About The Role
This role will have direct responsibility for the key accounts within the Stephenson portfolio. As the internal voice of the customer you will support our key accounts to actively promote and sell the inspiration around new and our existing products and applications to deliver mutual priorities and growth objectives. You will achieve the customer obsession by building strong relationships with each customer stakeholder and ensure that you have the best engagement and follow up in the industry.
In order to carry out this role you will maintain an in depth, up to date understanding on market conditions and trends, understand the opportunities, launches, innovation and sustainability credentials that are important to each account and formulate joint business plans with each customer to ensure strategic goals are achieved for both parties. You will develop a strong understanding of the chemical properties that are needed to meet the customer requirements. You will become an expert in supporting new formulation trials in the customers’ factories whilst highlighting optimisations to gain great commercial advantage.
Our culture and values are at the centre of everything that we do here at Stephenson. You will be a champion of our values both internally and externally.
Main Role Responsibilities – An Overview
To be successful in your role you will be required to competently complete a variety of core duties which will include the below to achieve your ultimate goal – achieve the budget! These will be supplemented by other tasks deemed appropriate by your line manager:
Account Management – You will be the face of Stephenson for your customers, developing strong and long-term relationships with key decision makers. You will endeavour to understand their specific needs and ensure that we are meeting these accurately – make us their supplier of choice as ultimately we are in a partnership agreement! You will work collaboratively with the customers to create SMART, robust business plans to ensure alignment and accountability. You will be solution focused to ensure that any challenge is dealt with swiftly, with a suitable outcome for both the customer and commercially for Stephenson. You will negotiate profitable, long term contracts to provide stability of supply and revenue. You will visit customers regularly to ensure that you understand their business fully. You will prepare SWOT & R&O strategic account plans for each customer. You will ensure the delivery of high-quality customer service, addressing any issues or concerns promptly. | 33.33% | ||
Sales & Business Development – You will grow the business strategically by adding value for your customers, ensuring alignment and mutual growth objectives are met. You will proactively identify opportunities to further grow your accounts by highlighting brands and engaging them to feed into our contract manufacturing network. You will conduct regular meetings, both on site and virtually, with relevant departments within each customer. You will prepare and deliver engaging presentations to deliver growth outside of existing business. You will submit ideas and NPD projects to drive sales through customer demand. You will maintain up to date market insights, and understand on trend applications and brands strategy to enable you to offer inspiring solutions. | 33.33% | ||
Self-Development & Teamwork – You will strive to be the best version of yourself and engage in CPD sessions and highlight opportunities for self-development. You will be a team player and approach every situation with the “Give & Take” mentality. You will work collaboratively with all functions of the business to ensure a seamless, customer obsessed experience whilst improving sales price to highlight opportunities for others. You will be a role model for other team members and mentor them to achieve their goals. You will share knowledge and experience throughout the business to foster a collaborative learning environment. You will live our values internally and externally. | 33.33% | ||
· | 100% |
Safety…
Customer, Safety and Quality focus
Deliver excellent customer service, resolving issues, and offering solutions in a timely manner to meet and exceed customer expectations, needs and demands to achieve our customer obsessed business strategy.
Working cross functionally you will have excellent communication skills to ensure clear understanding around accounts, spanning sales, finance, production and logistics.
Be customer obsessed, display this mentality and inspire others with this ethic.
A can-do attitude in a factory environment to help customers optimise their production capabilities with our bases.
Identify opportunities that benefit the internal or external customer and be active in implementing improvements.
Understand and demonstrate through actions the importance of Behavioural Safety.
Understand and enforce relevant Site Safety Policies & Rules
Openness…
Making things happen
Lead by example to identify new opportunities and offer proactive advice to customers and colleagues alike.
Be involved in new product launches and effectively communicate these aligning with marketing and supply chain.
Utilising our unique sales process to proactively communicate with customers and prospects to ensure that we can track opportunity and ROI effectively.
Demonstrate urgency and move quickly to implement decisions once they have been made.
Deliver proactive support and ideas to teams to help resolve issues and offer constructive solutions to ensure delivery of objectives.
Focus effort on continuous improvement, work simplification, and the elimination of non-value-added activities by identifying, supporting and contributing to Yellow Belt continuous improvement projects.
Building Talent and Teams
Work effectively and collaboratively with the marketing team to stimulate sales opportunities.
Be flexible and reactive to the to ensure our customer focussed approach is at the forefront of what we do.
Be a fantastic colleague, supporting others where needed, all working towards shared goals.
Be a motivated, self-starter with an abundance of energy and enthusiasm bringing fresh ideas.
Demonstrate focus when exploring solutions to a wide range of scenarios, whilst considering other people’s viewpoints.
Develop strong working relationships with key stakeholders including technical, supply chain and marketing teams.
Have a high attention to detail level along with excellent organisation, project management and problem-solving skills.
Be responsible for identifying your own training needs and liaising with line manager to close any gaps.
Follow and suggest improvements to Standard Operating Procedures (SOPSs) to pass on knowledge to colleagues.
