Uk Market Specialist - London, United Kingdom - Scotland Food & Drink

Description

JOB DESCRIPTION

To help the industry realise further commercial opportunities in the UK market we are now recruiting for a UK Market Specialist that will be based in London.

This is a full time and permanent position targeted with identifying and implementing customer led initiatives across retail and foodservice.

This will enable food and drink businesses to expand their footprints in the wider UK market with an initial focus on London and national accounts.

The role will initially report into the Programme Director at Scotland Food & Drink and will sit within the UK Market Development Team, who are a team of experts who currently lead and develop initiatives with customers to help Scottish food and drink businesses grow.

The role will be home based but will have the ability to hot desk at Scotland House which can be found on Victoria Embankment in London, and which is a Scottish co-working and event space where businesses and individuals can work, connect, and grow.

Scotland House is a Scottish Government initiative of which Scotland Food & Drink is a part of.

This is a strategically important and high-profile role, and the UK Market Specialist will have responsibility for supporting the delivery of the industry's UK market development strategy, with a specific focus on identifying market opportunities via new and existing customer relationships.

The role will work alongside the UK Market Development team and is key in driving the industry's growth in the coming years, aligned to 'Sustaining Scotland, Supplying the world'.

JOB SUMMARY
We are looking for an experienced and commercially minded manager with a knowledge of the food and drink sector, whose role is to:

• Identify new and develop existing and mutually beneficial relationships with customers, to assist the sales growth of Scottish food and drink across the UK with a focus on England and Wales, national accounts, and London to help meet the targets established in 'Sustaining Scotland, Supplying the world'. This will include grocery retail, specialist retail, Foodservice (Out of Home and Hospitality).
• Develop and lead on the delivery of market plans emanating from developed customer relations and operate as the lead point of contact for all matters for individual accounts.
• Work at both strategic and operational levels, collaboratively and flexibly with internal colleagues and external partners.

DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES

• Raise the profile of Scotland Food & Drink and the Scotland Food & Drink Partnership with key customers to help develop new relationships and new opportunities to support the delivery of 'Sustaining Scotland, Supplying the world'.
• Identify, develop, implement, and manage commercial opportunities to help grow sales of Scottish food and drink.
• Develop strategic customer relationships between SF&D and retailers, wholesalers, and foodservice operators and in collaboration with these customers, facilitate and deliver opportunities, measuring and reporting outcomes.
• By developing customer relationships and in partnership the UK Market Development team at SF&D design and manage timely delivery of development projects, bespoke to the customers strategic direction.
• Utilise Scotland House to create presence for the Scottish Food & Drink industry in London as well as Scotland Food & Drink (SF&D) and the wider SF&D Partnership.
• Manage and monitor budgets, costs and outcomes associated with delivery of customer initiatives.
• Maintain the customer relationship management system.

SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE

• Commercially minded, with an understanding of the UK food and drink sector and supply chain and 5+ years working in that environment.
• Excellent project management skills.
• Excellent relationshipbuilding ability, with an ability to operate and advise at senior level and work closely with senior stakeholders in large, complex organisations.
• Collaborative team player, strong people skills to develop new and existing relationships, internally and externally.
• Proven account management skills.
• Excellent core sales skills including influencing and negotiation.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills, including public speaking.
• Excellent analytical, monitoring and reporting skills.
• Ability to solution build to meet the demand of account plans.
• Willingness to travel and attend events out with normal working hours.

Successful outcomes of the role will be:

• Scotland is recognised by key players in the London and wider UK retail and foodservice markets as a leading destination for world class food and drink.
• Scotland Food & Drink and the Scotland Food & Drink Partnership is recognised as driving growth in the UK for individual companies and the industry as a whole.
• The reputation of our UK Market Development programme is further enhanced through this investment and seen as making a major contribution to our vision for Scotland to be the best place in the world to own, op