Key Account Manager

Revlon; Kempton Park; On-site; ZAR 850,000 - 1,100,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading cosmetics company in Kempton Park is seeking an experienced Key Account Manager to drive sales growth across various brands. This role involves negotiating promotional plans with retailers, managing P&L accountability, and developing strategic partnerships. Ideal candidates will have a postgraduate degree in business and significant experience in customer marketing or key account management. Competitive compensation offered.

Qualifications

• Minimum 5-10 years of Customer marketing or Customer Success experience.
• Solid business experience in multinational organizations.
• Good comprehension of marketing mix.

Responsibilities

• Drive sales growth and profit for all brands in key accounts.
• Negotiate and execute promotional plans with retailers.
• Conduct quarterly performance reviews with key accounts.

Skills

Understanding of personal care market

Key account management experience

Strong communication skills

Analytical thinking

Education

Post graduate business degree (M+4)

Job description

Overview

Build strong win-win partnerships with each key account buying and planning team. Drive sales growth (sell-in and sell-thru) and profit of all Revlon brands within each account. Manage the customer P&L.

Joint Business Planning

• Build strong business partnerships with each key account:
• Build a joint business plan with each key account agreeing growth objectives, forecasted sell in and sell-thru targets, promotional and advertising allowance parameters.
• Full customer P&L accountability.
• Achievement of sales targets (sell in and sell thru) for each key account.
• Negotiate in store space and positioning.
• Negotiate coop advertising and in store promotions plan in line with company’s overall brand and customer strategic focus.
• Develop unique ways to grow the business with customers exploiting all available opportunities.
• Provide solutions to management in face of challenges, problems and budget shortfalls on each account.
• Develop and initiate new promotional sell in and sell thru programmes with the marketing and field sales teams.
• Drive timeous and exemplary in store execution in conjunction with marketing and field sales.
• Plan and conduct quarterly review and (pre) strategy meetings with KA to showcase promotional programs and launches.
• Plan and conduct quarterly business performance review and outlook meetings.
• Oversee merchandising needs focusing on both new installations, revamps etc.
• Ensure that all new launches and promotions are timeously listed in KA.
• Accurate forecasting of account sales.
• Manage all co-op advertising, promotional, credits/allowances and tallies budgets.

Key Tasks

• Joint Business Planning:
• Define growth opportunities within each category relative to KA business, used to prepare the account sales in, sell thru, price discounting, co-op advertising and promotional budgets for the next fiscal. Build budget P&L for each KA based upon these plans.
• Evaluate potential setbacks to the plan and develop contingencies to overcome them.
• Align all customer plans with company’s brand and customer strategic focus.
• Secure approval of these plans and forecasts from the customers, and ensure processes and plans are in place to flawlessly execute the plans.
• Negotiate and agree with individual promotional forecasts with each retailer. Monitor performance against these forecasts.
• Once jointly agreed goals (budgets) are locked in, track weekly sell in, sell thru and stock performance and proactively communicate deviations.
• Analyse monthly sell-in, sell thru, stock and productivity (stock turn) performance by brand, product category, region and store.
• Analyse credits/returns/markdowns/tallies, co-op advertising and promotional spend against budget and relative to the performance of each KA.
• Prepare pre and post promotion analysis (Top promotions only). Evaluate and recommend adjustments to promotional plan depending upon success or failure of each promotion.
• Conduct a quarterly review of customer performance vs the plans and mutually agree to adjust where necessary to achieve objectives. To include quarterly review and outlook of spending, what has /has not worked; account P&L, performance of top promotions and an outlook for the next quarter.

Creative Business Development

• Develop relevant, unique and creative growth plans in conjunction with the customer, marketing and field sales team for each KA, ensuring that all available opportunities are exploited.
• Recommend and implement adjustments /corrective actions/solutions to address problems and budget shortfalls on each account.

