We are seeking a highly impactful commercial leader to head our Key Account Management Retail team in Germany. Based in Düsseldorf and reporting directly to the Country Manager, this role is responsible for accelerating retail growth, expanding distribution, strengthening strategic customer partnerships and driving measurable performance improvements across all national retail accounts.
The position combines commercial steering, strategic leadership and team development with a strong focus on execution quality and sustainable, profitable growth.
Retail Leadership & Growth
1. Define and drive the national retail strategy for retail, incl discount and drugstores
2. Monitor and analyze retail business to conclude dedicated customer strategies together with the teams
3. Identify new listing and distribution opportunities and unlock white spots
4. Translate brand and category priorities into structured customer growth plans
5. Use market data in order to identify potential and actions points, short- to longterm
6. Act as strategic retail lead and sparring partner to the Country Manager
Negotiation Steering & Commercial Governance
7. Lead and coach the KAM team throughout all major customer negotiations
8. Ensure negotiation strategies and outcomes fully align with company objectives
9. Provide senior guidance to secure execution of ambitious commercial targets
10. Build strong decision-maker relationships at senior customer level
11. Thrive for best in class storytelling to achieve high goals within retail channel (EDEKA, Discounters, Markant Group, REWE Group, drugstores, …)
Process & Performance Improvement
12. Identify structural and commercial improvement opportunities across customers and internal processes
13. Implement smart and efficient ways of working that measurably improve retail performance
14. Drive professional, data-based customer planning and monitoring standards
Cross-Functional Collaboration
15. Oversee the external field sales agency to ensure strong retail execution aligned with national priorities together with dedicated field sales force responsible
16. Work closely with Marketing, Category, Supply Chain and Finance to deliver aligned and impactful retail strategies
17. Academic Excellence: A master’s degree in economics, business or equivalent
18. Proven Expertise:
19. Profound knowledge: Strong knowledge of German retail incl classic retail, discount and drugstores
20. Analytics: deal with numbers at ease, internal data (BI-based) as well as external data (e.g. Circana)
21. Commercial understanding: be on top of your numbers and feel comfortable with commercial calculations
22. Negotiation skills: Strong track record in guiding successful high-value retail negotiations in Germany, ideally also on an international level
23. POS Mastery: Experienced in steering external sales partners (or experienced on guiding own sales force)
24. Operational excellence: Proven ability to identify potentials and implement commercial and process improvements
25. Language Skills: Fluency in German and a strong command of English (written and spoken)
We will be a good team when you bring the following:
26. Cultural Fit: True team player, approachable, pro-active, positive and strong communicator
27. Story Ambassador:Great ability to persuade others of your ideas
28. Brand Lover: Great passion for our brands and categories
29. Proactive Achiever: With a hands-on mentality, you are ambitious to take ownership, develop new ideas & follow up to ensure excellence in execution
30. Innovative Thinker: Ambitious and forward-looking, you proactively develop new ideas and follow up to ensure excellence in execution
31. Results-Driven Visionary: You take an active role in identifying and shaping today’s and future potentials of the business