National Account Manager

Overview apetito is the UK’s leading food supplier to the health and social care sectors serving more than 600 care homes, 500 hospitals, as well as 200 education settings.
Our meals are expertly crafted by our dietitians and chefs, and then frozen to lock in the goodness.
For over 25 years our sister company Wiltshire Farm Foods has been cooking and delivering over 300 different delicious frozen meals to our customer's homes.
The healthcare team are experts in the field, with a wealth of operational, managerial, and training experience and knowledge both within apetito but also from our previous roles within the healthcare industry, providing us with a thorough and empathetic understanding of our customers and enabling us to fully support their strategy and vision.
We supply catering product, systems and services to healthcare organisations both directly and through contract caterers.   Through exceptional growth in the business, we are creating an additional National Account Manager role, who will be responsible for managing relationships and service delivery with a selection of blue-chip companies that we work with.
You will manage and develop a joint strategic partnership through building excellent relationships with the whole healthcare team and wider apetito team and ingrain yourself in the portfolio of your accounts.
Your role will drive forward joint strategies and initiatives to deliver real competitive advantages within the lifetime of the contracts and capitalise on growth opportunity for apetito.
The National Account Manager will work alongside all departments within the contract caterer’s business, working with their Operational, procurement, Dietetic and sales teams supporting tenders and bids for new business, demonstrating the strength of our partnership and proposition with the key aim of growing revenue in a profitable fashion and retaining the business at the end of the contract term.
The National Account Manager role is a chance to bring to life our ethics and sustainability agenda, something of great value to the NHS and to work closely with the B2B Category Manager & NPD team to develop and innovate within the product range.
Reporting to the Sales Manager ( National Accounts), you will be a key member of the Healthcare National Accounts Team and work very closed with Training and Operations, Catering Consultants and Marketing colleagues.   We are looking for an ambitious individual with a growth mindset, exceptional relationship skills, and the ability to engage from hospital kitchen to the boardroom.
Within the joint Contractor and apetito strategy there will be clear objectives, projects, and growth targets for the National Account Manager to deliver with outstanding execution.
As a family-owned business established in 1958, we take great pride in being a company that makes a real difference and is dedicated to creating outstanding meals to be proud of.
Our products are designed to enhance health and well-being for all our customers. apetito colleagues are driven by a passion for service, dedicated to feeding some of the UK’s most vulnerable people and offering delicious and nutritious meals to our customers.
We proudly support British food and farming, focusing on using the best ethical and sustainable produce.
This is in alignment with our goal to reach Net Zero by 2040.
Learn more about apetito’s commitment to a more sustainable future here: At apetito, we value inclusivity and diversity as it empowers people from different backgrounds to contribute innovative ideas.
Our mission is to build an inclusive workplace where everyone reaches their full potential.
This role is home-based covering operational Hospital sites and Head Office locations across the whole of the UK so will involve early starts, late finishes and overnight stays.
Responsibilities The National Account Manager will have responsibility for a selection of major National Accounts, looking after their day-to-day management, sales growth development, margin growth and overall retention of all our sales and the contract.
Working to the agreed contract and KPI’s the National Account Manager will ensure that apetito deliver its ongoing commitments in a timely and customer focused manner.
This will be supported by Catering Consultants, Training & Operations.
Marketing and the wider apetito team.
Organise and drive Monthly Strategic Review Meetings with the contractor’s central teams, also attend and support site meetings within their operations, looking on how they can develop joint initiatives for the future, to include key stakeholders form both businesses.
Ensure the targeted margin of the account is achieved throughout the contract.
Activities will include the successful delivery of price increases, in line with the contractual mechanism, as well as other tasks such as menu engineering and more.
Working alongside the contractor in bids to generate new business and achieve budgeted targets for sales growth and profit.
Ensure our added value proposition continues to stay ahead of the curve and the market to demonstrate ourselves as true market leaders for your business.
Execute and deliver projects to continuously deliver competitive advantage and ensure our offer is unrivalled in the market.
We expect the National Account Manager to work with speed & agility and to collaborate with multiple stakeholders, internally and externally.
Network across the contract caterer’s estate, with their clients and internally within apetito.
Building up exceptional relationships and communication skills will be fundamental to capitalise on the opportunity we have as their chosen partner.
It will be essential for key stakeholders within apetito to work alongside you to deliver strategic projects.
Working in conjunction with your apetito colleagues especially those within the healthcare team, ensuring retention of the sales in the current portfolio’s.
Maintaining contract caterer’s when up for renewal, so we remain the clear choice as their ongoing and future partner.
The National Account Manager may be asked to work on other account development, critical business unit projects and strategic healthcare priorities.
Qualifications/ Personal Qualities Qualifications/ Experience Essential: Extensive experience of managing large accounts and complex customers Previous success in coordinating & managing large projects and implementation of key actions/decisions Extensive commercial experience in a B2B environment Proven experience of achieving and exceeding sales targets – a focus on target achievement Experience of negotiating at Board level  Agile communication and presentation skills - able to engage and build trust at all levels of the business, from board room to kitchen Demonstrate great team working (internally and externally) Proactive approach to time management and prioritisation to manage a complex workload effectively Ability to think strategically and implement key actions/decisions Project management experience Formal Sales training Clean or virtually clean driving license Desirable: Understanding of nutrition and catering systems within the NHS Advanced Food Hygiene Personal Qualities: Demonstrates a passion for service.
Empathy and understanding of our culture of ‘making a real difference’.
Driven to deliver on short term goals and long term visions.
Diplomatic, but assertive with a pragmatic approach.   An individual with the vision to take the role to another level Driven by building strong long-term business and financial targets Self-motivated and resilient, able to reflect and learn Able to inspire and motivate othersA team player: works with others to achieve optimum results in their own role and for the business as a whole.
As this role involves working with elderly and vulnerable customers, it is exempt from The Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and requires an Standard DBS Disclosure.
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