National Account Manager

Advocate Group; Leeds; On-site; GBP 45,000 - 65,000; Full time

Job summary

Advocate Group is partnering with a challenger brand to hire a National Account Manager to accelerate UK retail growth. The role sits in the UK grocery/retail side, handling ambient products, realigning accounts around brand strategy and JBPs with major buyers.

You will own full P&L for designated accounts, negotiate pricing and trading terms, drive listings and promotions, and collaborate with supply chain, marketing and NPD to deliver ambitious plans in a fast-growing environment.

Qualifications

• 3–5 years FMCG sales/account management experience.
• Proven experience managing UK grocery, convenience and/or wholesale customers.
• Strong commercial acumen with P&L ownership and JBP delivery.
• Confident negotiating with buyers and managing trading agreements.
• Solid understanding of category management and shopper insight.
• Analytical mindset with strong Excel skills.

Responsibilities

• Own full P&L responsibility for designated national retail and wholesale accounts
• Develop and execute Joint Business Plans aligned to growth objectives
• Lead commercial negotiations across pricing, promotions, distribution, and annual agreements
• Drive distribution gains, NPD listings, and strong in-store and online promotions
• Collaborate cross-functionally with supply chain, marketing, finance, and NPD
• Analyse sales data, margin performance, and customer profitability
• Manage forecasting inputs and support demand planning and supply alignment
• Build relationships with key buyer contacts and open doors into larger opportunities

Skills

FMCG sales

P&L ownership

JBP delivery

Negotiation with buyers

Analytical mindset

Excel proficiency

Tools

Excel

Job description

We’re partnering with a challenger brand in a high-growth, highly competitive category, as they look to hire a National Account Manager to help accelerate the next phase of UK retail growth. The business is scaling quickly, has strong category demand, massively on trend, and is now building a team to take the business through the next phase of growth.

This role will sit within the UK grocery/retail side of the business which is currently ambient but will be bringing huge amounts of NPD through to grow onto different shelve, with a clear need to realign accounts around brand and category strategy, strengthen JBPs, and build relationships with the major buying teams. This is a brilliant opportunity for someone who wants to join a challenger brand through a genuine scale-up phase, which is rare in the north. There's a CEO at the helm with past success in growing challenger brands.

Key Responsibilities:

• Own full P&L responsibility for designated national retail and wholesale accounts
• Develop and execute Joint Business Plans aligned to ambitious growth objectives
• Lead commercial negotiations across pricing, promotions, distribution, and annual agreements
• Drive distribution gains, NPD listings, and strong promotional execution in-store and online
• Work cross-functionally with supply chain, marketing, finance, and NPD to deliver plans flawlessly
• Analyse sales data, margin performance, and customer profitability to inform decisions
• Manage forecasting inputs and support demand planning and supply alignment
• Build relationships with key buyer/category contacts, and help open doors into larger grocery opportunities

Qualifications:

• 3–5 years’ FMCG sales/account management experience
• Proven experience managing UK grocery, convenience and/or wholesale customers
• Strong commercial acumen with P&L ownership and JBP delivery
• Confident negotiating with buyers and managing annual trading agreements
• Solid understanding of category management and shopper insight
• Analytical mindset (strong Excel), commercially disciplined, and comfortable in a challenger environment

We are an equal opportunities employer and welcome applications from all suitably qualified persons regardless of their race, sex, disability, religion/belief, sexual orientation, or age.