Key Account Lead

Job Title

Key Account Lead, London

About the Function:

Our Sales team love building relationships, connecting with customers to sell our much-loved brands in new and vibrant markets where they can thrive. They help sell our iconic brands across 180 countries every year.

We’re operating across different markets, channels, and areas of expertise. Using your curiosity and passion, you’ll make the most of consumer insight and digital platforms, reaching new customers, markets, and celebrations to help us achieve our growth potential. We’ll support your learning and growth as you develop your career with us and work with people across our business to realise your fullest potential.

About the role:

As a Key Account lead you will be operating with the highest value customers within your designated region of the On-Trade, which is critical to our total On Trade business, unlocking our brands in the highest performance and highest potential outlets. You will play a crucial role in building the status, equity and rate of sale of our brands through delivery of brand objectives throughout the highest value and potential key outlets and strategically important customers across the area. 

Role Responsibilities:

• P&L responsibility for relevant customers in on trade channel for the portfolio and delivery of accelerated growth performance for the existing brands and any future brands.   
• Leading the commercial performance of the account via meticulous commercial management; unlocking growth and improving sustainable profit delivery. Deliver outstanding results within 3-5 most valuable customers through inter-team working and wider support functions.
• Strong ownership of the day-to-day customer relationship through effective negotiation, persuasion and conflict management/resolution skills 
• Accurate forecasting and internal performance management with attention to detail, as well as proactive RTM and supply team connectivity to maintain brand visibility in outlet. 
• Working effectively with an activation specialist to coordinate key focus brand plans across the customer base.  
• Collaborate on building and contributing to the on trade distribution agenda, paired with ROS driving tools to deliver annual financial (AOP) and market share objectives for the portfolio.  
• Work closely with an activation specialist who will support on menu creation, activations and customer engagement within your customer base. 
• Work with the brand ambassadors, customer marketing and category team to deliver the customer needs and commercial and activation goals. 
• Successfully navigate return on investment decisions with each customer aligning with key priorities for sustainable and profitable growth. Successful activation of commercial & brand building growth drivers based on analysis and core insight into customer strategy and consumer behaviors. 
• Deliver exceptional results for the customer and Diageo through a sustained commitment to outcomes delivered through effective cross-functional ways of working across our internal teams, paired with balancing key external collaborators e.g. RTM counterparts, who each play their specific role in building and supporting a great customer relationship. RTM lead for counterparts in 5 top wholesale customers for the region.
• Direct Reports – Line manager responsibilities for Key Account Executives (KAE). There will be 4 x KAE’s that will report into the Key Account Lead. Onboarding, coaching and performance managing will be a crucial function within your role.
• Coordinate weekly Team Hub meeting with KAM/AE and CPM to align on execution plans.
• Partners with Commercial Sales Manager to increase team effectiveness and drive growth in current P&L by enhancing distribution, sales speed, and activation, and exploring new business prospects.
• Lead on Working Day (WD) cycle finance updates for the London commercial function.

Experience / skills required:

• Previous line managerial experience with ability to motivate, inspire and coach direct reports for development in role and to achieve individual and collective goals.
• Established commercial experience including on trade/account management.  
• Retail/FMCG sector experience.  
• Deep understanding of on trade GB category knowledge across spirits, tba and trends.  
• Passion for core, premium and super premium brands, our customers & our consumers.  
• Advanced negotiation and customer relationship building skills 
• Robust commercial understanding, P&L literacy - innate numerical and analytical skills and ability to derive insight from data.   
• Ability to forge strong and effective cross-functional team relationships and confidently interact with senior collaborators internally and externally to deliver business outcomes 
• Effectively networked, to manage multiple external customers as well as collaborating with internal partners to build value for our customers. 
• Proactive and entrepreneurial attitude to grow existing and win new customers ahead of our competition 

Flexible Working Statement:

Flexibility is key to our success. Talk to us about what flexibility means to you so that you’re supported to manage your wellbeing and balance your priorities from day one.

Diversity statement:

Our purpose is to celebrate life, every day, everywhere. And creating an inclusive culture, where everyone feels valued and that they can belong, is a crucial part of this.

We embrace diversity in the broadest possible sense. This means that you’ll be welcomed and celebrated for who you are just by being you. You’ll be part of and help build and champion an inclusive culture that celebrates people of different gender, ethnicity, ability, age, sexual orientation, social class, educational backgrounds, experiences, attitudes, and more.

Our ambition is to create the best performing, most trusted and respected consumer products companies in the world. Join us and help transform our business as we take our brands to the next level and build new ones as part of shaping the next generation of celebrations for consumers around the world.

Feel inspired? Then this may be the opportunity for you!

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