Senior Key Account Manager

Required: Experience calling on or working with Ulta, Sephora, or other beauty industry retailers/brands.

Position Summary

The Senior Key Account Manager (Sr. KAM) is responsible for achieving sales objectives, managing expense budgets, and driving business growth for assigned clients. This role oversees sales programs, promotional spending, distribution expansion, shelf placement, and strategic planning initiatives to maximize client performance.

Our clients are manufacturers, vendors, or brands that have contracted Advantage Solutions as their sales force. Our customers are retailers, wholesalers, and distributors to whom we sell our clients' products.

The Sr. KAM partners closely with clients to develop and execute strategic business plans that achieve growth objectives. This role regularly collaborates with retailer stakeholders, including buyers, category managers, replenishment managers, and other decision-makers, to implement sales programs and drive results.

This position owns client relationships and is responsible for managing client trade funds to maximize sales performance. The Sr. KAM has authority to negotiate, implement, and execute customer agreements on behalf of clients.

The Sr. KAM also works cross-functionally with internal Advantage Solutions teams, including Customer Managers, Order Entry, Claims, Category Management, Schematics, and Retail teams, to support sales growth and excellence. This role may support one or multiple clients and is responsible for customer relationship management and program implementation.

Clients may include:

• Pioneering Clients: Manufacturers seeking new distribution opportunities within assigned customers.
• Regional Clients: Manufacturers represented on a regional, market-specific, or customer-specific basis rather than through a national contract.
• Tier 3 Clients: Manufacturers with smaller sales volumes, SKU counts, and commission revenue.

Advantage Solutions is one of North America's leading sales and marketing agencies specializing in outsourced sales, merchandising, category management, and marketing services for manufacturers, suppliers, and producers of consumer packaged goods. The company services a variety of trade channels, including grocery, mass merchandise, specialty, convenience, drug, dollar, club, hardware, consumer electronics, and home improvement retailers. We bridge the gap between manufacturers and retailers, providing consumers with access to the best products available in the marketplace.

What We Offer:

• Full-Time Benefits (Medical, Dental, Vision, Life)
• 401(k) with company match
• Training and Career Development
• Generous Paid Time-Off 

Essential Job Duties and Responsibilities

• Drive client business growth within assigned customer accounts by increasing distribution, sales dollars, unit sales, market share, and other key performance indicators while remaining within budget.
• Ensure excellence in retail merchandising execution and support eCommerce execution initiatives.
• Achieve profit and loss (P&L) objectives and effectively manage the business for assigned clients.
• Develop and execute marketing strategies while analyzing business trends and results to meet client revenue and expense goals.
• Drive revenue growth through effective management of promotional spending and identification of new business opportunities.
• Meet or exceed client goals related to sales, distribution, pricing, shelving, and promotional activity.
• Identify and provide available services that support customer and client business objectives.
• Develop and execute strategies to pursue new business opportunities.
• Manage manufacturer marketing and promotional funds to achieve sales goals while maintaining financial compliance.
• Secure approved schematics and planograms for client brands through coordination with schematic, reset, and retail teams.
• Conduct customer headquarters calls and build relationships with key retailer decision-makers.
• Organize and lead business unit resources to retain and grow client relationships.
• Navigate internal organizational resources to support client and customer initiatives effectively.
• Facilitate communication regarding opportunities, challenges, and workflow among team members.
• Attend and actively participate in all client meetings, business reviews, and strategic planning sessions.

Supervisory Responsibilities

Direct Reports

• This position does not have direct supervisory responsibility.

Indirect Reports

• This position does not have direct reports but may delegate work, provide guidance, offer direction, and mentor indirect team members.

Education and Experience

Required Education:

• Bachelor's Degree or equivalent work experience

Field of Study Preferred:

• Business or related field

Experience:

• 8+ years of relevant sales, account management, or consumer packaged goods (CPG) experience

Skills, Knowledge, and Abilities

• Strong sales presentation, account development, and negotiation skills
• Excellent interpersonal and relationship-building skills
• Strong written and verbal communication skills
• Highly organized, detail-oriented, and able to thrive in a fast-paced environment
• Proven track record of building and maintaining successful customer and client relationships
• Working knowledge of syndicated data and market analytics
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite, including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and other business applications

Travel Requirements

• Travel is an essential function of this position and may require up to 20% travel.

