National Key Accounts Leader

Together, WE enable individuals to look, feel, and be their true selves. Wella Company is one of the world’s leading beauty companies, comprised of a family of iconic brands such as Wella Professionals, Clairol, OPI, Nioxin, and ghd. With 6,000 employees globally and a presence in over 100 countries, Wella Company empowers its people to delight consumers, inspire beauty professionals, engage communities, and deliver sustainable growth.

About the role

The National Key Accounts Leader is responsible for accelerating double-digit growth with our largest and most high-profile salon customers and prospects. This role requires a strong people leader and strategist who will coach and lead an experienced team through reimagining the go-to-market strategy for Key Accounts within the US Wella team. The position involves significant customer interface, internal partnerships, and regional/national travel.

This position is accountable for increasing market share by prospecting and gaining new key account doors (salons and schools), as well as delivering business targets within a defined budget. The KA Leader will nurture exceptional relationships with C-level stakeholders to maximize opportunities across all touchpoints.

Responsibilities

• Business Planning:
  • Develop and implement plans to deliver targets and create clarity on goals, KPIs, and ownership for the Key Accounts team.
  • Plan, develop, agree, and implement annual Joint Business Plans with customers, including increased distribution of Wella Company plans via joint growth and execution plans.
  • Agree on marketing and promotional plans with Marketing and Trade Marketing teams and align forecasts with Demand Planning to support Forecast Accuracy objectives.
  • Maximize key learnings from pre- and post-promotional activity analysis performed by the team.
• New Business Development:
  • Drive horizontal distribution by actively identifying and regularly calling on potential new high-profile businesses to grow market share.
  • Own the prospect pipeline and journey for the Key Accounts team and partner with the DSO street organization to activate partnerships with new KA doors faster.
• Financial Responsibilities:
  • Manage monthly, quarterly, and annual sales forecasts; provide weekly sales projections to the Head of National Field Sales.
  • Manage Gross to Net controls to optimize profitability and a trade investment plan to maximize profitability.
  • Work with Customer Service to minimize receivables and achieve target debtor days for the customer.
  • Build contacts with forecasting and supply chain teams within the customer to manage the most cost-effective supply chain.
  • Agree on listings for all new products and brands as appropriate and negotiate cost price changes with the customer.
• Strategic Planning:
  • Build strategic plans to develop specified categories of business within customers to deliver short- and long-term company, customer, and consumer objectives.
  • Lead the contract process with new KA customers and contract renewal for current KA customers.
  • Develop strategic projects with customers to ensure future growth of the business.
  • Co-create new business development plans to expand in Retail together with the Commercial teams.
• Relationships:
  • Own the relationship with key decision-makers and owners across all current KA accounts and new KA prospects.
  • Partner across the industry via relationships with key trade groups and salon business organizations.
  • Build new relationships with customers and negotiate listings and perfect execution for brands.
  • Collaborate effectively with Commercial and Education teams to enable execution of agreed Joint Business Plans and create new opportunities.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s Degree.
• At least 5 years of people management experience in a Sales role in the beauty sector.
• At least 8 years of experience working with salon groups and building relationships with C-level stakeholders on the customer side.
• Knowledge/understanding of the local/regional customer landscape and experience working with major customers.
• Strong financial acumen, deep understanding of customer P&L, financing agreements, and ability to coach and develop the team on value creation.
• Background in or understanding of education preferred.
• Highly collaborative, thinks strategically, and excels in problem-solving.
• Excellent oral and written communication and organizational skills.
• Self-starter with the ability to work independently, set priorities, and focus on deliverables and KPIs.
• Advanced computer skills – Microsoft Office (PowerPoint, Excel, Word). Strong data management/analytics skills; Power BI experience preferred.
• Up to 60% overnight travel in the field, which can include weekends.
• Able to travel via air for training and sales meetings at least 3-4 times per year.
• Valid Driver’s License.

Pay

We disclose the compensation range for positions in compliance with local law. The pay range for this role is $125,000-$160,000 salary per year plus bonus. Actual salaries will vary and may be above or below the range based on factors including location, experience, skills, and comparison to internal incumbents in similar roles.

Benefits

In addition to competitive pay, Wella Company provides a rich variety of benefits to employees, including:

• Health insurance.
• Life and disability insurance.
• 401(k) retirement plan.
• Paid holidays and paid time off (PTO).
• Annual bonus plan or variable pay, depending on the role.