Senior Commercial Manager

Drnewitt; Staines-upon-Thames; Hybrid; GBP 60,000 - 70,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Car allowance

Job summary

Drnewitt is recruiting on behalf of a client for a Senior Commercial Manager in South-East England. The role is hybrid and permanent, offering a salary of £60,000–£70,000 plus car allowance. You will own key UK retail accounts, negotiate terms, and identify opportunities to expand sales and distribution while protecting profitability.

The candidate will strategize with cross-functional teams, deliver robust account plans, and lead commercial reviews to support ongoing UK market growth.

Qualifications

• Proven commercial experience in food manufacturing or FMCG.
• Experience managing major UK grocery/retail customers.
• Strong account-management and commercial-negotiation skills.
• Evidence of delivering sustainable sales, margin and account growth.

Responsibilities

• Manage and develop relationships with major UK grocery and retail customers.
• Create and deliver commercial account plans aligned with growth strategy.
• Lead customer negotiations across pricing, promotions, terms and annual agreements.
• Identify opportunities for growth through new listings, range extensions and distribution.
• Develop understanding of each customer's strategy, performance and requirements.
• Monitor account sales, margin, profitability and overall performance.
• Manage customer forecasting, promotional planning and reporting.
• Prepare and lead customer presentations, range reviews and updates.
• Identify and develop new business opportunities within the UK retail market.
• Collaborate with NPD, Marketing, Finance, Supply Chain and Operations.
• Ensure customer requirements are delivered while protecting profitability.
• Provide clear commercial reporting and recommendations to senior leadership.

Skills

Account management

Commercial negotiation

Sales growth

Forecasting

Pricing strategy

Cross-functional collaboration

Stakeholder management

Analytical skills

Presentation skills

UK retail/major grocers

Job description

Job Description

Senior Commercial Manager – Food Manufacturing

Location: South-East England / Hybrid
Contract: Permanent
Salary: £60,000–£70,000 + car allowance

Role Overview

Our client is an established international food manufacturer with a strong presence across premium sweet treats and in-store bakery.

As the business continues to develop its UK commercial operation, it is seeking an experienced Senior Commercial Manager to manage and grow relationships with major UK retail customers.

The successful candidate will take ownership of key accounts, lead customer negotiations and identify opportunities to increase sales, distribution and profitability.

This is a highly visible position offering the opportunity to play an important role in the continued commercial growth of the UK business.

Key Responsibilities

• Manage and develop relationships with major UK grocery and retail customers.
• Create and deliver commercial account plans aligned with the company’s growth strategy.
• Lead customer negotiations across pricing, promotions, trading terms and annual agreements.
• Identify opportunities for growth through new listings, range extensions, increased distribution and new product development.
• Develop a strong understanding of each customer's strategy, performance and future requirements.
• Monitor account sales, margin, profitability and overall commercial performance.
• Manage customer forecasting, promotional planning and commercial reporting.
• Prepare and lead customer presentations, range reviews and commercial updates.
• Identify and develop new business opportunities within the UK retail market.
• Work closely with NPD, Marketing, Finance, Supply Chain, Production and Technical teams.
• Ensure customer requirements are delivered while protecting manufacturing capability and profitability.
• Provide clear commercial reporting and recommendations to senior leadership.

Candidate Requirements

• Proven commercial experience within food manufacturing or the wider FMCG market.
• Experience managing major UK grocery or retail customers.
• Strong account-management, customer-development and commercial-negotiation skills.
• Evidence of delivering sustainable sales, margin and account growth.
• Experience with pricing, promotions, forecasting, trading terms and commercial planning.
• A good understanding of how commercial decisions affect production, supply chain and profitability.
• Strong analytical, communication, presentation and stakeholder-management skills.
• Confidence working cross-functionally with NPD, Technical, Finance, Supply Chain and Operations.
• Ability to build credible relationships with senior customer contacts.
• Bakery, in-store bakery or premium sweet-treat experience would be advantageous, but it is not essential.
• Able to attend the company’s South-East office regularly as part of the hybrid working arrangement.

Personal Profile

The ideal candidate will be commercially astute, ambitious and confident managing senior customer relationships.

They will combine strong negotiation skills with a practical understanding of food manufacturing and be comfortable identifying opportunities, challenging customers constructively and taking ownership of commercial performance.

This role would suit someone who enjoys working within a growing business, can operate with a high level of autonomy and wants to make a visible contribution to the development of a UK commercial operation.