National Account Manager

Welcome to Hovis. We are the proud guardians of over 130 years of baking experience that make up our iconic and much-loved brand. We produce bread and bakery products created with Hovis goodness at the heart of each. We deliver around 1.3million loaves, every day of the week throughout the UK and Ireland, where we also make Mothers Pride and Ormo products.

We are 2,800 people working within 8 bakeries, 1 flour mill, and 2 regional distribution centres across the UK. We are a values-led business and expect our colleagues to live, breathe, and embed Quality, Accountability, and Trust into their ways of working. Family is also important to us, with many of our sites having multiple generations of the same family working in the team! Our success is a result of the hard work of our people; they are experts in their field whether it’s baking, manufacturing, logistics, engineering, or the many departments within the central functions team based in our head office in High Wycombe.

The role:

A great opportunity has arisen at Hovis for a National Account Manager to join our commercial team. You will take direct responsibility of our Convenience & Wholesale customers alongside helping drive the accounts into the next phase of growth.

You will have an opportunity to play a key role in developing and driving the wider growth strategy, working with senior stakeholders to execute this and ensure Hovis has a competitive advantage within key growth channels.

The role will be home-based with travel to Head Office in High Wycombe and the Customer.

• Total management of the Convenience and wholesale customers
• Role sits within an area of the business where we are enjoying a strong current performance with scope to grow this business further
• This is a great opportunity for the right person to continue to build on our performance in this channel and develop their career for the future within Hovis

Key Responsibilities:

• Able to deliver forecasts based on accurate assumptions via the following: understanding current customer landscape i.e. growth/decline/opportunities, competitor landscape & promotional activity. Works with the customer to gain future insight & alignment.
• Extrapolates trends to provide insight, able to translate into a number (volume/value).
• Works closely with demand planning and category team to build these assumptions and takes a longer-term future view.
• Understands pricing architecture and implementation of gross to net framework. Ability to translate/present options through an understanding of full mix management.
• Issue resolution e.g. customer service, aged debt, payment days, equipment returns.
• Interprets category data and customer information (derived through questioning) and draws insights, translates into positive stories to support selling objectives.
• Understands the Selling Levers; category management, promotions, in-store & Online marketing & compliance and Customer strategic alignment.
• Creates a compelling sales story by understanding the need & benefits.
• Understand customer strategy, objectives and desires and find solutions to deliver Win-Win long term partnerships through both selling and end to end efficiency.
• Building trust with customers through understanding and delivering against the hierarchy of needs.
• Understanding past and future competitive risks and opportunities and taking appropriate action to positively affect the outcome.
• Good working knowledge of margins/pricing framework to map the best route to sell.
• Understanding of revenue management principles: portfolio mix, product mix, base/promotional mix, fixed and variable investment & investment conditionality.
• Builds extensive wish lists and trades concessions.
• Understands customer requirements through questioning and short and long term outcomes.
• Plans negotiation strategy and steps, building in customer satisfaction outcome and Hovis walk away points.
• Manages internal stakeholders through the negotiation process, aligning qualitative and quantitative outcomes.
• Always operates with integrity on behalf of Hovis.

Ideal experiences / Qualifications / capabilities:

• Educated to degree level
• Ability to manage multiple customers
• Commercial acumen; Analytical - Excel / PowerPoint
• Ability to build relationships internally and externally
• Proven successes – results orientated
• Negotiation experience
• Strong prioritisation and organisational skills
• Eager to develop your career
• Understanding own personal style and ability to flex
• Demonstration of value-adding activity
• Demonstration of taking ownership of the agenda and making it happen

Desirable:

• Gravitas & personal credibility with senior stakeholders
• Branded experience
• Strategic approach
• Experience within the Convenience/Wholesale channel

Why work for us and our benefits:

At Hovis, we understand the importance of looking after our colleagues, so we provide a variety of benefits in addition to their salaries. The benefits we provide at Hovis are as varied as the people who receive them but they are offered with the intention of creating value to them personally over and above their salaries

• There is a range of colleague benefits available, which individuals can select based on their needs.
• Our benefits scheme is called Hovis Choice, which offers a variety of savings and cashback offers on day to day living and much more including eyecare vouchers, and a healthcare scheme to suit everyone. It also includes our Cycle to Work scheme where you can obtain a brand new bike at a significant saving
• We offer competitive annual leave entitlement and flexibility where possible in order to create a healthy work-life balance
• We celebrate loyalty with our generous long service and colleague recognition schemes
• We offer three levels of pensions

Hovis values diversity and is committed to promoting equal opportunities in the workplace. Every job applicant, employee or worker will be treated fairly and equally with dignity and respect regardless of age, disability, gender reassignment, marital or civil partner status, pregnancy or maternity, race, colour, social class, nationality, ethnic or national origin, religious belief, union membership, political opinion, sex, sexual orientation or any other protected characteristic.