National Account Manager

We’re partnering with a challenger brand in a high-growth, highly competitive category, as they look to hire a National Account Manager to help accelerate the next phase of UK retail growth. The business is scaling quickly, has strong category demand, massively on trend, and is now building a team to take the business through the next phase of growth.

This role will sit within the UK grocery/retail side of the business which is currently ambient but will be bringing huge amounts of NPD through to grow onto different shelve, with a clear need to realign accounts around brand and category strategy, strengthen JBPs, and build relationships with the major buying teams. This is a brilliant opportunity for someone who wants to join a challenger brand through a genuine scale-up phase, which is rare in the north.

There's a CEO at the helm with past success in growing challenger brands.

• Own full P&L responsibility for designated national retail and wholesale accounts
• Develop and execute Joint Business Plans aligned to ambitious growth objectives
• Lead commercial negotiations across pricing, promotions, distribution, and annual agreements
• Drive distribution gains, NPD listings, and strong promotional execution in-store and online
• Work cross-functionally with supply chain, marketing, finance, and NPD to deliver plans flawlessly
• Analyse sales data, margin performance, and customer profitability to inform decisions
• Manage forecasting inputs and support demand planning and supply alignment
• Build relationships with key buyer/category contacts, and help open doors into larger grocery opportunities

• 3–5 years’ FMCG sales/account management experience
• Proven experience managing UK grocery, convenience and/or wholesale customers
• Strong commercial acumen with P&L ownership and JBP delivery
• Confident negotiating with buyers and managing annual trading agreements
• Solid understanding of category management and shopper insight
• Analytical mindset (strong Excel), commercially disciplined, and comfortable in a challenger environment

The Advocate Group is a leading recruitment partner, based in the UK, to the FMCG and consumer product sectors. We are an equal opportunities employer and welcome applications from all suitably qualified persons regardless of their race, sex, disability, religion/belief, sexual orientation, or age. By applying for this role, you are agreeing to our Privacy Policy, which can be found on our website.

Please note that The Advocate Group is acting as an employment agency in relation to this vacancy.