Work supportively and cooperatively with people even when under pressure.
Provide feedback and invest time to help team members achieve their development needs.
Offer honest and constructive feedback to others, helping them in their development.
Accountability…
Ownership, Accountability and Responsibility
Focus on actions that will ultimately deliver the business objectives and sales budget.
Be fully accountable for your accounts and those that you are involved with including forecasts, tracking key performance metrics, reporting on the status progress for pipeline and customers.
Ensure that the company values and competencies are upheld.
The ability to manage upwards and downwards, and communicate at all levels.
Leading by example, you will lead and support complex negotiations internally and externally.
Maintain the accuracy of customer records in our CRM (HubSpot) to ensure the most up to date information is held on file about all customers and contacts and log meeting/call details for cross team reference and timely follow up.
Log pipeline tracking and consolidation of outreach for email, LinkedIn and other possibilities through deals function on our CRM (HubSpot) to ensure effective time and resource allocation.
Be a key part of sales team meetings in order to drive action based progress.
Ability to highlight and act on prospective opportunities and successfully close a deal.
Live by, promote and challenge others to display Stephenson’s Values & Behavioural Competencies.
Be responsible for maintaining professional standards of housekeeping within own area whether this is a machine, work area or office area.
Purpose…
Clarity of Purpose
Effectively communicate with customers within their R&D, sales, marketing and supply chain functions to understand their strategic business goals and to ultimately help them to achieve these.
Internal project management of customer projects to achieve key milestones.
Responsible for monitoring and reporting progress against KPI’s to ensure sales performance is being achieved.
Drive deliverables, be familiar with and understand business strategy targets and how they link with the day-to-day responsibilities in your role.
A genuine passion for finding solutions to customer challenges, turning these into targeted opportunities and delivering an excellent customer experience whilst exceeding sales and development targets.
The flexibility and commitment to travel internationally.
Be familiar with and understand business strategy and targets and how that links with the day-to-day responsibilities in your role.
Play a key part in the development of the Stephenson brand and cement our value within the customer base.
Play your part to drive the team’s strategic deliverables to align with Stephenson’s overall strategic goal.
About You
Are you a Key Account Manager looking for a challenge and an opportunity to advance your skills and your career in a great working environment? We are looking for someone passionate to join our manufacturing business, to help us keep making a difference. The role is within the Sales Team, and the successful candidate will relish the diversity of collaborating with multiple internal teams!
You have a proven track record of delivering above and beyond sales results with multiple, complex accounts, with the tenacity to deliver within a fast paced sales environment!
You are highly ambitious to be the best you can and thrive through achievement and success. You have a give & take mentality when it comes to teamwork and the business, willing to get stuck in and help others at any given opportunity – a passion for helping others in a strong team environment! You are dedicated to developing and championing our Stephenson culture and values of the business, and the ambition to constantly learn, grow and develop!
You are flexible, with the desire and ability to identify and drive continuous improvement opportunities, an analytical thinker with people skills! You are an effective, collaborative team player with a strong appetite to add and blend to the Stephenson ethos, along with a "can do" attitude that will proactively support where required within the business. You have an enthusiastic and positive learning attitude, striving for constant development and the desire to be the expert around the company products and solutions by keeping up to date with all things Stephenson!
But the most important part is culture fit. We are looking for someone with passion and drive, a self- starter that is excited by the prospect of joining a growing business with big ambitions!
Skills & Competencies
You will have over 5+ years in the Personal Care, Beauty or Chemical Manufacturing, and a proven track record as an experienced Key Account Manager to drive sales in a fast paced environment!
You are driven and motivated by achieving targets in line with KPIs, whilst having the experience of high level negotiations within a consultative sales process and formulating contracts with multiple facets.
You have an understanding of personal care or the chemical industry with a bias for brands and manufacturing. You will be able to learn the basic chemistry detail and have the ability to communicate technical information within a commercial setting to aid the technical sell, affirming our position as technical experts within solid format personal care applications.
You will be exceptionally organised, have strong numeracy skills, and the desire and passion for finding creative and long term solutions and partnerships between Stephenson and our customers.
You will prioritise tasks and handle multiple projects simultaneously, with an enthusiasm for continuous improvement.
You will have great project management skills and understand the different engagement styles needed between presenting to the Leadership Team or working with our production teams… so it goes without saying that strong communication and interpersonal skills are a must, and with an analytical mind, you’ll be able to digest data and reach conclusions!
You are flexible and committed to travel internationally when required.
Having the ability to speak multiple languages including French, German or Italian is desirable.
Location
You will be based at our Leeds office and production site.
Applications
Please send CV’s to recruitment@stephensongroup.co.uk
Looking for more information?
If you have any questions about the business, the role or process please don’t hesitate to get in touch with us.
Paul Pickering
Head of Sales
paul.pickering@stephensongroupco.uk 0113 205 0900
Cheryl Speller
HR Officer
cheryl.speller@stephensongroup.co.uk 0113 205 0916