Job Description:
The Key Account Manager is responsible for achieving profitable sales growth at customers for the Mars business. This role is expected to maintain strong relationships & best execute customer plans that deliver objectives of; revenue, growth, profit, product/assortment, everyday shelving, merchandising, pricing, promotions, and merchandising.
What are we looking for?
Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration or equivalent.
5+ Years’ experience in Sales, Marketing, for Fast Moving Consumer Good Industries
Prior Retail Account Management experience
Fluent understanding of forecasting, Nielsen and trade management
Availability to travel 10% of time
A valid driver's license and clean driving record
What will be your key responsibilities?
Customer & Channel Leadership
Apply the Mars collaboration standards to plan and conduct negotiations with customers in line with Mars defined strategies and plans in order to:
- develop joint business plans and setting joint business targets
- negotiate terms and conditions (e.g. turnover, distribution, campaign initiatives, fair share, logistics, etc.)
- negotiate listings, placements, shelf space and planograms
- execute activity/promotion plans and investments in line with Mars brand, category and channel strategies
- Develop and implement plans according to Strategic Customer Matrix to drive category growth and increase Mars market share
- Be the key source of information and knowledge regarding the account / channel internally and externally
- Drive Customer Engagement agenda with Customer-centric mindset
Category Expertise & Leadership
- Establish and strengthen Mars as a category captain
- Implement category leadership projects
- Build and maintain effective relationships with Customer Marketing, Category Management and Marketing Teams to ensure information flow to and from customer and to make shopper and customer insights operational
- Manage category share and planogram initiatives
Excellence in Physical Availability
- Drive share of shelf and assortment in close cooperation with the Category Manager
- Deliver availability and visibility both quantitatively (distribution, coverage, etc.) and qualitatively (placement, touch points, etc.) via close cooperation and communication with Field Sales
- Secure listing of defined promotional displays in order to secure effective promotional coverage for Field Sales
Skilled & Engaged Sales Associates
- Have a holistic mindset to drive Customer Engagement
- Be a collaborative Team player
- Share knowledge and best practice within the Team and on North Europe level
Sales Operating System
- Timely feed the S&OP process with accurate information
- Forecast timing and volume per subsegment and promotional activity to achieve accuracy leading to minimum out of stock and minimize stock level costs
- Forecast pipeline volumes for launches/re-launches in line with defined processes
- Overall responsible to validate account forecast in close cooperation with Demand Planners
- Responsible for account P&L, understand key drivers and handle the account budget
Global Sales Connectivity
- Ability to represent and drive the customer agenda internally and externally
Key KPIs
- Full Customer P&L
- Net sales increased yoy
- Promotional ROI
- Category Performance: Mars relative category growth at customer level
- Perfect Store Priorities
What can you expect from Mars?
Work with diverse and talented Associates, all guided by the Five Principles. Join a purpose driven company, where we’re striving to build the world we want tomorrow, today. A strong focus on learning and development support from day one, including access to our in-house Mars University. An industry competitive salary and benefits package, including company bonus.
Skills Required
- Bachelor's degree in Business Administration or equivalent
- 5+ years of experience in Sales or Marketing within the Fast-Moving Consumer Goods industry
- Prior retail account management experience
- Fluent understanding of forecasting, Nielsen, and trade management
- Availability to travel 10% of the time
- Valid driver's license and clean driving record
Mars Compensation & Benefits Highlights
The following summarizes recurring compensation and benefits themes identified from responses generated by popular LLMs to common candidate questions about Mars and has not been reviewed or approved by Mars.
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Healthcare Strength — The benefits package is positioned as comprehensive, with broad medical coverage and additional protections like life insurance and short- and long-term disability. Mental health support is emphasized, including free mental health services and wellbeing programming under initiatives such as Mars Be Well.
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Parental & Family Support — Paid parental leave is highlighted as market-leading in the U.S., with an example of 18 weeks fully paid for both parents. Additional family-related leave types such as sick time for caregiving and bereavement leave are also described as part of the overall package.
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Retirement Support — Retirement offerings are described as strong, including 401(k) matching (with a 6% match cited) and pension plans in some cases. The broader package also references retirement savings options and contributions aligned to local market practice, supporting long-term financial security.
Mars Insights
What We Do
For more than a century, Mars, Incorporated has been driven by the belief that the world we want tomorrow starts with how we do business today. This idea is at the center of who we have always been as a global, family-owned business. Today, Mars is transforming, innovating and evolving in ways that affirm our commitment to making a positive impact on the world around us. Across our diverse and expanding portfolio of confectionery, food, and petcare products and services, we employ 133,000 dedicated Associates who are all moving in the same direction: forward. With $40 billion in annual sales, we produce some of the world’s best-loved brands including DOVE®, EXTRA®, M&M’s®, MILKY WAY®, SNICKERS®, TWIX®, ORBIT®, PEDIGREE®, ROYAL CANIN®, SKITTLES®, WHISKAS®, COCOAVIA®, and 5™; and take care of half of the world’s pets through our pet health services AniCura, Banfield Pet Hospitals™, BluePearl®, Linnaeus, Pet Partners™, and VCA™. We know we can only be truly successful if our partners and the communities in which we operate prosper as well. The Mars Five Principles – Quality, Responsibility, Mutuality, Efficiency and Freedom – inspire our Associates to take action every day to help create a world tomorrow in which the planet, its people and pets can thrive.
