Senior Commercial Manager

Pilgrim'S Europe; Uxbridge; On-site; GBP 90,000 - 110,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive salary

Pension scheme

Life assurance

Employee discounts

Wellbeing benefits

Job summary

Pilgrim's Europe is seeking a Senior Commercial Manager to own a strategic UK retail account from our Uxbridge base. You will drive sales growth, margin, and long-term customer partnerships, leading JBPs, negotiations, forecasting, and cross-functional collaboration across Supply Chain, Finance, Marketing and Product Development.

You will coach and develop the Commercial team, work closely with senior stakeholders, and play a pivotal role in achieving growth, innovation and profitability for a

Qualifications

• Significant experience in a Senior National/Commercial Manager role within the food sector.
• Proven track record managing major UK grocery retailers.
• History of delivering sales growth, profit growth and customer development plans.
• Experience leading Joint Business Planning and annual customer negotiations.
• Strong P&L management and commercial decision-making skills.
• Excellent negotiation, influencing and relationship-building abilities.
• Strong forecasting, budgeting and analytical capability.
• Able to communicate effectively with senior stakeholders and coach others.

Responsibilities

• Own the commercial performance and P&L of a strategic retail account.
• Develop and deliver Joint Business Plans to drive volume, revenue and profitability.
• Build and maintain relationships with key customer stakeholders.
• Lead annual negotiations and commercial agreements.
• Identify opportunities to grow sales, market share and customer value.
• Deliver accurate forecasting, budgeting and account performance reporting.
• Manage promotional planning and investment to maximise ROI.
• Champion customer requirements internally and ensure execution across the business.
• Collaborate with Supply Chain, Operations, Finance, Marketing, Category and Product Development.
• Support successful delivery of innovation and new product launches.
• Proactively manage risks and opportunities to achieve objectives.
• Coach and develop colleagues within the Commercial team.

Education

Bachelor's degree in Business

MBA (preferred)

Job description

Location: Uxbridge
Department: Commercial
Reporting to: Commercial Controller

• Full UK Driving Licence essential (travel is required)

An exciting opportunity has arisen for an experienced Senior Commercial Manager to join Pilgrim's Europe and take ownership of a strategic retail account within one of Europe's leading food businesses.

This is a high-profile role with full accountability for delivering sustainable sales growth, profitable margin, and long-term customer partnerships. Working with some of the UK's largest grocery retailers, you'll lead customer strategy, negotiations, Joint Business Planning, forecasting, and commercial delivery while influencing stakeholders across the business.

If you're an experienced commercial professional with a proven track record of managing major retail accounts in the food industry, this role offers the opportunity to make a significant impact within a business that continues to invest in growth, innovation, and people.

What You'll Be Doing

• Own the commercial performance and P&L of a strategic retail account.
• Develop and deliver Joint Business Plans (JBPs) that drive volume, revenue, and profitability.
• Build and maintain strong relationships with key customer stakeholders.
• Lead annual negotiations and commercial agreements.
• Identify opportunities to grow sales, market share, and customer value.
• Deliver accurate forecasting, budgeting, and account performance reporting.
• Manage promotional planning and investment to maximise return on investment.
• Champion customer requirements internally and ensure successful execution across the business.
• Work collaboratively with Supply Chain, Operations, Finance, Marketing, Category, and Product Development teams.
• Support the successful delivery of innovation and new product launches.
• Proactively manage risks and opportunities to achieve business objectives.
• Coach and develop colleagues, helping build capability within the wider Commercial team.

About You

We're looking for a commercially driven individual with strong experience managing major UK retail customers within the food industry.

Essential Experience & Skills

• Significant experience in a Senior National Account Manager, Commercial Manager, Senior Commercial Manager, Customer Development Manager, or similar commercial role.
• Proven experience managing major UK grocery retailers.
• Strong background within the food industry or food manufacturing sector.
• Demonstrated success delivering sales growth, profit growth, and customer development plans.
• Experience leading Joint Business Planning and annual customer negotiations.
• Strong P&L management and commercial decision-making experience.
• Excellent negotiation, influencing, and relationship-building skills.
• Strong forecasting, budgeting, and analytical capability.
• Ability to communicate effectively and influence at senior stakeholder level.
• Experience coaching, mentoring, or developing others.

Desirable

• Experience working with branded and/or own-label products.
• Exposure to manufacturing and supply chain environments.
• Previous people management experience.

Why Join Pilgrim's Europe?

• Competitive salary and benefits package.
• Company pension scheme.
• Life assurance.
• Employee discount platform and wellbeing benefits.
• Ownership of a strategic retail account with real visibility across the business.
• Exposure to senior leadership and key decision-makers.
• Career development opportunities within one of Europe's leading food businesses.
• A collaborative culture built around Ownership, Determination, and Continuous Improvement.
• Opportunity to make a genuine impact on customer growth and business performance.

Our Way of Working

As part of the Pilgrim's Europe way of working, this is an office-based role in Uxbridge, with an expectation to work on-site 5 days per week.

Right to Work

Applicants must have the right to work in the UK at the time of application. Unfortunately, Pilgrim's Europe is unable to offer visa sponsorship for this position.