketing, Category, Insight, Supply Chain, Operations, and NPD teams.
• Champion the voice of the customer across the organisation.
• Support innovation and NPD programmes for launches and growth.
• Coach and develop junior team members.

Skills

Account management

FMCG

Negotiation

Stakeholder management

Forecasting

Excel

PowerPoint

Driving licence

Travel willingness

Education

Degree qualification or equivalent

Tools

Excel

PowerPoint

Job description

Location: Uxbridge
Department: Commercial
Reporting to: Senior Commercial Manager

Shape Customer Growth. Drive Commercial Success.

An exciting opportunity has arisen for a Commercial Manager to join the Branded Commercial Team at Pilgrim's Europe on a maternity cover contract for 12 months.

This is a fantastic opportunity to take ownership of a key customer portfolio while working on Richmond, one of the UK's Top 100 brands. You'll play a pivotal role in driving growth, building strategic customer partnerships, and delivering commercial success through strong account management, insight-led decision-making, and cross-functional collaboration.

Whether you're looking to broaden your customer experience, gain exposure to major retail accounts, or take the next step in your commercial career, this role offers the opportunity to make a real impact within one of the UK's most recognised food brands.

As part of the Pilgrim's Europe way of working, this is an office-based role, with regular travel to customer meetings and Pilgrim's Europe sites as required.

What You'll Be Doing

• Take full ownership of a defined customer portfolio, delivering sales, margin, and volume growth.
• Develop and implement Joint Business Plans (JBPs) aligned to customer and business objectives.
• Build and maintain strong relationships with key customer stakeholders.
• Deliver accurate forecasting, budget management, and performance reporting.
• Identify and unlock opportunities for profitable growth through customer insight, market analysis, and strategic planning.
• Evaluate promotional activity and implement recommendations to maximise effectiveness and return on investment.
• Work closely with Marketing, Category, Insight, Supply Chain, Operations, and NPD teams to deliver customer-focused solutions.
• Champion the voice of the customer across the organisation.
• Support innovation and NPD programmes to ensure successful launches and category growth.
• Coach and support less experienced team members, helping to develop future commercial talent.

About You

You'll be a commercially minded and customer-focused professional who thrives on building relationships and delivering results.

Essential Skills & Experience

• Strong commercial and account management experience.
• Experience within FMCG, food manufacturing, or retail environments.
• Excellent negotiation and influencing skills.
• Experience managing customer relationships and delivering growth plans.
• Strong financial acumen and forecasting capability.
• Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills.
• Advanced Excel, PowerPoint, and Microsoft Office skills.
• Full UK Driving Licence and willingness to travel.

Desirable

• Degree qualification or equivalent.
• Experience working with major retail customers.

Why Join Pilgrim's Europe?

At Pilgrim's Europe, you'll join a business that combines the scale of a leading international food company with the agility and ambition to drive meaningful growth.

We offer:

• Competitive salary and benefits package.
• The opportunity to work within our Branded Commercial Team.
• Responsibility for a key customer portfolio across Richmond, one of the UK's Top 100 brands.
• Exposure to cross-functional senior stakeholders.
• Career development and learning opportunities.
• Employee benefits and wellbeing programmes.
• A collaborative and supportive team culture.
• The chance to make an immediate impact in a key commercial role.

Our Values

Everything we do is guided by our values:

Availability, Humility, Discipline, Sincerity, Ownership, Determination, Simplicity