Commercial Manager

About the Role

You will lead the strategic planning for designated soft drinks brands by driving profitability, developing new products and delivering projects. 
Reporting to the Head of Marketing you will:
- Drive new product development (NPD) from concept to launch for your brands;
- Develop the strategic trade positioning and overall trade marketing plan for the brand;
- Review and analyse brand sales and profit with a view to identifying opportunities to improve and increase;
- Recommend and negotiate price and cost changes to your customers and have all your recommendations fully costed;
- Build, manage and maintain customer relationships;
- Develop forecasts and plans for your brands through the use of data and analysis;
- Formulate annual brand budgets - spend and volume;
- Regularly attend retailer brand briefings and also prepare presentations for retailer meetings.

The Commercial Manager's key internal stakeholders are Production, Supply Chain Planning, Logistics and Finance in addition to colleagues in the Commercial team (Food Innovation, NPD).

The opportunities for career progression are excellent. Refresco Beverages UK is a growing , expanding multi-national. The Commercial Manager could develop to National Account Controller or Head of Marketing.

About You

You will have 8 to 10 years experience in sales and marketing in the FMCG or Food & Drinks Manufacturing industry sectors working with major brands in a partner organisation, and able to demonstrate that you have managed and developed such brands to improve their sales, profit margins and market share.
In addition you will have exp[experience of dealing with UK major multiples and the non-grocery trade channels, knowledge and experience of trade marketing, an understanding of category management principles and knowledge and experience of the NPD process.
A successful Commercial Manager in Refresco UK has excellent communication skills, including presentation skills and is very numerate with a high degree of organisation and prioritization. Critically we have found that those that perform well as a Commercial manager are mentally agile, excellent and confident decision makers, results driven and most importantly , always curious to know more about the brand and the industry, being proactive in finding solutions and suggesting new and creative ways of doing things for your brands.

About Us

Our drinks on every table. That's our vision. So, yes, it's safe to say we're ambitious. We're thirsty for more, constantly looking to the future. To new products, new services, new markets, new customers. Here in the UK, we're well on track to produce one billion litres through our plant annually. Overseas? We already have 30 factories in 10 countries – and we're actively looking to expand our operation. 
Refresco is the leading European bottler of soft drinks and fruit juices for retailers and branded customers with production in Benelux, France, Germany, Iberia, Italy, the UK, Poland and Finland. In 2015 the company realized full year volumes and revenue of circa 6.1 billion litres and circa EUR 2.0 billion, respectively. Refresco offers an extensive range of product and packaging combinations from 100% fruit juices to carbonated soft drinks and mineral waters in carton, PET, Aseptic PET, cans and glass. Focused on innovation, Refresco continuously searches for new and alternative ways to improve the quality of its product and packaging combinations in line with consumer and customer demand, environmental responsibilities and market demand. Refresco is headquartered in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, and employs circa 5000 staff. 
Refresco Beverages UK based Bridgwater , Somerset, employs 850 people and we run four factories producing circa 700 million litres per annum, our target is a billion litres by the end of 2018, and we are well on target to achieve this goal. We work with all the leading UK retailers including Tesco, ASDA, Morrison's and Sainsbury to produce their private labels and with branded customers such as Innocent, Ocean Spray and Um Bongo. 
Refresco floated publicly on the Euronext stock exchange in March 2015. In July 2016 we announced the acquisition of Whitlock Packaging in the US, our first foray in to the US drinks market, adding 900 million litres of drinks per annum to our production.

Salary & Benefits

Circa £53 k per annum dependent on experience and qualifications, plus competitive bonus, benefits and pension and company car allowance.