National Account Manager, reporting to the Head of Retail. Our team is driving ambitious triple digit growth in our Retail channel. We have 8+ years retail presence and have captured a wonderful toehold in the baskets of savvy, foodie shoppers who value chef grade ingredients. This role is focused on managing Waitrose and Sainsbury’s accounts. It involves customer-facing responsibilities, including sales visits to new and existing clients, aimed at further expanding a business area that has grown by 250% over the past five years, delivering over £15 million in retail sales last year.
The Business:
Belazu has been a pioneer of supplying chef grade ingredients for over 30 years. We are a Gold Standard Investor in People Award winner, recognised as one of the Sunday Times Best Places to Work 2024 and a responsible, ethical B Corp accredited business. We balance the needs of our people, our product and our planet alongside our need to be profitable. We have a diverse workforce that not only contributes to a positive company culture, but also to our achievements.
The Team:
We have a dynamic team with a combined background covering Deliciously Ella, Graze, Bakkavor, L’Oreal and more. We are committed to building rock solid relationships, pushing the envelope when it comes to thinking big, covering new ground and delivering beyond expectation. As a team, we commit to enjoying what we do, creating a motivating and fulfilling environment, empowering ourselves to grab opportunities to grow and develop and having fun doing so.
This role will suit you if:
You have attention to detail and organized, you are a proactive self-starter with a can-do attitude.
You are comfortable in front of customers and external parties.
You are Commercially savvy and a strategic thinker, you excel at thinking on your feet and overcoming issues. You bring a genuine love for food to your role.
You have openness to working across departments ensures effective collaboration and synergy.
You are excellent in sales negotiation, verbal communication and presentation skills and you are a strong networker, preferably with an existing network of relevant industry contacts.
You thrive in a busy atmosphere, capable of multitasking and remaining calm under pressure.
You lead with commercial ideas and suggestions and are willing to assist partnering departments.
This may not be the team for you if:
You prefer solitary work environments and lack experience in customer-facing roles. The role requires regular interaction with customers and external parties.
You struggle with multitasking or maintaining composure in busy environments, this position may present challenges.
You are uncomfortable with public speaking or presentations, or if you are resistant to collaborating across different departments, this environment may not suit your preferences.
What the day job looks like:
In this full-time role as National Account Manager, you will be responsible to:
* Manage day-to-day customer interactions across multiple categories.
* Recommend and implement promotional plans and in-store activations to drive profitable growth.
* Nominate, manage, and track promotional compliance.
* Build category stories to facilitate the listing of new SKUs and expand distribution.
* Track spending to ensure optimal returns and prevent overspending.
* Monitor business performance and recommend improvements.
* Provide regularly updated forecasts by customer with 25% accuracy for supply chain.
* Manage and administer multiple customer performance reports.
* Collaborate with departments (customer services, planning, purchasing, production) to fulfil customer orders.
* Monitor and report on future sales and marketing activities to clarify operational support needs.
* Complete Joint Business Plan (JBP) negotiations.
* Use EPOS reporting via the Elm portal weekly to inform commercial and SLT teams of customer performance, key learnings, and wins.
What’s in it for you?
* 33 days annual plus 8 public holidays per annum
* Auto-Enrolment Pension, plus an enhanced pension option
* Discretionary annual bonus scheme
* Learning and development opportunities for everyone in the business
* Life assurance from day one
* Cycle to work scheme
* Employee benefits portal with retail discounts, EAP and GP service and financial support tools
* Volunteer days and active CSR programme
* Free parking on site
* Up to 40% discount on Company products
* Socials and internal awards
* Subsidised Canteen
Terms
* 40 hrs/wk i.e. 8.30am-5pm Mon-Fri (start and finish times flexible) with a 2 day/week office; 3 day/week WFH hybrid working model.
* Probationary period 3 months
* Annual salary review (our ‘movers and shakers’ are always rewarded)
* 30% KPI related bonus based around challenging but achievable tasks related to the role
Thanks for reading our job advert. We do our very best to bring to life what it’s like working as part of our team. Diverse teams really are the best teams. We want everyone to feel they can be themselves at work and develop their talents to the full. All colleagues are expected to take personal responsibility for keeping our workplace free from discrimination, harassment, and bullying - a place where everyone is treated fairly and respectfully.
We also know that sometimes some candidates may be put off applying for a job unless they think they can tick every box. If you are really excited about working with us and think you can do much of what we are looking for but aren’t sure if you are 100% there yet… go on… why not give it a whirl? Good luck!