Key Accounts Manager (Modern Trade)

Job Title: Key Accounts Manager - Modern Trade
Location: Thika, Kenya
Reports to: Head of Sales / Area Sales Manager
Industry: Manufacturing
Employment type: Permanent, full-time
Gross Salary: KSH 350,000 – 400,000
Our client is looking to hire a Key Accounts Manager (Modern Trade) who will be responsible for developing and executing commercial strategies to grow sales, margin and distribution of the company’s portfolio within modern trade channels (supermarkets, hypermarkets, chain wholesalers, convenience retail chains and key distributors) across the region and its trading catchment.
The role owns strategic relationships with key retail customers and leads joint business planning, trade marketing, in-store execution and order-to-cash follow-up to deliver agreed targets.
Key responsibilities

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• Account management & commercial strategy
  
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  • Own a defined portfolio of modern trade accounts (national and regional chains, wholesalers) and be the single point of contact for commercial discussions.
    
  • Develop and implement account-specific business plans (annual and rolling 90-day plans) aligned to company targets.
    
  • Negotiate commercial terms, price lists, promotional mechanics, listing agreements and distribution/service level agreements.
    
  • Secure new listings and incremental shelf space, including seasonal/spot listings and planogram inclusion.
    
  
  
• Sales, delivery & forecasting
  
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  • Achieve monthly, quarterly and annual revenue (NSV) and volume targets for assigned accounts.
    
  • Produce accurate short- and medium-term forecasts (order projections) and communicate needs to supply chain and distributors.
    
  • Monitor sell-through vs. stock levels and take corrective action to minimise out-of- stocks and overstock situations.
    
  
  
• Trade marketing & in-store execution
  
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  • Plan and execute trade marketing activities and shopper activations in partnership with the Trade Marketing team.
    
  • Ensure promotional mechanics are implemented correctly, materials (POS) are delivered on time and planograms are followed.
    
  • Drive compliance with merchandising standards, shelf share targets and pricing/promotional windows.
    
  
  
• Distributor & channel coordination
  
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  • Work closely with third-party distributors servicing modern trade accounts to ensure timely deliveries, claims handling and replenishment.
    
  • Monitor distributor performance against SLAs and KPIs; escalate and remediate where required.
    
  
  
• Commercial analysis & reporting
  
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  • Maintain up-to-date account P&L views, margin analysis, trade spend ROI and promotional uplift calculations.
    
  • Provide weekly/monthly account performance reports and insights to Head of Sales; present at monthly commercial review meetings.
    
  
  
• Customer relationships & stakeholder management
  
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  • Build strong, trust-based relationships at buyer, category manager and operations levels within retail accounts.
    
  • Coordinate internal stakeholders (marketing, supply chain, finance, operations) to deliver account commitments.
    
  
  
• Credit, claims & compliance
  
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  • Manage credit terms and follow up on receivables; work with Finance to reduce DSO and bad debt exposure.
    
  • Handle claims, returns and contract / compliance issues with speed and accuracy.
    
  
  

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

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• Net sales value (NSV) vs. target (monthly/quarterly/annual).
  
• Volume growth (%) vs. target and vs. previous period.
  
• Distribution metrics: numeric & weighted distribution within assigned modern trade accounts.
  
• On-shelf availability / On-site availability (OSA) percentage.
  
• New listings secured (number of stores / SKUs / planogram placements).
  
• Trade spend ROI: promotional uplift vs. spend.
  
• Promo compliance rate (execution accuracy %).
  
• Days sales outstanding (DSO) and % of receivables overdue.
  
• Rate of claims / returns as percentage of sales.
  
• Customer satisfaction / relationship health score (qualitative).
  

Qualifications & experience

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• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Commerce, Marketing, Supply Chain or related field. MBA or professional sales qualification is an advantage.
  
• Minimum 4–6 years of progressive experience in modern trade sales or key account management within FMCG (preferably biscuits/snacks or fast-moving consumer goods).
  
• Demonstrable track record of meeting/exceeding sales targets and securing new listings with retail chains.
  
• Experience managing distributor relationships and executing trade activations.
  
• Advanced Excel skills (pivot tables, lookups, basic macros), strong numerical literacy.
  
• Experience with CRM/order management tools, ERP systems (SAP/Oracle or equivalent) and route-to-market platforms.
  

How to Apply
If you are up to the challenge and possess the necessary qualifications and experience, please send your CV only quoting the job title in the email subject (Key Accounts Manager-Manufacturing) to jobs@corporatestaffing.co.ke before 28th January 2026
NB: Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted. If you do not receive any communication from us within two weeks of your application, kindly consider your application unsuccessful. We appreciate your interest and thank you for applying