National Account Manager

Pernod Ricard; Langley Green; On-site; GBP 45,000 - 60,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading spirits company in the UK seeks a Customer Development Manager to ensure customer and market strategies are grounded in data-driven insights. The role involves building retailer relationships, presenting insights at key meetings, and developing category perspectives that drive growth. Ideal candidates should have strong analytical skills, experience in category development, and the ability to influence internal teams and customers. This is a pivotal role to maintain market leadership in the spirits category.

Qualifications

• Experience in category development with exposure to off‑trade channels.
• Excellent analytical and strategic thinking skills.
• Strong collaboration and influencing skills.

Responsibilities

• Develop insights to drive category growth for PRUK.
• Build strong retailer relationships to deliver growth recommendations.
• Use data sources to create robust insights and presentations.

Skills

Category development

Customer insights

Commercial strategy

Analytical thinking

Collaboration skills

Project management

Job description

The Category and Insights team sits within Strategy and Transformation, alongside RGM and the Transformation Office. The Customer Development Manager ensures our customer and market strategies are grounded in robust shopper, sales, and category insights to drive mutually beneficial category growth in Spirits, Champagne, and RTDs in line with our business ambitions.

Responsibilities

• Turn category, shopper, and consumer data into clear insights that drive growth for PRUK and Off‑Trade customers.
• Build strong retailer relationships, delivering category stories, trend insights, and growth recommendations.
• Support key customer engagements (e.g. range reviews, brand days) with compelling analysis.
• Represent the UK Spirits and RTD/RTS category in brand team decisions and NPD sell‑in stories.
• Develop forward‑thinking category perspectives that keep PRUK ahead of market trends.
• Champion a fact‑based, shopper‑led view of the market and identify new growth opportunities.
• Manage day‑to‑day relationships with data suppliers and ensure strong ROI on data investment.
• Use key data sources (e.g. NielsenIQ, Quantium, Dunnhumby, Nectar360, Kantar) to build robust insights.
• Present category insights in key internal meetings and planning forums.
• Partner with brand teams to guide decisions and develop category‑led customer stories.
• Work closely with Insights to integrate consumer understanding throughout the business.

Key Relationships

• Wider Category and Insights Team
• Strategy & Transformation Team
• Commercial account teams for your customer(s)
• Key category contacts within your customer(s) (buyers, range analysts, category planners)
• Brand teams for your dedicated brand(s)
• Client lead contact at your data agency (e.g. Nielsen, Nectar360, Dunnhumby, Kantar)
• Regular participation in relevant off‑trade commercial meetings and key internal planning sessions

Qualifications & Experience

• Have experience in category development, customer insights, or commercial strategy, with exposure to off‑trade channels and data‑driven decision‑making.
• Excellent analytical and strategic thinking skills to turn insights into action.
• Strong collaboration and influencing skills, able to engage both internal teams and customers.
• Results‑oriented mindset with a focus on driving growth and business impact.
• Project management skills to deliver multiple initiatives and customer engagements effectively.
• The ideal candidate would be highly proficient in using AI in areas such as building and enhancing reporting and generating richer and more efficient data analysis.