National Account Manager, Discounters

McCormick & Company; United Kingdom; On-site; GBP 55,000 - 75,000; Full time

Job summary

McCormick is seeking a National Account Manager, Discounters to lead and grow a key group of UK discounter customers, focusing on the McCormick branded portfolio with support across own label opportunities.

You will own strategy to deliver growth, manage day-to-day account operations, build joint business plans with customers, and collaborate with internal teams to maximise NSV, GP and activation in-store and online.

Qualifications

• Experience in FMCG and working as a National Account Manager.
• Experience operating in the discounter channel (Aldi/Lidl) and value retailers (B&M/Home Bargains) or equivalent.
• Proven ability to win new business and open or reopen trading relationships.
• Evidence of developing strong joint business plans and negotiating costs.

Responsibilities

• Deliver sales and profit targets across the assigned customer portfolio.
• Manage day-to-day operational running of customer accounts, including administrative requirements and reporting cycles.
• Work with Category teams to generate customer insights and identify growth opportunities.
• Drive activation and ROI from terms investments with in-store and online initiatives.
• Support the Channel Sales Controller in designing and implementing the discounter strategy.
• Collaborate with internal and external supply chain teams to deliver forecast accuracy.
• Build strong relationships across internal functions to deliver commercial plans.

Skills

FMCG experience

National Account Manager experience

Discounters channel experience

New business development

Relationship building

Analytical skills

Job description

McCormick is looking for a National Account Manager, Discounters to manage and grow a key group of customers within the UK discounter channel. This role will focus primarily on the McCormick branded portfolio, with additional support across own label opportunities.

The discounter channel is a strategic growth area for McCormick UK Consumer. With clear white space opportunities to improve the physical availability of our brands, this role will be central to delivering sustainable, defensible and profitable growth.

This is an excellent opportunity for a commercially driven National Account Manager to take ownership of an important area of the business, from strategy creation through to sales delivery and growth. Success in this role will provide strong visibility across McCormick and could create a platform for future career progression.

Key Responsibilities

• Deliver sales and profit targets, including NSV and GP, across the assigned customer portfolio.
• Manage the day-to-day operational running of customer accounts, including customer administration and McCormick internal requirements for S&OP and commercial reporting cycles.
• Work closely with the McCormick Category team to generate customer insights and identify growth opportunities.
• Maximise return on investment from terms investment by ensuring customer implementation and partnering with Shopper teams to deliver strong in-store and online activation.
• Support the Channel Sales Controller in designing and implementing the business strategy for the discounter channel.
• Drive account share through distribution growth, NPD, share of space and activation aligned to brand plans.
• Support own label business activity, including tender processes, commercial negotiation, route to market set-up, SKU selection and customer delivery.
• Contribute to the development of joint business plans and implement them with key customers.
• Track company measures and propose corrective actions where performance gaps are identified.
• Plan and deliver customer negotiations for fiscal terms and profit levels, ensuring activity is agreed, budgeted and executed with excellence.
• Monitor industry trends, customer-specific developments and competitor activity, sharing insights with the Consumer team as required.
• Collaborate closely with internal and external supply chain teams to deliver target forecast accuracy.
• Build strong relationships across the key internal functions needed to deliver commercial plans successfully.

Candidate Profile

• FMCG experience.
• Experience operating as a National Account Manager.
• Experience working within the discounter channel, ideally with one of the hard discounters such as Aldi or Lidl, and one of the value retailers such as B&M or Home Bargains, or frozen specialists such as Farmfoods or Iceland.
• Experience winning new business, opening new trading relationships or re-opening trading with customers.
• Evidence of developing strong joint business plans.
• Experience managing cost price increase negotiations.
• Excellent relationship-building and communication skills.
• Confidence presenting to customers and internal stakeholders.
• Strong analytical skills, with the ability to turn insight and data into commercial opportunity.
• A growth mindset and proactive approach to identifying and delivering opportunities.