National Account Manager

ABOUT US:

Gisou is born out of a passion for bees and haircare, based on a six-generation beekeeping heritage, our products are inspired by and made with the finest, sustainably sourced ingredients from our very own Mirsalehi Bee Garden.

At Gisou we are on a mission to share our HONEY GLOW. As a rapidly growing scale-up, we’re dedicated to crafting iconic beauty products, and building a world-class team to drive our vision and brand forward. We are talent obsessed and deeply believe that the raw skills of our people, and their collective brilliance is what makes us truly extraordinary!

ABOUT THE ROLE:
Location: Remote with weekly co-working days in Central London
Reports to: Commercial Director

Senior/National Account Manager UKI

We’re looking for an ambitious and creative Account Manager to join us at the Gisou Hive! This role will sit within our UK & Rest of World Channel, reporting directly into the Commercial Director. The scope of the role has some flexibility depending on prior experience level.

As Account Manager, you’ll be crucial in driving retail sell-out and growing market share for the brand across a portfolio of national accounts. You’ll shape account strategy, manage the P&L and build strong relationships with key contacts, creating persuasive commercial arguments for mutual growth. You’ll influence how the brand shows up in store and online, champion your clients in key cross-functional global forums, and may line manage a graduate team member who will support with administrative work.

WHAT YOU’LL DO:
Account management

• Act as the primary point of contact for your accounts, building credible, collaborative relationships with buyers and cross-functional contacts.
• Develop creative retailer-centric strategies and deliver annual Joint Business Plans against retail, wholesale and market share targets, looking for opportunities to secure meaningful wins for the brand.
• Lead negotiations on buy in, promotions, range and product strategy.
• Sell in NPD and marketing initiatives with strong launch plans, and partner with Marketing and DTC on fully maximizing launches and any exclusive plans.
• Conduct thorough data analysis on prior campaigns & modelling of potential impacts of new campaigns to help optimise marketing spend and ROI. Weekly performance analysis and sell in expectations.
• Partner with Marketing and Visual Merchandising to deliver best-in-class POS and hit retailer-specific deadlines, providing clear commercial analysis and stock considerations
• Negotiate space and location in store and online, and flag anything impeding visibility.
• Visit key stores regularly and monitor competitor activity.
• Run compelling and creative market week sessions & business reviews to land pitches & yearly strategy objectives.

Forecasting and planning

• Own accurate sales forecasting, budgeting and performance reporting for your accounts, including new launch forecasts.
• Help the Commercial Director to align total channel budgets, targets and strategy based on market trends, launches, promotions and competitor activity.
• Partner closely with your key supply lead to ensure a seamless service level and client experience on intake, critical pathing accurate inventory needs.
• Ensure optimum assortment and stock cover for maximum sales opportunity; with accurate projections on assortments and management of limited edition & repack changeovers
• Identify risks and opportunities early and build contingency plans.

Team and collaboration

• Establish self as a credible source of information & expertise on your key accounts within global forums as they key interface between client and brand- working closely with finance, marketing & supply teams.
• Work closely with the Field Sales team to ensure maximum on the ground opportunity, also supporting with key events where needed. Feed into field team strategy, helping to set agency & BA targets, model returns and impact investment decisions into key trading periods and top doors.
• Support with ad hoc projects from the Commercial Director, with key exposure to the CCO.
• Potential line management depending on profile & experience.

WHO YOU ARE:

• Min 3 years proven experience in a commercial FMCG/beauty role, ideally in a fast-growing and/or international company, with solid working knowledge of UK/international retail accounts.
• A genuine passion for beauty and the Gisou brand
• Strong stakeholder management …