Strategic Customer & Projects Manager

Location: Scotland

Strategic Customer & Projects Manager Fresh Produce | UK A genuinely different opportunity within fresh produce We are working with a highly successful and ambitious fresh produce business to appoint a Strategic Customer & Projects Manager into a newly created and influential position. This isn't a conventional Commercial Manager role or a traditional Project Manager position. We're looking for someone who can join the dots —building trusted relationships with growers, major UK retailers and strategic partners, then bringing together the right people to turn ideas and opportunities into results.

Reporting to the Chief Commercial Officer , you'll work across six interconnected areas:
Growing Community | Innovation & Development | Sustainability & CSR | Consumer & Marketing | Customer Partnerships | Ways of Working The Opportunity The organisation's growing community is fundamental to its success. You'll develop strong relationships with growers, gaining a genuine understanding of their businesses, capabilities, challenges and ambitions. You'll improve communication, encourage greater collaboration and ensure the grower perspective is represented in relevant business and customer conversations.

You'll also help growers understand changing retailer, consumer and sustainability priorities, creating stronger alignment across the supply chain. Alongside this, you'll become a trusted and consistent point of contact for key retailers and strategic partners—understanding their priorities and coordinating the appropriate expertise from across the business. One day you could be meeting growers to discuss future crop plans, supply challenges or new product opportunities.

The next, you might be coordinating a sustainability initiative, reviewing consumer insight or bringing several teams together to deliver an important customer project. You don't need to be the expert in every subject. You do need to know how to find the expertise, bring the right people together, ask intelligent questions and make sure things happen. Your Remit Growing Community Strengthen relationships and communication with growers, creating a more connected, engaged and forward-looking grower network.

Understand their capabilities and priorities, share relevant insight and help develop collaborative plans around innovation, sustainability, resilience and future supply. Innovation & Development Build relationships with growers, breeders and development partners to identify emerging products, varieties and growing techniques, ensuring the business has early visibility of future opportunities. Sustainability & CSR Understand retailer expectations and coordinate credible, measurable initiatives across growers, internal teams and external partners.

Consumer & Marketing Translate changing consumer behaviour and market insight into opportunities for category growth, innovation and stronger customer propositions. Customer Partnerships Work alongside the commercial team to understand retailer priorities and develop deeper, more strategic relationships by connecting customers with the right knowledge, ideas and expertise. Ways of Working Improve communication, collaboration and accountability, ensuring actions are captured, responsibilities are clear and commitments are delivered.

Who Are We Looking For? We're deliberately keeping an open mind about background and current job title . You could come from grower relations, agriculture, commercial, category, innovation, sustainability, marketing, customer strategy or project management. Fresh produce or wider food/FMCG experience would be highly relevant, particularly if you have worked with growers, suppliers or major UK retailers . More important is your ability to demonstrate:
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