Strategic Customer & Projects Manager
1 day ago
London
Fresh Produce | UK A genuinely different opportunity within the UK fresh produce sector We are working with a highly successful, established and ambitious fresh produce business to appoint a Strategic Customer & Projects Manager into a newly defined and influential position. This isnt a conventional Commercial Manager role. Nor is it a traditional Project Manager position. Instead, were looking for an exceptional individual who can join the dots . Someone who can build trusted relationships across the fresh produce supply chainfrom growers and development partners through to major UK retailersunderstand what matters to each of them, and bring together the right people to turn conversations, ideas and opportunities into results. Reporting to the Chief Commercial Officer , youll operate across a remarkably broad agenda encompassing: Growers | Innovation | Sustainability & CSR | Consumer & Marketing | Customer Partnerships | Ways of Working The Opportunity At the heart of the role is one straightforward ambition: To create stronger connections between the organisations growing community, its customers and its wider strategic priorities. The grower network is fundamental to the success of the business. You will invest time in understanding growers businesses, capabilities, challenges and ambitions, helping to build open, consistent and mutually valuable relationships. Youll become a trusted and visible point of contactimproving communication, encouraging the exchange of ideas and ensuring that growers are appropriately involved in conversations about future customer requirements, product development, sustainability and long-term supply. At the same time, youll develop a detailed understanding of the organisations key retailers and strategic partners: what matters to them today, where their priorities are heading and how the business and its growers can respond. One day you could be meeting growers to understand crop plans, production challenges or development opportunities. The next, you might be discussing sustainability objectives with a retailer, exploring future product innovation, reviewing consumer insight or coordinating a project involving several internal functions and external partners. You dont need to be the expert in every subject. You do need to know how to find the expertise, bring the right people together, ask intelligent questions and ensure that commitments become delivered outcomes. Your Remit Your responsibilities will span six connected strategic areas: Growing Community Developing deeper, more consistent relationships with the businesss fresh produce growing community and helping to create a genuinely best-in-class grower network. Youll spend time getting to know growers and their businessesunderstanding their capabilities, pressures, investment priorities and future ambitions. Youll help improve the quality and consistency of communication between growers and the wider organisation, ensuring information flows effectively in both directions. This will include creating opportunities for greater collaboration, sharing insight and best practice, and helping growers engage with the businesss longer-term plans across areas such as innovation, sustainability, quality, supply resilience and customer development. Importantly, youll help ensure that the grower perspective is understood and represented in relevant internal and customer conversations, while giving growers clearer visibility of changing market expectations and future opportunities. The objective is to help build a more connected, engaged and forward-looking growing communityone in which strong relationships support shared progress and long-term success. Innovation & Development Building relationships with growers, breeders and key development partners to identify future opportunities and give the business early visibility of exciting new products, varieties and growing techniques. Youll help connect grower capability and technical expertise with retailer priorities and emerging consumer needs, ensuring promising ideas are properly explored and progressed. Sustainability & CSR Understanding the evolving sustainability expectations of customers, growers and the wider market, then coordinating activity across the appropriate teams and partners. Youll help translate strategic commitments into practical initiatives, ensuring progress is credible, measurable and communicated effectively. Youll also work closely with growers to understand the realities of implementation and identify opportunities for meaningful, collaborative improvement. Consumer & Marketing Developing an understanding of changing consumer behaviour and using insight to identify opportunities for category growth, innovation and stronger customer propositions. Youll help connect consumer trends with the knowledge held across the grower network, internal teams and external partners so that ideas are both relevant to the market and grounded in practical capability. Customer Partnerships Working alongside the commercial and customer teams to understand retailer priorities and strengthen the quality of the organisations strategic relationships. Your contribution will be to bring together relevant insight, expertise and ideas from across the business and grower community, helping customers see the organisation as a knowledgeable, proactive and dependable long-term partner. Ways of Working Improving communication, collaboration and accountability across growers, internal teams, customers and external partners. Youll ensure that conversations lead to clear actions, commitments are properly captured and responsibilities are understood. Youll maintain momentum across projects, follow through on agreed priorities and help different stakeholders work together more effectively. Who Are We Looking For? Were deliberately keeping an open mind about background and current job title . You could currently be working in grower relations, agriculture, commercial, category, customer strategy, marketing, innovation, sustainability, supply chain, project management or a broader strategic role. Fresh produce or wider food/FMCG experience would be highly relevant, particularly if you have worked closely with growers, suppliers and major UK retailers . You may already have direct experience of grower relationships. Alternatively, you might bring a strong understanding of agricultural supply chains and the credibility, curiosity and interpersonal skills required to build trusted relationships within the growing community. More important is your ability to demonstrate: Exceptional relationship-building and communication skills. The ability to build credibility with growers, customers and senior internal stakeholders. A genuine interest in growers, agricultural supply chains and long-term partnerships. Strong commercial awareness without being defined solely by a traditional sales remit. The ability to understand a broad and sometimes complex agenda. Natural curiosity and an appetite to learn. The confidence to ask intelligent questions and challenge constructively. The ability to influence without relying on hierarchy. Strong project management and organisational capability. A talent for bringing different people, perspectives and functions together. A track record of taking ideas and turning them into delivered outcomes . Were looking for someone with drive, ambition, resilience, curiosity and credibility but also someone who values relationships, listens well and understands that progress across a complex supply chain depends on trust. Why Consider It? Because roles with this breadth dont come along very often. Youll have exposure across the entire journey from grower, crop and product development through to consumer insight, retailer relationships and business strategy . Crucially, youll have the opportunity to strengthen the connection between an important fresh produce business and the growing community on which its success is builthelping create relationships that are more collaborative, transparent and focused on the future. Youll report directly to the Chief Commercial Officer and have the visibility and support required to make a genuine impact. This could particularly suit someone who has built a strong career within one area of food, agriculture or fresh produce and now wants the opportunity to broaden their influence across an entire business and its supply chain . UK based | Fresh Produce | Senior strategic appointment If youre intrigued by the opportunityeven if your current job title doesnt appear to be an obvious matchwed be very interested in having a confidential conversation. Alaska Black Specialist Search & Recruitment TPBN1_UKTJ