Senior National Account Manager

Senior National Account Manager – Grocery

London / South East – must be commutable to London

£65,000 + £5,000 car allowance + bonus

I’m working with one of the UK’s leading functional soft drinks brands to recruit a Senior National Account Manager into their Grocery team.

This is a challenger brand in proper growth mode. The UK team is still small, but the brand has serious backing, strong investment, and a clear plan to go after the market properly. Globally the business is around £150m NSR, and the UK/Europe is now in investment mode with the “gloves off” to go and win.

The role will manage major Grocery customers, with accounts likely to include a mix of Sainsbury’s, Asda, Waitrose and potentially Tesco. There’s flexibility depending on the person, but the important bit is this: they need someone who knows UK Grocery, can handle pace, and is comfortable in a challenger brand where there isn’t a huge team opening every door for you.

This isn’t a steady “tick the box” NAM role. The business is launching and scaling new drinks propositions alongside its core range, and there’s a big focus on growing responsibly, unlocking new space, and winning across multiple buying points — ambient, chilled and front of store.

Key Responsibilities:

• Manage and grow key UK Grocery customers across a fast-growing soft drinks portfolio
• Own customer plans, JBPs, forecasting, trade spend and P&L delivery
• Build strong relationships with buyers and key customer stakeholders
• Drive growth across core ranges while supporting major new product launches
• Unlock opportunities across ambient, chilled and front-of-store buying teams
• Work closely with internal teams across marketing, supply chain, category and finance
• Keep pace with the admin, detail and execution that comes with high-growth Grocery
• Bring energy, resilience and a “go after it” mindset to a fast-moving challenger brand

What we’re looking for:

• Strong NAM/SNAM experience within UK Grocery
• Drinks experience would be ideal, but not essential if the person has the right mindset
• Experience managing major retailers and working through range reviews, JBPs and negotiations
• Someone who has had enough time in Grocery to take a few war wounds and understand how the channel really works
• Strong relationship builder who can handle buyers and keep pushing when doors don’t open easily
• Organised and commercially sharp — able to manage pace, detail and multiple priorities
• Challenger brand / SME experience would be ideal, but big business backgrounds can work if you genuinely want that environment
• Hungry, energetic and resilient — this business is in growth mode and needs someone who wants to win

This is a brilliant opportunity for someone who wants to join a brand with momentum, investment and a proper growth agenda. The product is on trend, all natural, and the business is backing it with significant marketing spend and above-the-line activity.

If you like the idea of joining a small UK team, getting close to the action, and helping shape the next stage of Grocery growth, this one is worth a conversation.

If the role and responsibilities sound like a good fit for you, then I’d love to speak to you!

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The Advocate Group is a leading recruitment partner, based in the UK, to the FMCG and consumer product sectors.

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