Director, Customer Development - Retail

Position Title: Director, Customer Development - Retail 

Position Type: Regular - Full-Time ​

Requisition ID: 40874 

In every role, McCainers are ambitious, curious, and passionate about creating exceptional work experiences - together. With a customer-first mindset, we make doing business with McCain easy.

About the role.

This is a senior leadership role at the heart of our GB Retail business, shaping and delivering a winning sales strategy across key customers.

Reporting into the VP, Commercial Retail Sales, you’ll lead a team of 5–7 across Senior National Account Managers, National Account Managers and National Account Executives - creating the environment, clarity and energy for them to thrive.

You’ll own and deliver Joint Business Plans, build standout customer partnerships, and drive sustainable, profitable growth - while playing a key role in the GB Retail Sales leadership team to set direction and raise performance across the function.

What you’ll be doing.

This is a role where leadership impact matters just as much as commercial delivery.

• Lead, coach and inspire a high-performing Commercial team- bringing out the very best in your people
• Create a culture of accountability, growth and continuous development through clear KPIs, coaching and feedback
• Define and deliver Joint Business Plans that unlock growth for both McCain and our customers
• Build influential, long-term customer relationships that drive commercial success
• Drive revenue growth through pricing, mix optimisation and strategic initiatives
• Partner cross-functionally (Category, Marketing, Finance, Supply Chain) to deliver insight-led plans
• Champion category and brand leadership, including compelling NPD sell-ins and execution
• Embed strong governance, forecasting accuracy and commercial discipline
• Shape and deliver rolling strategic plans that outperform the market

What you’ll need to be successful.

You’re a people-first commercial leader who knows how to deliver through others. As well as;

• Proven track record of leading and developing high-performing teams
• Experience building and influencing senior customer relationships within FMCG retail
• Strong commercial instinct with a history of delivering revenue and market outperformance
• Highly skilled in negotiation, influencing and storytelling
• Strong financial and commercial acumen (P&L, pricing, trade spend)
• Ability to turn insight into clear, actionable strategies
• A passion for coaching, developing talent and building future leaders
• Confident operating across a complex, cross-functional business

About the team.

You’ll be part of an ambitious, collaborative GB Retail Sales team that’s focused on winning together.

We work closely across Category, Marketing, Finance and Supply Chain to deliver growth that’s both commercially strong and sustainable. It’s a team that values pace, ownership and continuous improvement - while genuinely supporting each other to grow and succeed.

The Benefits.

Although we do encourage you to taste the goods you’ll be pleased to know we don’t pay you in ‘chips’. For working hard, you’ll also get a great salary and some pretty good benefits including:

• A generous Car Allowance
• An achievable yearly bonus based on personal performance.
• An excellent pension where we will pay double what you do, up to a maximum of 12% of your pay
• Flexible holidays – where you can buy & sell up to 5 days holiday per year
• Optional health cash plan
• Cycle to work scheme
• ‘Chips In’ Volunteering Day Off - to make a positive impact to the competitiveness, resilience, and long-term development of McCain communities across the globe

Our Hybrid Working Guide.

Our purpose is grounded in building meaningful relationships. We’re big believers in the power of working together in person - it helps us stay connected, collaborate more effectively, and grow as a team. At the same time, we recognize the importance of flexibility. Most office-based roles follow a hybrid model, with the option to work remotely for about half of your working time. There may be exceptions depending on the role and location, so we encourage you to speak with your recruiter for more details.

Our Recruitment Process.

We like to keep things simple and transparent:

• Stage 1: Initial screening with a Talent Acquisition Partner
• Stage 2: Virtual interview with the Hiring Manager and a senior leader
• Final stage: In-person interview at our Scarborough HQ with the MD and Hiring Manager, including a pre-prepared task

This is a guide - there may be slight tweaks along the way, but we’ll keep you informed throughout.

About McCain.

Click Here to learn more about McCain and how we provide you with opportunities to make an impact that matters.

Leadership principles.

At McCain, our leadership principles guide how we engage with customers, collaborate as a team, and achieve success. We focus on understanding customer needs, driving innovation, empowering people, and taking ownership to clear obstacles and deliver results.

The McCain experience.

We are McCain. This statement is a testament to our collective strength and our individual value. Your contributions play a vital role in our success. Our winning culture is rooted in authenticity and trust, empowering us to bring out the best in one another. Here, you’ll find opportunities to learn, grow, and thrive. Join us and experience why we’re better together.

Our purpose is grounded in building meaningful relationships. We’re big believers in the power of working together in person—it helps us stay connected, collaborate more effectively, and grow as a team. At the same time, we recognize the importance of flexibility. Most office-based roles follow a hybrid model, with the option to work remotely two days a week. There may be exceptions depending on the role and location, so we encourage you to speak with your recruiter for more details.

McCain Foods is an equal opportunity employer. As a global family-owned company, we strive to be the employer of choice in the diverse communities around the world in which we live and work. We recognize that inclusion drives our creativity, resilience, and success and makes our business stronger. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, religion, color, national origin, sex, age, veteran status, disability, or any other protected characteristic under applicable law.

McCain is an accessible employer. If you require an accommodation throughout the recruitment process (including alternate formats of materials or accessible meeting rooms), please let us know  and we will work with you to find appropriate solutions. 

Your privacy is important to us. By submitting personal data or information to us, you agree this will be handled in accordance with McCain’s Global Privacy Policy and Global Employee Privacy Policy, as applicable. McCain leverages AI in the hiring process, though all final decisions are made by humans. You can understand our approach to AI and how your personal information is being handled here. 

Job Family: Sales      
Division: GB Commercial Retail 
Department: ​Retail Sales ​
Location(s): GB - United Kingdom : England : Scarborough 

Company: McCain Foods (G.B.) Ltd