National Account Manager - UK Grocery

🛒 Take ZOE onto UK supermarket shelves for the first time!

ZOE has built a world-class, science-led health brand, and now we’re taking our physical products into retail. Next year, our Gut Health Bars launch into major UK grocers, and we’re hiring a Senior National Account Manager to lead it.

You’ll own ZOE’s grocery strategy and our relationships with buyers at grocers like Tesco and Sainsbury’s, and design the retail function from day one, with a growing pipeline of new products to follow. If you’ve personally owned major UK grocers, led high-stakes negotiations independently, and want to build something rather than inherit it, this is your opportunity.

🚀 About the role

This is a genuine zero-to-one role and ZOE’s first commercial hire, with our retail function built around you. We have a retail strategy built with external partners; you’ll own it from here, pressure-testing it with your grocery expertise, deciding where and how we win, and turning it into a commercial plan the business can execute.

You’ll set how ZOE does retail. The commercial framework for our terms and investment, the launch process, and the metrics we track. Then you’ll lead it hands-on, from the first pitch and negotiation through to supplier setup, launch and trading.

It’s a senior individual role that balances strategy and execution. One day you’ll be presenting our grocery plan to the leadership team, the next you’ll be in a buyer meeting or getting a product live on a supplier portal.

👥 About the team

You’ll report to Dani, our Associate Director of Operations, within ZOE’s Supply Chain & Operations team. The team makes sure ZOE’s physical products can be launched, supplied and scaled reliably. You’ll work closely with Marketing, Finance, Legal, Product, Quality, Growth and Creative, as well as our suppliers, warehouses and logistics partners.

The team is distributed across the UK, EU and US, working remotely and cross-functionally, with a strong focus on clear ownership, fast decisions and reliable execution.

🎯 What you’ll be doing

• Decide where and how ZOE launches into UK grocery, including which retailers to prioritise and in what order, how to position our products against competitors, and how we scale to future products. You’ll bring clear recommendations to leadership and influence our wider commercial plans.

• Define ZOE’s approach to trading terms, pricing, promotional investment and margin, so every negotiation is grounded in a clear position on what we’ll give and what we expect in return.

• Lead negotiations with major grocery buyers yourself, including joint business plans, trading terms and range reviews, with the confidence to push back, protect ZOE’s interests and walk away when needed.

• Own retailer launches end to end and in parallel, from range review pitches and critical paths to supplier setup (portals, product information, GS1 barcodes, artwork, delivery requirements) and getting stock live on shelf.

• Own rate of sale, availability, distribution, stock cover and promotional return across your accounts, using retailer data and dashboards to make decisions and spot opportunities before they’re obvious.

• Work with Supply Chain on forecasting, purchase orders and stock visibility, so we’re always available on shelf without over-committing.

• Be the driving force that aligns Marketing, Finance, Supply Chain and leadership behind our grocery plan, and unblocks decisions to keep launches on track.

• Build the processes, templates, tools and metrics that ZOE will use to scale its retail presence across the UK and EU, and that future team members will work from.

🧠 What you’ll bring

• You’ve personally owned one or more of Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Asda, Morrisons, Waitrose or M&S on the supplier side, working for a brand or manufacturer. Typically, you’ll have 6+ years of experience in national account management, including at Senior NAM level or equivalent.

• You’ve led major grocery negotiations independently, including joint business plans, price increases and investment, and you can show clear examples of trading for value, holding the line and protecting margin.

• You’ve taken products from range review to shelf, ideally including launching a brand into a grocer that didn’t stock it before, and you’ve run several launches at the same time.

• You’ve designed processes, tools or playbooks from scratch that others adopted, and you’re excited to build a function, not just join one.

• You can see the bigger picture of how a new brand should approach the major grocers, make clear recommendations, and bring senior stakeholders along with your thinking.

• You use retailer data (such as EPOS, dunnhumby, NielsenIQ or Circana), dashboards and data visualisation, and AI tools to work smarter.

• Experience in food, snacks or consumer health is ideal. If you’re from another FMCG category, you understand the constraints of food, such as shelf life and compliance.

💚 What we offer

• Competitive base salary, depending on experience

• Share options, so you share in the growth you help create

• A full benefits package covering health, wellbeing, family life and personal growth

• Remote-first working in the UK, with quarterly get-togethers in London and an annual company retreat.

✨ Our Hiring Journey

We value your time. While the exact steps and timeline can vary slightly depending on the role, seniority, and team, we’ve designed a streamlined 4-step blueprint to get us from "Hello" to "Welcome to the team" as efficiently as possible:

• 👋 Intro Chat with the Talent Team: A high-energy alignment check to learn about you and share our vision.

• 🧠 Hiring Manager Interview: A tactical conversation focused on your craft, experience, and aspirations.

• 🔄 The Remote Loop: 2 to 4 focused interviews assessing your technical expertise, behavioural approach, and collaboration style.

• 🎉 Offer & Welcome: Finalising the details and getting you ready to hit the ground running!

Once we connect, we pride ourselves on moving fast. Our average hiring process takes between 20 to 30 days , depending on the complexity of the role.

We love momentum, but we’re always happy to adjust the timeline to match your schedule and personal preference.

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🚀 Ready to thrive? Apply Now

If you are genuinely excited about ZOE's mission and this opportunity, please don't hesitate to apply—even if you don't meet every single requirement listed. We fundamentally value potential and commitment above all else.

ZOE is an equal opportunity employer. If you require any reasonable accommodations during the interview process, just let us know—we are here to support you.

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Not the perfect match? Join ZOE's Talent Community !

If this role isn't the exact right fit, or the timing isn't right, don't let the journey end here. Drop your resume here. When a role opens up that matches your unique superpowers, you'll be the first person we reach out to.

📸 Stay Curious. Follow the Journey.

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