Manager, Field Key Accounts

Purpose & Overall Relevance for the Organisation

The Manager, Field Key Accounts plays a key role in driving adidas’ commercial growth across assigned wholesale accounts. This role combines strategic account ownership, people leadership and strong retail execution to deliver profitable growth, protect brand standards and build long-term customer partnerships.

Key Responsibilities:

• Own the commercial performance and P&L outcomes of assigned Key Accounts

• Deliver net sales, margin and market share targets while managing cost centre and sales working budgets

• Lead, coach and develop direct and indirect reports in line with the organisation structure

• Set clear objectives, priorities and performance expectations for direct reports

• Build team capability through regular coaching, feedback and support

• Act as the primary internal lead for assigned accounts, ensuring strong cross-functional alignment

• Build a deep understanding of each assigned account, including trading history, customer priorities, competitor activity, commercial risks and growth opportunities

• Develop, propose and gain approval for Strategic Account Plans and Account Marketing Plans

• Lead the development and execution of account plans across the seasonal Go-To-Market cycle

• Lead seasonal sell-in and drive aligned sell-out execution

• Partner with Planning, Supply Chain and Customer Service to manage product availability, delivery performance, order book risks and customer commitments

• Monitor sell-out performance, order book accuracy, forecast accuracy and product supply efficiency

• Support negotiation and enforcement of adidas trade terms

• Monitor receivables and support timely resolution of account-related payment or credit issues

• Analyse customer and competitor activity and initiate corrective actions

• Deliver accurate customer forecasts and performance plans

• Ensure compliance with commercial agreements and agreed KPIs

KPIs:

• Net sales and market share growth across assigned Key Accounts
• Gross margin delivery and effective management of trade spend
• Budget compliance across cost centre and sales working budgets
• Sell-in vs sell-out alignment, including order book and forecast accuracy
• Receivables management and DSO performance across assigned accounts
• Quality of account execution, including brand presentation and customer compliance
• Customer plan execution across seasonal milestones, sell-in and sell-through
• Team performance and capability development

Key Relationships:

• Key Account Customers
• Sales Development
• Account Marketing
• Range Management
• Customer Service
• Finance
• Credit
• Planning
• Supply Chain

Knowledge, Skills & Abilities

• Strong understanding of wholesale, key Account and/or field sales models
• Strong understanding of account planning, sell-in, sell-through, order book management, forecasting and customer relationship management
• Solid commercial acumen with the ability to interpret sales data, forecasts and KPIs
• Ability to turn sales data, customer insights and market activity into practical commercial actions
• Proven capability to build and execute strategic account plans
• Confident negotiator with experience supporting or leading trade term discussions
• Ability to influence and collaborate effectively across cross-functional teams
• Demonstrated people leadership skills, including coaching, performance management and team development
• Strong planning and organisation skills, with the ability to manage competing seasonal timelines and customer priorities
• Customer-centric mindset with a focus on long-term partnership growth
• Comfortable operating in a fast-paced, matrixed organisation
• Strong Excel and PowerPoint capability, with confidence using sales reports, forecasts, order books and customer data
• Experience with SAP, CRM, order management or sales reporting systems is desirable
• Solutions-focused approach with the ability to manage commercial pressure, customer needs and internal priorities in a balanced way

Requisite Education & Experience / Minimum Qualifications

• University degree in business, marketing, sales or a related commercial discipline, or equivalent relevant experience
• 4+ years’ experience in sales, field sales, key account management, wholesale account management or a similar commercial environment
• Proven experience managing national, regional, wholesale, retail, Buying Group or multi-site customer relationships
• Strong commercial acumen, including experience with budgets, forecasting, trade terms and customer performance management
• Experience leading, coaching or developing a team in a sales or customer-facing environment
• Experience working cross-functionally in a matrixed organisation
• Experience using sales reporting, forecasting, order management or CRM systems is desirable
• Background in sport, retail, apparel, footwear or fashion is highly regarded