National Account Manager - Unitas

We are all about Being Your Best Barr None and having a career with real Moments that Matter!

Employing around 850 people across the UK, we are proud to be a responsible business that takes care of our people, values diversity, gives something back to our communities and works to minimise our environmental impact.

For 150 years AG Barr has been building great brands and is home to some of the nations favourite flavours.

At our core is  IRN-BRU, launched in 1901 and still going strong today, the vibrant RUBICON fruit based brand, Boost making every moment better with a caffeine kick, hydration hit or tasty treat, and FUNKIN where real fruit means authentic taste.

We also have a number of exciting owned brands within our portfolio including MOMA, which crafts quality oats into great tasting oat drinks and porridges.

There's never been a better time to join us!

We’re looking for a National Account Manager to manage the strategic development and commercial growth of the Unitas Buying Group Central Office & Regional customer portfolio.

This role retains full accountability for the Unitas Centre relationship and P&L responsibility for the Unitas regional account base, while providing critical leadership, direction, and motivation to a direct team of three Regional Business Development Managers (RBDMs). The scope of the position covers the day-to-day planning, development, and evolution of sector trading strategies, translating these into winning customer plans, and managing the accounts to deliver growth within agreed Commercial Investment budgets.

The ultimate goal is to lead the Unitas team to deliver budgeted growth across four key performance measures: Invoiced Revenue, Contribution, Market Share, and Forecast Accuracy, whilst maintaining a relationship with the Unitas Central Trading team and delivering on AGB’s trade terms commercial framework and promotional strategy.

• Achieve all agreed Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) across the Unitas Buying Group regional account base within annual budget costings (Invoice Revenue, Customer Contribution, Market Share, and Forecast Accuracy).
• Manage and increase overall Invoice Contribution % through strategic SKU mix management and effective commercial structuring.
• Monitor promotional activity to ensure brand strategies are delivered. Challenge key buying group contacts to ensure maximum return on investment (ROI) of promotional spend based on rigorous analysis of sales data.
• Budgetary Control: Manage the allocated Commercial Investment proportionally against turnover and growth potential, ensuring absolute accuracy within AG Barr’s commercial systems.

• Line Management: Provide direct line management, support, and motivation to three Regional Business Development Managers (RBDMs) to optimize regional execution and alignment with national account objectives.
• Team Collaboration: Support the wider account team in creating and executing their plans, facilitating seamless management of Route-to-Market (RTM) customers.

• Multi-Level Networking: Build, manage, and network across a broad spectrum of customer contacts within the Unitas Buying Group and Wholesale membership  (including Business Owners, Buying Directors, Category Managers, Marketing, Supply Chain, and eCommerce teams).
• Joint Business Planning: Establish robust customer business plans that target and deliver agreed sales fundamentals, including distribution, pricing, promotion, display, and visibility.

• Field Force Execution: Set targets (via agreed KPIs) and communicate effectively with the sales force to ensure excellence in-depot & in-store execution is delivered in line with AG Barr expectations.
• Commercial Toolkits: Oversee the creation of relevant support materials for the sales team (e.g., visual aids, commercial sales stories) ensuring timely delivery for monthly planning cycles.
• Brand Visibility: Accompany and motivate the sales team to increase in-depot and in-store visibility and display effectiveness, creating "Best in Class" presence for the AG Barr portfolio.

• FMCG Experience: Significant commercial experience within an FMCG company, demonstrating strong knowledge of marketing, sales promotion, and P&L management.
• Account Management: Proven track required in Head Office / Buying Group account management within the FMCG sector.
• People Management: Demonstrated experience in people management, with a proven track record of coaching, developing, and leading sales professionals/BDMs.
• Communication: Excellent communication, negotiation, and relationship-building skills across all corporate levels
• Strategic Planning: Ability to generate and evaluate creative ideas, translating them into a robust, rolling activity plan.

• Data Literacy: Strong analytical skills with the ability to leverage sales data to challenge customers and optimize promotional spend, as well as provide robust internal forecasts into the S&OP process.

Please note, we may close vacancies early where we receive significant numbers of applications, so apply now!