ABOUT US
First Quality Foods is an established food business operating its flapjack bakery and office in Yate, Bristol. As part of a major sales & marketing push of our flagship flapjack brand – Giant Bars – we're ramping up the volume to take our sales to the next level!
We have an extensive customer base of wholesalers, distributors and importers. We’ve developed fantastic working relationships over the years and are looking for an account manager to nurture and develop these accounts further and to achieve our ambitious growth plans.
We're a small and friendly team working in a modern office in Yate, Bristol.
All our products are suitable for vegetarians and many are suitable for vegans too.
ABOUT YOU
A fantastic opportunity for a commercially minded individual to look after and grow a part of our customer-base and help build our brand sales in the UK and Europe.
You will need to be currently or recently employed in a commercial/sales capacity with account management experience; ideally within the food industry. You will be versed in managing accounts and building relationships at all levels. You will be confident, communicative, ambitious and energetic, have a friendly and approachable manner but be driven to maximise opportunities and develop sales of our fast-moving flapjacks and bars.
Working as part of a small commercial and operations team you will be expected to develop our business with some of the company's most established accounts and be the initial contact for new prospects - so experience and confidence is essential.
This role suits an organised, energetic and self-motivated person who can work equally well on their own and the wider team.
Confident with numbers and thorough to see jobs to the end, you should be IT competent and be very comfortable using Excel, PowerPoint and other management tools such as Monday and CRM.
ABOUT THE ROLE
This is a Commercial role with an big administrative bias so will suit someone who is methodical, organised and thorough. You will be looking after about £1.5m worth of business and will support the efforts of the rest of the commercial team. Day-to-day work is mostly autonomous and varied. There will be daily engagement with both the Commercial and Operations teams so you will be busy ensuring your accounts are performing well and business is growing.
We are a supportive team and work collaboratively. The role is therefore perfect for someone who wants to develop and grow their account management skills. There is plenty of headroom for career development - both personally and within the company.
If you have an interest or experience in FMCG, snacking/impulse or the food & drink business in general you will enjoy working at First Quality Foods.
Key Responsibilities:
- Managing and growing a selection of existing accounts (mostly UK)
- Point of contact for incoming trade enquiries
- Ensuring ongoing contact with key customers, occasional visits as required
- Recording/analysing of purchases and managing forecasting
- Maintaining and updating customer database and records using our CRM
- Organise samples and marketing materials to prospects/customers
- Manage on-boarding and integration of new accounts
- Liaising with our operations team to ensure customer accounts are operated satisfactorily
- Working with the in-house marketing team to execute customer promotions and sales/marketing support
- Track promotional spending
- Deal with any customer complaints
- Manage all new-line forms and promotional activation forms
- Manage and action price reviews
- Attend exhibition stands to represent company at specific trade shows in the UK or abroad, as required
- Provide support to Key Accounts Manager
- Other commercial duties as assigned
KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS & EXPERIENCE
- Highly organised and customer focussed
- High attention to detail and comfortable with administrative tasks
- A skilled Account Manager with a good level of sales or marketing experience
- High numeracy skills
- Strong IT skills – particularly in Excel/PowerPoint as well as comfortable using CRM and project management software
- Generating and presenting sales/marketing reports
- An interest in food and the food industry, as well as all things commercial within the food business
- Own transport/driving licence
COMPETENCIES
- Good spoken and written communication skills
- Strong administrative skills and discipline
- A professional manner
- Self-confident, polite and diligent
- Positive “can-do” attitude and flexible approach
- Strong team player
- Ability to prioritise projects and workload. Excellent time management