Management of Retail Reality

• In each KA, keep abreast of developments in the store environment, competitive activities in store and fully understand systems and procedure each KA follows.
• Monthly trade visits with attention to development within the store environment, quality in execution and observe and note competitor activity. Shape offensive/defensive plans to address issues.
• Initiate, plan, develop and implement in-store sell in promotions and sell thru events in conjunction with marketing and the field sales team.
• Regular communication with merchandising, sell in and sell thru teams to effectively manage the opening, revamping and closing of doors.
• Ensure correct implementation of agreed positioning, space and promotional execution in store. Develop a sense of ownership of execution in store.
• Analysis and management of stock levels in store in conjunction with the key account.
• Engage regularly with customer logistics and the sales planner to ensure planned orders are shipped on time and in line with monthly forecast of the account.
• Ensure relevant Cycle information is always handed in timeously to KA so new launch and promotional orders are received by Revlon Head Office at required date in conjunction with the Revlon Planner.
• Ensure that KA store books/catalogues have all Revlon, Almay and Charlie products listed by checking in-store listings by store grid.
• Check Head Office listings once a month for Revlon, Almay and Charlie products that should be listed or discontinued in conjunction with the Revlon Planner. Cant we just say all products under the Revlon Mass brand? Mitchum is not included
• Report on infill rates to KA and Revlon management weekly in conjunction with the Revlon Planner

Strong Customer Relationships

• Regularly communicate with KA buying and planning team on all developments on the account. Ensure all communication from meetings and discussions via email/phone are clearly and concisely recorded with specific actions, responsibilities and timelines.
• Drive to continuously to build a strong business partnership and links with each key account.
• Constantly challenge customers to grow their business to drive the company’s success today and in the future.

In Depth Product/Brand Knowledge

• Develop and intimate knowledge of the company’s brands, values, positioning, target consumers and personality.
• Align this knowledge with KA customer profiles in order to focus brands and products for optimal growth within the account.

Fact Based Selling

• Ongoing analysis of developments in the industry, competitors, accounts and brand performance within account to develop fact based insights and drivers of brand growth to add significant value to growth and development of each customer.
• Develop exciting and motivational presentations including fact based information to build customer excitement and secure ongoing support.

Forecasting Accuracy

• Ensure that all promotional and launch volumes are accurately reflected and included and the demand forecast 6 months in advance of the planned implementation date.
• Actively participate in monthly forecasting feeder meetings with information on sell in, sell thru, new product performance, promotional buy in volumes and timings, stock movements and any other relevant information for each KA which may affect the demand plan.

Tight Budget Controls

• Manage customer P&L to ensure achievement of budgeted sales and profit.
• Ensure all co-op advertising, promotional, credits/returns/markdowns, price dealings/discounts, tallies and allowances spend is controlled against budget
• Evaluate all spend with each customer for optimal ROI. Assess alternative promotional vehicles for maximum return on each promotion within each customer.
• Direct spend to build long term sustainability of focus brands as identified by the company’s strategy.

General

• Participate in all sales and marketing meetings, report and update sell-in/sell-thru results in the KA business.
• Attend and participate in cycle meetings and sales conferences.
• Liaise with National Training Manager on training needs
• Constantly monitor sales problems and opportunities, make recommendations and initiate action to address.
• Perform any other duty as reasonably directed by superior.
• Adhere to all company policies, procedures and instructions which forms part of the Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) management system of the company.

Education & Experience

• A relevant post graduate business degree (M+4) with Sales, Marketing or Business management specialization.
• Solid business experience in multi-national organizations and possibly global experience within significant consumer products roles.
• Minimum 5-10 years Customer marketing or Customer Success experience in at least two different

Essential skills and competencies

• Good understanding of the personal care/cosmetics & fragrances market in Southern Africa.
• Prior Key Account Management experience with a personal care / cosmetics / fragrances or FMCG company highly desirable.
• Good commercial acumen and understanding of key business drivers for revenue generation purposes.
• Good comprehension of all areas of the marketing mix.
• Sound trade / customer marketing experience with a deep understanding of customer journeys and
• sales touch points, and the ability to recognize and understand customer pain points and turn that
• knowledge / insights into product adaptations or improvements
• Knowledge of social media and content creation would be advantageous
• Ability to work across cultures, having strong cross-cultural awareness.
• Ability to manage ambiguity as well as multiple projects.
• Proven organization, planning, critical reasoning and presentation skills.
• Ability to anticipate, respond to and manage change.
• Strong diagnostic and problem-solving skills, able to think methodically and analytically.
• Exceptional organizational and time management skills to meet frequent and aggressive deadlines.
• Ability to build, nurture and influence productive, collaborative and communicative relationships within, across and outside of the organization.
• A great communicator with strong writing and interpersonal skills.