Account Manager - Freight Forwarding

Position:
Account Manager - Freight Forwarding

Location:

Southampton

Hours:

Monday-Friday, 09:00-17:30 (37.5 hours) Salary: up to £50,000

We are recruiting on behalf of a well-established global freight forwarding organisation for an Account Manager to join their Southampton team.

This role is firmly focused on account management and customer care, rather than new business sales. It would suit someone who enjoys building relationships, managing accounts day to day, and acting as the main point of contact for customers - without the pressure of sales targets.

The Role

Reporting into the Commercial function, you will be responsible for the ongoing management of a portfolio of existing customer accounts (circa 20 smaller accounts).

New business generation will be handled by the commercial team; once accounts are onboarded, ownership will pass to you for day-to-day management, coordination, administration, and customer engagement. The commercial lead will remain involved at a high level, stepping in where required, but you will be the primary operational and commercial contact.

This is a hands-on, detail-driven role with a strong administrative element, requiring someone who is commercially aware but customer-led rather than sales-focused.

Key Responsibilities

Act as the main point of contact for allocated customer accounts
Manage day-to-day account activity, communication, and administration
Produce and maintain customer tariffs and rate sheets
Ensure agreed KPIs, service levels, and deliverables are met
Liaise closely with internal operations teams to ensure smooth service delivery
Engage with debtor reports and query logs to support on-time payment
Identify opportunities to add value and improve service, rather than sell aggressively
Document and maintain Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs)
Produce and review customer reports and performance data
Support issue resolution and escalation where required

About You

Proven experience within freight forwarding (operations, customer service, or commercial)
Strong knowlege of sea freght operations
Comfortable in an account management or customer-facing role
May suit someone from a BDM or sales background who prefers relationship management over sales targets
Equally open to candidates from a strong operations background with good commercial awareness
Highly organised, detail-focused, and confident handling administration
Strong communication and stakeholder management skills
Commercially minded without being sales-driven

Working Pattern & Benefits

Office-based role (with potential for hybrid working)
25 days holiday
Private Medical Cover
Death in Service (4 x salary)
Discretionary bonus
Enhanced maternity and paternity leave
Cycle to Work Scheme
Contributory Pension Scheme
Employee Assistance Programme
Eye test contribution
Employee referral scheme
Free parking
Christmas "thank you" bonus

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