National Account Director

National Account Director

Location: North London / Hertfordshire - Hybrid

Salary: Circa £80,000-£90,000 DOE + Car Allowance + Annual Performance Bonus + Excellent Benefits

Lead a National Accounts Team. Shape Commercial Strategy. Drive Profitable Growth.

Are you an accomplished National Account Director, Head of National Accounts or senior commercial leader ready to take ownership of a major strategic customer portfolio and lead a high-performing commercial team?

This is an outstanding opportunity to join one of the UK's leading foodservice businesses in a highly influential leadership position.

With a £80,000-£90,000 basic salary, car allowance, annual performance bonus and excellent benefits, you'll take responsibility for the leadership, performance and development of the National Account Management function while helping shape the organisation's future commercial growth strategy.

This is much more than managing key accounts.

You'll lead and develop a team of Senior National Account Managers, National Account Managers and National Account Executives, take ownership of a significant strategic customer portfolio and have genuine influence over revenue growth, profitability, margin improvement, customer retention, share of wallet and commercial excellence.

For an ambitious commercial leader with aspirations towards broader Commercial Director-level responsibility, this represents an exceptional next career move.

The Opportunity

Reporting directly to the Head of Commercial, you'll provide day-to-day leadership of the National Account Management function while translating the wider commercial strategy into measurable results.

You'll take responsibility for the performance of strategically important customers, ensuring revenue, profitability, retention and growth objectives are achieved.

At the same time, you'll develop the commercial capability of the National Accounts team, establishing clear objectives, coaching senior account managers and creating a culture of accountability, strategic thinking and commercial excellence.

Key Responsibilities

Commercial & Portfolio Leadership

Lead a portfolio of major strategic customer accounts, delivering agreed revenue, margin, profitability and retention targets.
Translate the wider commercial strategy into clear customer and account development plans.
Ensure strategic customers have robust annual account plans, growth strategies and engagement programmes.
Drive portfolio sales budgets and gross margin performance.
Identify commercial risks and opportunities and implement appropriate action.
Act as the senior commercial escalation point for strategically important customers.
Increase customer lifetime value, category penetration and share of wallet.
Identify and deliver cross-selling opportunities across the wider business.
Leadership & People Development

Lead, coach and develop a team of Senior National Account Managers, National Account Managers and National Account Executives.
Establish clear objectives, KPIs and accountability across the National Accounts team.
Conduct regular coaching, performance and development reviews.
Build succession plans for strategically important customer relationships and commercial positions.
Identify and develop future commercial leaders.
Create a high-performance culture centred around growth, customer excellence and accountability.
Coach Account Managers to move beyond operational account management towards genuine strategic customer leadership.
Strategic Account Management

Establish consistent strategic account management standards across the team.
Drive Joint Business Planning (JBP), strategic account reviews and customer development plans.
Strengthen Executive and Board-level relationships with key customers.
Identify opportunities to increase product penetration and share of wallet.
Ensure commercial opportunities are converted into sustainable and profitable revenue.
Develop long-term partnerships that improve customer retention and contract renewal.
Commercial Governance & Profitability

Monitor account profitability, pricing, margin and overall commercial performance.
Ensure strong pricing governance and commercial discipline across the National Accounts team.
Lead and support complex commercial negotiations and annual customer reviews.
Support the implementation of Cost Price Increases (CPI) and margin improvement initiatives.
Deliver accurate forecasting, pipeline management and commercial reporting.
Identify and escalate significant commercial, customer and financial risks.
Ensure customer contracts and commercial agreements deliver sustainable profitability.
Cross-Functional Leadership

Work collaboratively with Operations, Procurement, Supply Chain, Finance, Customer Service, Product, Marketing and Commercial Leadership to deliver outstanding customer outcomes.

You'll remove barriers impacting customer performance, resolve strategic issues and ensure the organisation works collaboratively to maximise customer value and commercial growth.

About You

We're looking for a credible and commercially sophisticated leader with significant experience managing strategic national customers and developing high-performing commercial teams.

You'll likely have experience as a:

National Account Director
Head of National Accounts
Head of Strategic Accounts
Commercial Director
Sales Director
Head of Sales
Customer Director
Commercial Controller
Senior National Account Manager ready for significant leadership responsibility
Your background could come from:

Foodservice
Food Distribution
Fresh Produce
Food Manufacturing
FMCG
Wholesale
Hospitality
Contract Catering
Grocery
Chilled, Fresh or Ambient Food
What You'll Bring

Significant National Account Management, Strategic Account Management or Commercial Leadership experience.
Demonstrable experience leading and developing high-performing National Account teams.
A proven track record of delivering revenue growth, margin improvement and customer retention.
Experience managing large and complex strategic customer portfolios.
Strong commercial and financial acumen.
Experience analysing customer profitability, margin and growth opportunities.
Strong Joint Business Planning and strategic account planning experience.
Experience leading complex commercial negotiations and annual customer reviews.
Excellent coaching, leadership and performance management capability.
Experience developing succession plans and future commercial talent.
Strong cross-functional leadership experience across Operations, Procurement, Supply Chain and Finance.
Outstanding senior stakeholder management, influencing and communication skills.
A highly analytical and data-led approach to commercial decision-making.
The credibility to build and develop relationships at Executive and Board level.
What Success Looks Like

Your performance will be measured across:

Revenue and portfolio growth
Gross margin and profitability
EBITDA contribution
Budget achievement
Customer retention and contract renewal
Share of wallet
Category penetration
Forecast accuracy
Strategic account development
Cross-selling
Team performance and development
Succession planning
Commercial governance
Customer satisfaction
What's on Offer

£80,000-£90,000 basic salary DOE
Annual performance-related bonus
Car allowance
Hybrid working
25 days' holiday plus Bank Holidays
Pension
Healthcare benefits
Retail discounts
Free onsite parking
Excellent career development opportunities
High-profile position with significant exposure to senior leadership
The opportunity to shape and develop a high-performing National Accounts function
Genuine potential for further progression as the commercial organisation evolves
Take the Next Step in Your Commercial Career

This is a rare opportunity to combine strategic customer leadership, people development and commercial ownership within a successful and growing UK foodservice organisation.

You'll have the autonomy to shape the performance of a major customer portfolio, develop a talented National Accounts team and work directly with senior commercial leadership to drive the next phase of growth.

If you're an ambitious National Account Director, Head of National Accounts or senior commercial leader looking for a role offering genuine influence, visibility and progression, we'd love to hear from you.

Keywords: National Account Director, Head of National Accounts, Head of Strategic Accounts, Commercial Director, Sales Director, Head of Sales, Customer Director, Commercial Controller, Senior National Account Manager, Strategic Accounts, National Accounts, Foodservice, Food Distribution, Fresh Produce, Food Manufacturing, FMCG, Wholesale, Hospitality, Contract Catering, Grocery, Strategic Account Management, Joint Business Planning, JBP, Commercial Leadership, Customer Retention, Margin Growth, Share of Wallet, Account Development, Commercial Strategy, Team Leadership, People Development.

Mandeville is acting as an Employment Agency in relation to this vacancy