National Key Account Manager

KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES:

1. Strategic Account Planning & Growth Architecture:

- Develop long-term account strategies for top priority accounts for this role, aligned to channel priorities and category growth objectives.

- Lead the creation of Joint Business Plans (JBPs) that define growth levers across sales, category expansion, kitchen penetration, visibility, pricing, and profitability.

- Identify account-level growth opportunities including new store openings, category introductions, assortment upgrades, and whitespace capture.

- Drive strategic alignment with Category, Pricing, Supply Chain, Retail Marketing PMO, and MT-RSS teams to shape account-specific growth programs.

- Build annual revenue, share, and gross margin plans for the account, ensuring alignment with BU and channel strategy.

Strategic Execution & Internal Orchestration:

- Translate approved JBPs into clear execution charters for regional KAMs, tertiary retail teams, and cross-functional enablers.

- Ensure strategic initiatives such as kitchen category expansion, shelf interventions, new category introductions, and assortment optimization are planned and supported.

- Provide guidance to regional teams on execution priorities, program design interpretation, and escalations that impact strategic outcomes.

- Govern the quality and timeliness of JBP milestones, category rollouts, and account expansion initiatives.

- Ensure accurate demand planning inputs for S&OP through strategic forecasting and mix direction.

Customer & Relationship Management:

- Serve as the strategic point of contact for top priority accounts for this role, building long-term relationships that support mutual growth.

- Partner with customer category heads, merchandising teams, and business directors to co-create growth interventions and structured reviews.

- Lead strategic negotiations on annual terms, category foundations, multi-category penetration, and long-term commercial constructs.

- Strengthen account engagement through structured governance - monthly reviews, quarterly business reviews, and annual planning conversations.

- Ensure customer priorities and insights feed into internal channel, category, and product planning.

Sell-Out Strategy & Category Expansion:

- Oversee national sell-out performance for the account, ensuring alignment with regional tertiary execution teams.

- Steer category and SKU-level assortment strategy based on account performance trends, consumer insights, and competitive benchmarking.

- Identify and plan ISP deployment needs for store clusters where sell-out uplift potential is high.

- Review account-wise sell-out diagnostics, lift from programs/promotions, and kitchen funnel expansion opportunities.

- Ensure kitchen appliances presence grows across stores and categories through structured expansion plans and JBP levers.

Profitability, Pricing & Commercial Governance:

- Deliver account-level P&L outcomes - gross margin, price realization, mix improvement, and profitability milestones.

- Maintain pricing discipline through adherence to channel ASPs, discount architecture, and guardrails.

- Track and govern program investments, promo efficiency, and ROI to drive profitable growth.

- Ensure overall commercial hygiene - data integrity, credit governance alignment, and compliance with internal policies.

- Lead structured post-program evaluations to refine ROI and improve future investments.

QUALIFICATIONS & EXPERIENCE:

Minimum experience and qualification

- 7-12 years of experience in Modern Trade / Key Account Management within FMCG / FMEG / Consumer Durables.

- Proven track record in driving national / multi-regional account growth.

- Strong commercial acumen, negotiation, and analytical skills.

- MBA preferred; familiarity with data tools (Power BI, CRM) an advantage.