Senior City Development Manager

Parna Recruitment; Greater Manchester; On-site; GBP 60,000 - 80,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Private medical insurance

Pension and retirement plan

Life assurance

Income protection

Equity and performance bonuses

27 days annual entitlement

Job summary

Parna Recruitment is seeking a Senior City Development Manager to lead field operations across major UK cities. You will own city performance, drive awareness, distribution, and market share, while coaching City Development Managers to deliver tailored plans and effective trade execution.

You will leverage your NAM experience to coach teams, develop regional strategies, and optimise partnerships with distributors, retailers, and MSOs.

Qualifications

• 3-5 years’ experience in a similar role or commercial setting
• Ideally within a National Account Management role
• Commercial coaching and regional influence experience
• Experience developing practical sales tools and toolkits
• Full UK driving licence is required

Responsibilities

• Take ownership of regional key account operators and on-the-ground route-to-market partnerships.
• Provide practical coaching and support on account planning and negotiations.
• Create and deploy commercial tools to address field challenges.
• Develop regional development and non-traditional trade channels.
• Set execution standards for distribution, brand visibility, and trade activation.
• Measure execution quality and share approaches to elevate regional performance.

Skills

Key account management

Commercial coaching

Regional influence

Sales tools development

Market analysis

Negotiation

Driving licence

Self-driven

Education

BA/BS degree preferred

Job description

Location - Candidate needs to be based in/near to Liverpool | Manchester | Leeds as a large proportion of this role requires you to cover this region

About our client:

A well known FMCG brand within the Nicotine space, internationally known with users across the world & market presence across all of the major retailers & convenience stores across the country.

About the role:

Reporting to the Head of Field Sales, the Senior City Development Manager is the lead field operator for key strategic cities. Bringing strong commercial experience, this hands-on role combines city strategy, regional key account management, and specialist product knowledge to ensure field activity is tailored, scaled, and executed effectively. As well as taking primary ownership of their own city performance driving awareness, distribution, trade execution, and market share - the role provides commercial coaching and practical support to City Development Managers across the region

This provides a fantastic opportunity to someone who is currently in a NAM role & looking to add coaching & management to their experience whilst looking to widen your breadth of experience

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

• Account Management: Take ownership of regional key account operators and on-the-ground route-to-market partnerships. Build strong commercial relationships that drive long-term growth across distribution, execution, education, and rate-of-sale - particularly within MSOs
• Commercial Coaching: Act as a commercial sounding board for City Development Managers. Offer practical advice, coaching, and support on account planning, negotiating, and working through local trade challenges.
• Commercial Tools: Create, refine, and deploy practical commercial sales tools (e.g., commercial calculators, regional activity, customer and channel propositions) that address ground-level field challenges and help field teams and CDMs win across regions.
• Regional Development: Build relationships and develop non-traditional trade channels, tailoring the approach to fit local market nuances while ensuring all partnerships align with company goals and regulatory requirements.
• Execution Standards: Set the operational benchmark for distribution, brand visibility, and advocacy across all trade channels (including priority regional accounts, Wholesale, Vape, and alternative channels). Measure and evaluate execution quality across key cities, establishing clear guidelines and sharing proven approaches to help CDMs elevate standards across their own territories.

City Strategy & Execution

• City Strategy: Adapt national frameworks into practical, city-specific plans that reflect local demographics, trade setups, and regional key account footprints. Identify what each specific city needs to win, ensuring resources are deployed effectively.
• CDM Guidance: support CDMs in analysing their own cities, adapting national plans to fit their city's specific dynamics, and executing tailored activity efficiently.
• Third-Party Prioritisation: Work alongside and co-ordinate third-party field teams on a city-by-city basis, making sure field resources are directed to where the local opportunity is greatest.
• Events & Activations: Identify and execute local promotional activity and trade programmes, designed specifically around the local target audience to drive engagement, product education, and sales.
• Performance Ownership: drive city performance and manage risks and opportunities in your region
• Field Insight & Strategy: Link field execution with the Head of Field Sales by translating plans into action, while feeding back trade realities, competitor moves, and new channel opportunities to shape national strategy.

YOUR PROFILE:

• 3-5 years’ experience in a similar role or commercial setting - Ideally within a National Account Management role
• Commercial Acumen & Account Management: Strong track record in account management alongside experience handling multi-site accounts that span across adjacent territories. Proven ability to negotiate, drive sales volume, distribution, and market share. Ability to adapt style to both existing and new channels and opportunities.
• Commercial Coaching & Regional Influence: Proven ability to influence and mentor peers by sharing commercial expertise, guiding regional key account negotiations, and helping tailor city plans, all while supporting established line-management structures.
• Commercial Tools: Experience developing practical sales tools and toolkits to solve local trade challenges and drive regional growth.
• Execution & Quality Evaluation: Skilled at turning ideas into reality by tailoring local activations, brand, and direct engagement opportunities to fit specific city needs. Proven ability to measure and evaluate sales return, and provide analysis to inform future execution standards
• Commercial Analysis & Problem Solving: Skilled at analysing city sales data and trade trends to spot commercial gaps, fix underperforming territories, and feed clear market feedback to the Head of Field Sales.
• Self-Driven & Resilient: Challenges the status quo, takes decisive action, and turns ideas into commercial results in changing environments.
• A full UK driving licence is required for this role.
• Education: BA/BS degree preferred but not required
• Up to 20% annual base salary
• Life assurance scheme (Canada Life, 4 x basic salary), Income Protection scheme (Canada Life, 70% income after a deferred period of 26 weeks)
• Pension currently with NEST (4% ER, 5% EE), moving to Scottish Widows in November (5% ER & 5% EE)
• Private medical insurance with BUPA, Unum dental and optical, Cleo (family support program), Lyra (Global EAP), Cycle to work scheme, eduction remibursement (i.e. higher education courses), employee referral scheme
• 27 days annual entitlement, plus bank holidays (+ discretionary 2 weeks company shutdown during Christmas and other global days off)
• Monthly phone subsidy - up to £70 per month
• Equity and performance bonuses. Every employee is a stakeholder in their success
• Location. Field based with a requirement to be in the London office when required