Account Manager - Full-time / Part-time

Position Purpose

The Account Manager is primarily responsible for managing of the trading with National Accounts and supply chain management: in a manner that optimizes Cargill Protein performance in the Foodservice trade channel/supply chain and supports sustainable long-term growth for the business. This will include proteins produced in the primary processing plants for both Cargill and our partners. This role provides an opportunity to move an employee from an account manager role potentially into an assistant business manager position.

The Account Manager plays a key role in managing four distinct areas:

• Account Leadership: The primary responsibility of the Account Manager will be to manage sales and supply to National Accounts in the U.S. Foodservice trades sales channel to meet margin goals in doing so. In addition the account manager will be responsible for good working relations with a variety of personnel at various levels within the customer's and Cargill's organization. This role will require experience in phone communication and some direct interaction.
• Cost to Serve Management: The Account Manager will also ensure efficiency within the trade sales operations for Key accounts only to the point that it does not jeopardize our best service. This will include ensuring we have a pro-active/strategic account manager efficiently serving customers both in sales and through supply chain management.
• Carcass Utilization: The Account Manager will work to maximize the cut out and minimize value destruction with regard to National Accounts. Carcass utilization plays a key part of our supply chain management, and any other protein brands we process.
• Measurement and Tracking: The Account Manager will monitor and be a student of the metrics to drive optimization in areas such as management of master rakes, forecasting, order fill accuracy and ontime delivery. Expectation is to move these customers to value added, non commodity trade sales where appropriate to enhance overall service and margin.

Principal Accountabilities

60% Account/Processing Leadership:

• Engage in sales forecasting, planning and budgeting processes as they relate to account management and processing.
• Pro-actively monitor and maintain high levels of quality, accuracy and process consistency in the execution in the trade area and processing.
• Manage direct sales in the Day to Day sales of protein (mainly beef) to a heightened level of customer satisfaction while ensuring our operating faciliaties are in balance. Daily interface with stakeholders (strategic pricing, scheduling, logistics & transportation, customer service, credit, legal, etc.). to ensure the level of service is in line w/ the customer segmentation strategy and we are capturing positioning opportunities and process improvement to maximize return
• Be the chief spokesperson to the business on market conditions/shifts, customer behavior, changing landscapes including interfacing with critical stakeholders (both internal and external) to accommodate sales goals.
• Establish ground work to be the go between contact for Cargill Foodservice Field and Chain teams
• Further develop chain account business by working with the Chain and Field teams

30% Carcass Utilization:

• Maximize the cut-out to drive full carcass utilization by optimizing the value of the trade product portfolio for this account.
• Pro-actively work with strategic pricing & customer strategy teams to determine pricing that balances the long term relationships of this account with the need to keep sales profitable and close to, if not exceeding, market place prices. Be a champion with Key Foodservice Accounts served out of Wichita.
• Coordinate with the strategic pricing group to deliver and recognize value through execution of the pricing process. Expectation to move products up the value chain… less commodity.
• Monitor drivers and influencers of demand as they relate to this accounts and both understand and communicate the potential impact of these market factors to the appropriate business teams

10% Measurement and Tracking :

• Regularly engage with pro-active measurements (KPI's) to manage and evaluate the effectiveness of the key accounts served.

o These would include USDA b/e margin, gross margin where applicable, rake, freight, claims, marketing, category management consumer insights, old age and carcass utilization

Required

• Bachelor's degree
• 2 years of experience in trading and sales.
• Strong understanding of protein markets
• Strong communication skills, written and verbal (facilitate internal and external communications & actions to ensure execution including contractual negotiations, price formulations, difficult discussions, etc)
• Strong collaboration and influencing skills
• Ability to develop and sustain an authentic relationship to ensure alignment/trust with stakeholders.
• Ability to multi-task… balancing strategic & tactical-execution. Need solid mindset around strategy, tactical plans, execution.

Preferred

• Strong signals that demonstrate propensity to influence and effectively manage accounts.
• People skills that are critical to being a team player and team engagement.
• Demonstrated effective Commercial Problem solving/Decision making (Demonstrated ability to think and act independently taking initiative when appropriate. Self-starter in gathering necessary stakeholders to solve challenges, initiating execution, taking action as appropriate.)
• Ability to balance the need of industry knowledge with business competence to assist in success