Permanent - National Key Accounts Manager - Cape Town - South Africa

We are seeking a commercially astute National Key Account Manager to own and grow a portfolio of strategic retail accounts across South Africa. This is a hands-on, target-driven role suited to an individual with a strong understanding of the South African grocery, retail, wholesale, and convenience trade landscape.

The successful candidate will be responsible for developing strategic customer partnerships, driving sales growth, managing account profitability, and executing joint business plans that deliver volume, value, and market share objectives. Working closely with cross-functional teams including Trade Marketing, Supply Chain, Finance, and Sales, the National Key Account Manager will ensure strong commercial execution and customer success.

Key Responsibilities

• Own the end-to-end relationship and commercial performance of a defined portfolio of key accounts, including major retailers, wholesalers, and convenience customers.
• Develop and execute annual Joint Business Plans (JBPs) that deliver agreed targets for volume, net revenue, margin, and market share.
• Negotiate annual trading terms, promotional agreements, listing fees, rebates, and other commercial arrangements within approved guidelines.
• Build accurate account and SKU-level demand forecasts and collaborate with Supply Chain to maintain service levels and minimise out-of-stock situations.
• Plan, sell-in, execute, and evaluate promotional campaigns and new product launches, measuring performance through rate of sale and return on investment.
• Manage product range, listings, shelf presence, and category opportunities using data-driven recommendations and category insights.
• Take ownership of the account P&L by monitoring trade spend, managing promotional budgets, and protecting margins while delivering growth.
• Conduct regular business reviews with buyers and category managers, proactively addressing trading, pricing, and supply chain issues.
• Partner with Marketing and Sales teams to deliver effective in-store activation, merchandising, and point-of-sale execution.
• Prepare and present regular reports on account performance, forecasts, risks, and growth opportunities to commercial leadership.

Key Requirements

Qualifications & Experience

• 5–7 years of Key Account Management or National Account Management experience within the FMCG sector.
• Direct experience working with major South African retail, wholesale, and convenience customers.
• Relevant tertiary qualification in Commerce, Marketing, Business Management, or a related field.
• Postgraduate qualification advantageous but not essential.
• Proven track record of achieving or exceeding sales, revenue, and margin targets.
• Demonstrated success in developing and delivering Joint Business Plans.
• Strong commercial and financial acumen with experience managing account profitability and trade spend.
• Proven negotiation experience, including annual trading terms and promotional planning.
• Established relationships with buyers and decision-makers within grocery, wholesale, and forecourt channels.

Skills & Competencies

• Strong relationship-building skills with the ability to engage effectively at buyer, category manager, and senior stakeholder level.
• Highly analytical with the ability to interpret category and sales data and convert insights into actionable commercial recommendations.
• Excellent planning, forecasting, and organisational skills.
• Self-motivated, resilient, and able to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced environment.
• Strong communication, presentation, and influencing abilities.
• Advanced Microsoft Excel skills.
• Experience with category management tools such as Nielsen or IRI, and CRM or ERP systems, would be advantageous.