Senior National Account Manager

KAO; Greater London; On-site; GBP 45,000 - 65,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading global consumer goods company in Greater London is seeking an experienced account manager to lead the commercial management of the Boots account. You'll be responsible for delivering key KPIs, managing the customer P&L, and developing strategic plans aligned with both Kao's and Boots' business objectives. Ideal candidates will have over 5 years of FMCG experience in account management and demonstrated negotiation skills, along with a friendly and flexible work environment offering competitive salaries and benefits.

Benefits

Competitive salary

Flexible work environment

Ongoing development opportunities

Qualifications

• 5+ years experience in FMCG account management with P&L accountability.
• Strong capability to drive customer strategy across multiple channels.
• Proven success in managing several projects to tight deadlines.

Responsibilities

• Manage the Boots account and drive annual budgeted Net Sales.
• Collaborate with marketing teams to create activation plans.
• Maintain proactive relationships with customers to enhance business growth.

Skills

Account management

Commercial awareness

Negotiation skills

Collaboration

Relationship building

Education

BSc/BA Hons degree or equivalent

Tools

Microsoft Excel

Microsoft PowerPoint

Job description

Founded in Japan in 1887, Kao is passionate about making a difference in people’s lives with our high‑quality products and services to create a Kirei Life for all – a beautiful life that respects the needs of our consumers and customers as well as the planet. We never compromise on quality and craft our products with care for the consumer and the environment. As a company driven by purpose and strong corporate values, we pride ourselves to be listed among the World’s Most Ethical Companies since 16 consecutive years. Our corporate philosophy, the Kao Way, guides us in everything we do – acting with integrity, courageously driving innovation, and treating each other with trust and respect.

The role:

This role is responsible for the commercial management of the Boots account, delivering against key KPIs and ownership of the Boots customer P&L. The role leads the Boots customer strategy in partnership with the High Street Controller and Sales Director, ensuring Kao brands win at point of purchase across all Boots channels.

What you will do:

• Deliver/exceed annual budgeted Net Sales, Trade Spend and Marginal Income of Kao’s brands within the Boots account.
• Lead the development and delivery of all category Joint Business Plans to ensure delivery of the mutual KPIs. Responsible for Total Kao JBP across total Boots business and manage Kao investment to ensure return is maximised. Gain sign off from the Boots trading team within the annual deadlines. Track and course correct plans within monthly reviews with customer trading teams.
• Create the Kao / Boots strategy which is aligned to Kao business strategy, Boots shopper strategy and HS channel objectives. Communicate this internally within the business and drive alignment to ensure execution initiatives are developed against this. Part of this will involve proactively generating a Boots bespoke plan which defends the Kao business and delivers profitable growth.
• Collaborate with our internal marketing, category and trade marketing teams to formulate shopper activation plans that will drive online and in‑store fundamentals and presence of the Kao brands.
• Lead the development/maintenance of a professional and proactive commercial relationship with the customer that enables Kao to have a disproportionate influence with the customer and thus maximise business growth and opportunities. Strong leadership & flexibility is required to operate at all levels within customer (from assistant buyer to trading director).
• Demonstrate leadership within the NAM team on the account management fundamentals including monthly & annual forecasting, financial management, promotional analysis and optimisation, working with category colleagues to understand Boots shopper insights and build a plan to action these. Monitor competitor activity and assess impact. Manage and highlight risks and raise to business with options to mitigate.
• Contribution to Kao UK – contribute positively to the total UK mass team via multi‑functional project‑based work. Actively demonstrate strong leadership against the Kao leadership values.

What you will need:

• BSc/BA Hons degree or equivalent.
• 5 years+ experience in an account management / category / retail role in FMCG environment, with P&L accountability for a major retail customer.
• Experience working with multi‑functional teams both internally and externally as well as developing and managing customer strategy across multiple channels and levels of the organisation (including interaction with Senior Buying Managers).
• Demonstrated capability to proactively drive the customer agenda as well as differentiated executions.
• Experience of seeking out new business opportunities and driving them through to execution.
• Full Microsoft office capabilities – including Excel and PowerPoint.
• Strong Commercial Awareness and Negotiation Skills.
• Demonstrated capability in forecasting and financial analysis.
• Strong collaboration and teamwork are essential, Strong Communication skills.
• Relationship builder with impact and the ability to impact and influence across functions.
• Proven success in managing a number of projects to tight deadlines and managing multiple priorities.

How we work:

Having been selected among the World’s Most Ethical Companies for 16 consecutive years, we are a company with a purpose and strong corporate values. We never compromise on quality and craft our products with care for the consumer and the environment. At Kao, each employee can actively shape their job and their career. We work collaboratively to achieve our common goals, always aiming to deliver the best for our customers.

What we offer:

A friendly and flexible work environment with competitive salaries, benefits package, ongoing development and the opportunity to enhance your skills and deliver tangible results. At Kao your voice will be heard. Your opinion really counts. We believe that change comes from taking opportunities into your own hands, so we value and reward entrepreneurial thinking and innovation.

Hiring Process:

Kao embraces the diversity and the individual personalities of its people because we believe it is diversity that makes us strong. This is why we welcome applications from all areas of the global community.

Want to learn more:

If you feel you are as unique as our products and want to find out why 33,000 people across the globe opted for a career with us please visit our Americas website https://www.kao.com/americas/en/ or EMEA website https://www.kao.com/emea/en/.

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