Sales Manager - Containerboard

Location: Cei Connah

Position Overview
Following a £1bn transformation into the UK's largest state-of-the-art recycled container board facility, Shotton
Mill is seeking a commercially astute and relationship-led Sales Manager to support the growth of our
container board and corrugated packaging business.
 
This strategic commercial role will focus on securing long-term supply contracts for our high-capacity PM3
container board and packaging solutions, working with major corrugated box manufacturers, independent
sheet plants, integrated packaging groups and wider paper packaging customers.
The successful candidate will combine strong sector knowledge with a consultative, customer-focused
approach. They will bring an established network within the container board, corrugated and paper packaging
sectors, alongside the commercial capability to manage complex negotiations, high-value accounts and
international sales opportunities.
 
This role will also act as a key link between customers and internal teams, ensuring commercial commitments
are aligned with production, quality, logistics and supply chain capabilities. A strong focus on service
excellence, cross-functional collaboration and long-term account retention will be essential.

Key Responsibilities
Strategic Account Management & Growth
- Build, develop and manage high-value relationships with major corrugated box manufacturers,
independent sheet plants, integrated packaging groups and other strategic customers.
- Act as a trusted commercial ambassador for Shotton Mill, using a professional and consultative
approach to secure long-term supply agreements.
- Identify and convert new business opportunities across the UK, Europe and selected global markets.
- Match customer demand with Shotton Mill's high-volume production capabilities, ensuring
commercial growth is sustainable and operationally deliverable.
- Manage complex commercial negotiations, tenders, RFIs, RFQs, pricing structures and volume
forecasts.
- Maintain strong visibility of market activity, customer requirements and competitor
movements to support effective commercial decision-making.
 
Customer Service & Commercial Delivery
- Champion a high-quality, customer-focused service culture across all commercial touchpoints.
- Act as the escalation point for complex customer issues, ensuring prompt resolution and long-term
customer satisfaction.
- Work closely with internal teams to ensure customer commitments are realistic, clearly communicated
and consistently delivered.
- Translate customer feedback into practical improvement actions across production, logistics, quality
and commercial processes.
- Support long-term customer retention by balancing commercial outcomes with service reliability and
customer trust.
 
International Sales & Export Management
- Support and deliver the export sales strategy for container board and packaging products across
European and selected global markets.
- Manage international trade requirements, including logistics, customs, tariffs, incoterms and export
documentation.
- Coordinate sales activity across multiple countries, ensuring alignment with regional market dynamics
and company objectives.
- Monitor global market trends, pricing movements, demand patterns and competitor activity to
position Shotton Mill's product portfolio effectively.
- Develop structured cross-border reporting on performance, demand forecasting, pricing, customer
trends and sales pipeline activity.
- Collaborate with international stakeholders across commercial, finance, logistics and supply chain
functions to ensure consistency, governance and effective execution.
 
Cross Functional Collaboration
- Maintain a regular presence at the Deeside facility, with a minimum of 1 day per week on-site, to build
strong alignment with Production, Quality, Supply Chain and Logistics teams.
- Act as the commercial bridge between customers and internal departments, ensuring expectations are
understood and operational realities are clearly communicated.
- Lead regular cross-functional reviews covering forecasting, capacity planning, service performance and
customer requirements.
- Work collaboratively with…