Job Will Remain Open Until Filled

The Company is one of North America’s leading sales and marketing agencies specializing in outsourced sales, merchandising, category management, and marketing services to manufacturers, suppliers, and producers of food products and consumer packaged goods. The Company services a variety of trade channels including grocery, mass merchandise, specialty, convenience, drug, dollar, club, hardware, consumer electronics, and home centers. We bridge the gap between manufacturers and retailers, providing consumers access to the best products available in the marketplace today.

Essential Job Duties and Responsibilities

• Drive our clients business at assigned customer. Increase distribution, grow sales dollars/units/share/other KPI’s, while staying on spend
• Responsible for ensuring retail/merchandising execution and basic eCommerce execution
• Achieve P&L targets; manage business for each client(s) assigned
• Implement marketing strategies and analyze trends and results to achieve department/client income and expense budget goals
• Monitor and drive revenue growth through efficient management of promotional spending within guidelines on assigned lines; identify opportunities and align business unit resources to secure those opportunities
• Meet and/or exceed Client’s goals for sales, distribution, pricing, shelving and promotional volume
• Identify and provide standard available services to support the “Customer as Clients”
• Launch strategies to pursue new opportunities
• Manage and maximize manufacturer marketing/promotional funds to achieve sales goals while staying within financial guidelines
• Secures Client approved schematics for all Clients’ brands by providing directions and communication to our schematic, reset and retail departments
• Implement customer headquarter calls and penetrate key positions at retailer
• Organize business unit team to retain and expand upon all client relationships
• Assist team to navigate in the larger ASM organization to align needed resources and support to ensure specific client and/or customer initiative success
• Facilitate communication, opportunities, challenges, and workflow to other team members and attend all Client meetings and reviews

Supervisory Responsibilities

Direct Reports
- This position does not have supervisory responsibilities for direct reports

Indirect Reports
- Does not have direct reports, but may delegate work of others and provide guidance, direction and mentoring to indirect reports

Education Level: (Required): Bachelor's Degree or equivalent experience
Field of Study/Area of Experience: Business
8+ years of experience in applicable field

Skills, Knowledge and Abilities
• Strong sales presentation and development skills
• Strong interpersonal skills
• Strong written communication and verbal communication skills
• Well-organized, detail-oriented, and able to handle a fast-paced work environment
• Track record of building and maintaining customer/client relationships
• Working knowledge of syndicated data
• Strong computer skills including proficiency with Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Access, Outlook, and web-browsers

Travel is an essential duty and function of this job up to 20%

Environmental & Physical Requirements

Office / Sedentary Requirements: Incumbent must be able to perform the essential functions of the job. Work is performed primarily in an office environment. Typically, requires the ability to sit for extended periods of time (66%+ each day), ability to hear telephone, ability to enter data on a computer and may require the ability to lift up to 10lbs.

Additional Information Regarding Job Duties and Job Descriptions
Job duties include additional responsibilities as assigned by one’s supervisor or other manager related to the position/department. This job description is meant to describe the general nature and level of work being performed; it is not intended to be construed as an exhaustive list of all responsibilities, duties, and skills required for the position. The Company reserves the right at any time with or without notice to alter or change job responsibilities, reassign or transfer job positions, or assign additional job responsibilities, subject to applicable law. The Company shall provide reasonable accommodations of known disabilities to enable a qualified applicant or employee to apply for employment, perform the essential functions of the job, or enjoy the benefits and privileges of employment as required by the law.

The above statements are intended to describe the general nature and level of work being performed by people assigned to this position. They are not intended to be an exhaustive list of all responsibilities, duties, and skills required of associates so classified.

The Company is committed to providing equal opportunity in all employment practices without regard to age, race, color, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, religion, physical or mental disability, or any other category protected by law. As part of this commitment, the Company shall provide reasonable accommodations of known disabilities to enable an applicant or employee to apply for employment, perform the essential functions of the job, or enjoy the benefits and privileges of employment as required by law.