As the National Account Manager for Grocery Retail, you will be responsible for growing Lamb Weston's retail business with grocery multiples and discounters. You'll own your accounts end-to-end, reporting into the UK & Ireland Sales Director for Retail, Cash & Carry. You will contribute to setting the strategy, and be directly responsible for securing listings, managing promotions, and building strong, productive relationships with retail partners. The focus is on delivering sustainable, profitable growth through disciplined execution, strong commercial thinking, and effective collaboration both in-store and with the retail buying team.
Role Purpose
This role is responsible for the commercial leadership and growth of a portfolio of UK grocery multiple and discounter customers, spanning both branded and private label frozen potato products, with a strong focus on new business development.
This is a true ownership role, leading Joint Business Planning, and delivering profitable growth through strong customer relationships, disciplined execution, and cross-functional collaboration.
Home-based in the UK, with regular national travel to customers and internal teams, and occasional international travel to European manufacturing and central functions.
Key Responsibilities
Commercial Ownership & Account Strategy
* Take full commercial ownership of a portfolio of UK grocery multiple and discounter accounts across branded and private label.
* Develop and deliver annual customer strategies, Joint Business Plans, and trading plans aligned to Lamb Weston's growth, margin, and volume objectives.
* Lead P&L management for assigned accounts, including forecasting, budgeting, and performance tracking.
* Translate customer strategy into clear commercial priorities, ensuring focus on the opportunities that drive sustainable growth.
Customer & Relationship Management
* Build deep, high-impact relationships with retail buying, category management, technical, NPD and supply chain teams, through to day-to-day trading.
* Position Lamb Weston as a strategic partner, not just a supplier, through insight-led conversations and proactive problem solving.
* Own all annual customer negotiations, including pricing, trade terms, promotional mechanics, and range decisions.
* Drive listings, range extensions, and shelf-space optimisation across the frozen potato category.
* Manage the dual complexity of branded and private label portfolios, balancing:
o Volume-driven, price-sensitive lines.
o Brand value-added, differentiated products and innovation.
Key Account & Category Management
* Develop category and shopper insights alongside the Category Management Team to support value-added selling and joint business planning using tools such as Nielsen, Kantar and IGD.
* Lead the preparation and presentation of commercial proposals, tenders, and promotional concepts.
* Ensure consistent strategic execution of key account in collaboration with International Key Account Managers for customers across the EMEA region.
* Project Manage the NPD and innovation pipeline, ensuring developments are commercially viable and aligned to UK retailer needs and manufacturing capability, in line with internal policies and procedures.
* Accurate input to enable efficient stock management, demand forecasting and production planning.
Customer & Relationship Management
* Deliver high customer satisfaction through proactive communication, accurate forecasting, and OTIF order execution.
* Support retail customers with product knowledge, category insights, and activation concepts.
* Coordinate customer visits, product presentations, and innovation launches.
* Actively contribute to customer satisfaction surveys and continuous improvement initiatives.
Cross-Functional Collaboration
* Act as the commercial lead internally for your customer base, aligning Marketing, Supply Chain, Finance, Customer Service, and NPD behind clear priorities, keeping the UK & Ireland Sales Director for Retail, Cash & Carry informed and updated at all times.
* Coordinate with UK & European manufacturing sites and central teams to ensure availability, service, and customer-specific development are delivered flawlessly.
* Champion pace, accountability, and clarity of execution across the wider business.
Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
* Net Sales Value (NSV) & sustainable margin growth
* Successful listings and range expansions
* Promotional effectiveness & profitability
* Forecast accuracy
* Service Level
* Customer complaints
What We're Looking For
Experience
* Proven experience as a National Account Manager (or equivalent) managing UK grocery multiple and/or discounter customers.
* Additionally experience with wholesalers or cash & carry serving retail is a strong advantage.
* Bachelor level working and thinking capability.
* Strong background in FMCG, ideally within food or frozen categories.
* Demonstrated experience managing both branded and private label retail propositions.
* Clear evidence of P&L ownership, JBP delivery, and commercial negotiation.
Capability & Mindset
* Commercially astute, with the ability to balance strategic thinking and hands-on execution.
* Confident, credible relationship builder who can operate at buyer and senior stakeholder level.
* Data-literate, able to turn insight into clear, actionable commercial decisions.
* Resilient, proactive, and comfortable working in a fast-moving, matrix, international environment.
* Willing and able to travel regularly within the UK, with occasional international travel.
This is a challenging role in a fast-growing food business where you'll be trusted with real responsibility. At Lamb Weston, we believe people grow best when they're given ownership, support and the space to develop, and we expect our teams to grow as the business grows. Our culture is grounded in Integrity, Teamwork, Inclusion, Drive for Results and Empowerment. And as we say at Lamb Weston EMEA, when we see a potato, we see opportunity. What opportunities do you see?