Interim Commercial Manager - Morrisons and online - inside IR35

Interim Commercial Manager

UK Grocery Retail

£500-600 per day plus expenses inside IR35

East Midlands

Looking for your next interim contract? This role gives you full ownership of a major grocery account while supporting another key retailer, with plenty of scope to make an impact quickly. You'll shape customer plans, lead negotiations, drive distribution and help deliver strong branded growth across a fast‑moving category.

You'll work closely with a Commercial Controller and a cross‑functional team, keeping things moving at pace and making sure launches, promotions and plans land well in store.

A great business! We know this from feedback from other placements in the business who find the supportive culture and teamwork ethos a huge benefit to the overall environment. You will be hands-on so need to be self-sufficient and able to hit the ground running in this autonomous role.

Hybrid role - ideally three days a week in the office

What you'll be doing

• Managing a major UK retail customer along with other smaller accounts
• Building and delivering annual customer plans and JBPs
• Leading negotiations across pricing, promotions, terms and range reviews
• Driving distribution, availability and visibility of core and new products
• Managing NPD launches, seasonal activity and customer‑specific projects
• Using customer and category data to spot risks and opportunities
• Owning forecasting and working closely with Demand Planning and Supply Chain
• Building strong relationships across buying, merchandising, supply chain and category teams

What you'll bring

• FMCG account management experience within UK grocery at the National Account Manager or Senior National Account Manager level is essential
• Experience managing or supporting the major retailers is essential
• Strong commercial and financial understanding, including P&L
• Confidence delivering JBPs and annual negotiation cycles
• Ability to turn data and insight into clear, actionable plans
• Strong relationship‑building skills with buying and category teams
• Solid planning, forecasting and project management capability
• Autonomous operator, happy to prepare your own decks and take full ownership of the accoun

About you

• Proven experience in branded FMCG at SNAM, Commercial Manager or NAM level
• Must have experience of the major retailers - Morrisons or Tesco or Asda or Waitrose or Sainsbury's or M&S or Aldi or Co-op
• Strong negotiator and collaborator with the ability to influence and build trust
• Curious, proactive and opportunity‑led
• Resilient, results‑focused and comfortable owning delivery
• Highly numerate with strong analytical skills
• Clear communicator with strong presentation skills
• Collaborative, organised and able to juggle multiple priorities

Please send your cv to Sarah in the Novus team without delay - ideal start date would be August.