Job Brief

In this role, you will manage and grow key customer accounts: build buyer relationships, expand distribution, lead promotions, manage trade spend, and drive account performance.

The Opportunity:SENIOR CUSTOMER BUSINESS MANAGER

$160,000 - $170,000/year

Position Summary:

We are seeking an experienced Senior Customer Business Manager to lead the strategic management and commercial development of major national and centrally managed retail head-office accounts.

This is a senior customer leadership role with direct accountability for customer strategy, commercial performance and key retailer relationships. You will own the customer business plan and lead negotiations, joint business planning, forecasting, promotional planning, trade investment and account profitability.

You will act as a strategic business and category advisor, using sales, shopper, category, competitive and promotional insights to develop fact-based recommendations that strengthen customer relationships and drive sustainable growth.
Trade spend management and Exceedra TPM ownership are critical components of the role, supporting disciplined management of promotional funding, pricing, deductions, reconciliation and trade effectiveness.

What You'll Do:

Strategic Account Leadership

• Own customer business plans across sales, distribution, pricing, promotion, assortment, trade investment and margin priorities.
• Build and maintain senior relationships with retail buyers, category managers, merchandising teams and other key customer stakeholders.
• Lead joint business planning and customer negotiations, including commercial terms, promotional expectations and trade investment.
• Proactively identify customer risks and growth opportunities and act as the internal voice of the customer across the organization.

Customer Selling & Category Leadership

• Lead new item presentations, category and line reviews, assortment recommendations, distribution opportunities and strategic customer business reviews.
• Translate POS, scan, shipment, category, competitive and promotional data into compelling, fact-based recommendations.
• Develop persuasive category and commercial selling stories that create value for both the customer and the business.

Trade, Forecasting & Financial Management

• Own customer trade plans, promotional investment and pricing activities within approved parameters, using Exceedra TPM as the required system of record.
• Maintain disciplined oversight of trade spend, promotional ROI, accruals, deductions, chargebacks and reconciliation in partnership with Sales Operations and Finance.
• Lead customer forecasting, incorporating promotional calendars, customer plans, risks and opportunities into the forecast.
• Manage account financial performance, including customer P&L, margin, trade investment, forecast accuracy and agreed KPIs.
• Develop corrective actions where performance is off track and escalate significant commercial risks as required.

Cross-Functional Leadership

• Partner with Sales Operations, Trade, Analytics, Supply Chain, Finance and client leadership to deliver customer commitments and resolve significant issues.
• Provide internal and senior leadership with clear visibility to customer priorities, performance, upcoming activity, risks and decisions required.

The RIGHT Candidate:

At Encore, we feel that no matter your background, what's most important to your success and ours is the way you interact with others. Don't get us wrong, if you have the right experience and skills, that's great. So, if you're thinking about working with Encore, it's important that you know what we'll expect from you:

• You believe in winning
• You bring passion and innovative thinking that will deliver results
• You believe that the words 'work' and 'fun' belong in the same sentence

You can be described as:

• Authentic
• Solutions-oriented
• Accountable
• Intellectually curious
• Self-motivated
• Receptive
• Assertive
• Driven
• Continuously challenging yourself
• Having business maturity, professional

Your Experience:

• 7+ years of progressive experience in CPG, retail, brokerage, customer business development, national accounts or key account management.
• Demonstrated success managing major retail head-office accounts and senior buyer/category relationships.
• Proven experience leading annual negotiations, joint business planning, promotional planning, trade management and line reviews.
• Strong knowledge of trade spend management, promotional funding and customer financial management.
• Experience with Exceedra TPM or a comparable Trade Promotion Management platform is preferred.
• Strong financial acumen, including customer P&L, margin, forecasting and trade investment management.
• Strong category and shopper thinking with the ability to turn complex data into clear commercial recommendations.
• Advanced negotiation, presentation and executive communication skills.
• A strategic, commercially disciplined and highly accountable working style.
• Knowledge of or existing relationships within Western Canadian retail would be an asset.

How to Apply:
If you haven't already figured it out, it's really important for Encore to have the RIGHT Team. If you know that you're a great match for this role and think you'll be a great fit with Encore, then you should definitely apply to this exciting opportunity! If you're not jazzed about what you've read so far, that's OK, we're sure the right job is out there somewhere for you.

For those of you who apply, thanks so much for your interest in learning more about this exciting opportunity. We'd love to chat with all of you, but sometimes we simply don't have enough time. If we feel you're a good match, we'll definitely be reaching out to you to move you forward in the selection process. If you're selected, you'll be asked to complete a recorded, digital interview which you can do with a webcam or a mobile device with a front-facing camera.