Commercial Manager | Staines

To lead the growth and development of our business within a defined customer base. Ensuring accurate forecast management and a growth mindset to deliver against business objectives.

You will therefore be responsible for contributing to the business, through effective collaboration with the Snr Commercial Manager, Commercial Controller, Customer Marketing Team and other functional and divisional team members across the business in driving and achieving targets and objectives.

It will also involve responsibility for assisting in the nurturing of our internal talent pipeline through use of coaching and mentoring less experienced team members in best practice approach to account management and industry insight.

Key Accountabilities

• P+L responsibility for a defined account or portfolio of accounts leading to the growth of Pilgrim’s Europe business objectives.
• Creation and agreement of Customer Joint Business Plans.
• Effective evaluation of promotional performance and developing recommendations to maximise promotional effectiveness.
• Work with marketing to develop and implement the strongest possible customer plans including instore and online activation plans.
• Effective internal and external communication of performance, recommending specific actions where the business looks to consolidate areas of strength as well as rectify underperformance.
• Champion the customer within the Pilgrims Europe business.
• Full responsibility for developing and agreeing annual joint business plans with the customer.
• Meet the budgeted commercial KPI’s in line with annual budgets. In addition to this agree with Commercial Controller/Snr Commercial Manager of a set of ‘stretch’ business improvement targets.
• Identify market opportunities through analysis, research, and customer contact. Exploit these opportunities where necessary deploying new initiatives for profitable sales and market share growth.
• Champion the needs and raise the profile of these customers throughout the organisation.
• Exercise overall margin control and direct trading, tendering and decision making.
• Integrate the sales strategy into group business plans, budgets, forecasts, and performance targets and contribute to overall group planning. Take an active and participative role in the daily and weekly planning meetings ensuring that your customer is fully represented and informed of all service level issues.
• Accurate financial and physical forecasting.
• Establish relationships with senior team members in targeted accounts across a range of functions.
• Lead, develop and motivate all employees that directly impact on your customer performance. Create and maintain a culture of ongoing customer improvement throughout all functional areas of the business.
• Provide regular feedback on account development to all functional areas. Make sure that people understand the impact they can have on customers.
• Ensure each product category is managed in line with the business plan i.e. weekly & monthly appraisal V’s plan and appropriate corrective action planning.
• Develop and implement individual customer JBP’s to build strong relationships and position the company on the inside track of key customer needs and requirements.
• Agree and implement ‘WAYS OF WORKING’ contract with each commercial function within your customer i.e. weekly / monthly meetings measuring performance against JBP and managing any appropriate corrective action plans. Manage and coordinate all meetings and feedback.
• Monitor customer performance and satisfaction levels to identify any issues which may threaten sales and take appropriate action when necessary.
• Review, assess and improve commercial processes and support structures to deliver best in class performance.
• Ownership of Customer Strategy and wiring plans.
• Management of the forecast and risks & opportunities to plan.

Skills & Knowledge

• Commercial skills
• Negotiation skills
• Excel
• PowerPoint and Word
• Bespoke internal systems (training provided)
• External customer web-based portals and applications (training provided)