Associate Director Key Accounts

Purpose of the job

To lead and grow the company's strategic partnerships with major national/regional key accounts, overseeing a portfolio of accounts and the team managing them. The role is accountable for translating commercial strategy into account-level execution, driving sustainable, profitable growth, and elevating relationships with customers to senior decision-maker level (category directors, buying VPs, etc.). The Associate Director also builds the capability of the Key Accounts team and ensures consistency of commercial discipline across accounts.

• Own the overall relationship strategy for a portfolio of key accounts (e.g., major national retailers/modern trade groups), acting as the senior escalation point and executive-level relationship holder.
• Set the account prioritization framework, ensuring resources and investment are directed toward the highest-value growth opportunities.
• Represent the company in senior-level business reviews, top-to-top meetings, and strategic negotiations with customer leadership.

• Lead, coach, and develop a team of Key Accounts Managers, setting clear KPIs and holding the team accountable for account performance.
• Conduct performance management, talent development, and succession planning within the team.
• Build commercial and negotiation capability across the team through coaching, structured reviews, and knowledge-sharing.
• Ensure consistent standards of account planning, forecasting, and reporting quality across all managed accounts.

• Own the annual joint business planning (JBP) process across the account portfolio, ensuring plans are ambitious, data-backed, and aligned with overall commercial and category strategy.
• Set portfolio-level trade investment strategy and approve promotional/rebate budget allocation across accounts based on ROI and strategic priority.
• Own the portfolio's sales forecast and be accountable for its accuracy, working closely with Demand Planning and Supply Chain leadership.
• Partner with Marketing, Category Management, and Supply Chain to embed customer strategy into broader commercial planning cycles.

• Own portfolio-level P&L performance (sales, trade spend ROI, market share, EBIT contribution) and report against targets to the Director – Key Accounts and senior leadership.
• Review in-market execution trends across accounts, identifying systemic gaps and directing corrective strategies (beyond individual store/account fixes).
• Escalate and resolve high-impact commercial or operational issues that exceed KAM authority.
• Drive continuous improvement in account management processes, tools, and ways of working.

• Lead or directly oversee negotiation of major commercial agreements, trading terms, and annual contracts with key customers.
• Build and maintain senior-level relationships with customer decision-makers to secure long-term, mutually beneficial partnerships.
• Anticipate market and customer shifts (e.g., channel consolidation, private label expansion) and adjust account strategy proactively.

• Own governance of trade spend, rebates, and customer investment budgets across the portfolio, ensuring compliance with approved budgets and company policy.
• Partner with Finance on budget planning, claims audits, and reconciliation governance, ensuring financial integrity across all accounts.
• Monitor and report portfolio-level ROI on trade investment, recommending strategic reallocation to senior leadership.
• Own high-value contract structures and ensure financial commitments/obligations are tracked and honored.
• Ensure team-wide compliance with the Customer Deductions SOP, including documentation, timelines, and approval thresholds.
• Approve deductions/disputes exceeding KAM authority, per the SOP's approval matrix.
• Monitor deduction trends and aging across the portfolio, flagging recurring or non-compliant patterns.
• Act as escalation point for unresolved disputes before Director involvement.
• Partner with Finance to close process gaps between agreements and actual deductions.

• · Bachelor's degree in Business Administration, Marketing, Sales, or a related field; MBA preferred.
• · 8–12 years of progressive experience in Sales/Key Account Management within FMCG or a similar industry, including at least 2–3 years in a people-management or team-lead capacity.
• · Proven track record managing large, complex national accounts and multi-million-value trade budgets.
• · Advanced Microsoft Office skills, particularly Excel; comfort working with BI/reporting tools.
• · Proficient in English & Arabic.