Customer Development Manager Cheese (Grocery led) Maternity cover

What we ask

• You are experienced in customer management, sales performance, negotiation, strategic planning, and trade spend management at an advanced level.
• You are experienced in managing private label categories
• You are experienced in the grocery retail landscape.
• You are proficient in executing plans with excellence and driving profitable growth.
• You are positive, solution-minded, tenacious, and highly collaborative.
• You are skilled at influencing cross-functional teams and key accounts effectively.
• You are an excellent communicator and able to work under pressure.
• You are comfortable working in a hybrid environment based in London (2–3 days per week).
• You are fluent in English

What we offer

Salary : £65-70k

Bonus: 12.5% annual bonus

Car Allowance: £5,700 per annum

Pension: Up to 13.7% employer contribution (age-dependent)

Healthcare: Private medical cover (BUPA) + Medicash

Death in Service: 4x salary

Group Income Protection Scheme

Holiday: 25 days + 8 UK bank holidays + Birthday off

Flex Benefits:

• Summer Hours (1pm Friday finishes – July/Aug)
• Winter Wellness (2 hours/week for personal wellness – Nov–Jan)
• 4pm Friday finishes (standard weeks)
• £28/month WFH broadband allowance
• Access to ‘Help at Hand’ wellbeing support for employees & family

Vacancy description

• Channel & Customer Strategy: You lead the translation of the Fighting Unit strategy into data-driven, insight-based Channel & Customer plans, including budgeting, KPIs, and yearly targets for each account.

• Customer Leadership: You are the primary RFC contact for designated grocery customers and ensure cross-functional collaboration to build long-term, strategic relationships.

• Assortment & Pricing: You prioritize Hero SKUs, contribute to price/pack architecture insights (OBPPC), and gather market intelligence to fuel innovation and renovation strategies.

• In-Store Excellence: You lead the execution of Perfect Store programs, including setting distribution targets, integrating execution KPIs into agreements, and overseeing in-store activation.

• Promotional Strategy : You run efficient, high-ROI promotional plans and manage trade term investments to maximize impact and ROI.

• Performance Monitoring: You track key metrics such as volume, value, trade spend, and customer performance; you deliver regular updates and insights to the Sales Director and MT.

• Business Development: You steer Cheese category growth, contribute to the 12Q planning and budgeting process, and act as key liaison between customer needs and internal development teams.

• Sales Forecasting & S&OP: You own the sales forecast process and ensure supply chain KPIs (e.g., forecast accuracy) are met.