Sales Manager, Discounter & NFR NL

Overview

At PepsiCo, we’re more than just iconic brands — we’re a team of 2,000+ passionate people across 11 countries, working together to deliver great-tasting products that consumers enjoy every day. With over 70 years in the region, we operate from 7 key locations — including 4 headquarters and 4 production sites — and offer a portfolio of 16 brands, from global icons like Pepsi and Lay’s to local favorites like Duyvis and Schwip Schwap. We’re committed to sustainability, innovation, and community impact. If you’re looking to grow your career with purpose, we’d love to hear from you.

Sales Manager, Discounter & NFR, leads a team of 2 Account Managers and 1 Junior Account Manager, providing direction, coaching, and oversight to drive customer performance and capability development. The role is accountable for the development, execution, and delivery of business plans across all Discounter customers (Lidl and Aldi) and key Non-Food Retail (NFR) customers, including Action, AS Watson, and Brandmasters. While customer plans are executed through the team, the Sales Manager retains overall ownership and accountability for strategy, commercial execution, and business results. In addition, the role has end-to-end responsibility for PepsiCo’s Action Pan-Europe business, coordinating activities across local PepsiCo markets and the Sector team to drive alignment and business growth. The position involves managing senior external stakeholders within the purchasing organizations of these key customers, while also independently engaging and influencing senior internal stakeholders across both Sector and Market Unit (MU) levels. The Sales Manager is responsible for delivering agreed volume targets and Net Sales Revenue (NSR) objectives through robust customer plans and commercial execution.

Responsibilities

• Build and own the long-term strategic roadmap for Discounters & NFR, driving innovation, activation, pep+, and sustainable growth agendas with customers.

• Lead the Discounters & NFR Sales team in delivering the annual channel plan across all customers and categories, ensuring alignment with broader Market Unit and Sector objectives.

• Develop the overall Discounter & NFR Joint Business Plan, aligned with PepsiCo's strategic priorities, and ensure its successful execution through the Account Management team by securing key growth initiatives across Pricing, Promotions, NPD listings, and Category Collaboration for Savory, Nuts, and Grains.

• Act as line manager for the Account Managers and Junior Account Manager, overseeing performance management, talent development, succession planning, and employee engagement within the team.

• Provide leadership, guidance, and support to the team on customer strategy development, annual planning, local and international negotiations, and day-to-day customer management.

• Foster a high-performance, collaborative team culture focused on accountability, customer centricity, continuous improvement, and delivery against business objectives.

• Directly manage the Action account and hold end-to-end responsibility for PepsiCo's Action Pan-Europe business, including customer relationship management, negotiation strategy, business planning, and cross-market coordination.

• Work closely with Shopper Marketing, Commercialization, Category Management, DX, and Supply Chain teams to deliver Joint Business Plans and advance end-to-end cross-functional collaboration.

• Lead key customer negotiations and coach team members through local and international commercial discussions while independently closing Customer Development Agreements (CDAs) to deliver targeted business results.

• Align regularly with Sector teams to drive international and Pan-European Discounter & NFR initiatives and ensure consistent execution across markets.

• Build and maintain winning relationships with senior customer stakeholders and leverage these relationships to secure alignment, influence decision-making, and drive mutual growth.

• In partnership with Category Management, initiate and lead category growth projects with customers to unlock opportunities through assortment optimization, shelf presentation improvements, promotional effectiveness, and in-store solutions.

• Lead multidisciplinary business teams involving Marketing, Finance, Category Management, and Supply Chain to identify opportunities, address challenges, generate actionable insights, and ensure flawless execution of commercial initiatives.

• Play a pivotal role in stakeholder management, influencing senior internal and external stakeholders while bringing customer and market perspectives into strategic decision-making.

• Drive LFC, Digital, RGM portfolio transformation, and next-generation WCCE initiatives across the account group to accelerate sustainable business growth and commercial excellence.

Qualifications

• Minimum 9 years in FMCG sales / key account management, with direct experience managing Lidl, Aldi, and/or Action (or comparable discount/non-food retail) accounts in the Netherlands

• Proven success leading senior-level buyer negotiations and owning Joint Business Plans (JBP) end-to-end

• Strong commercial understanding of EDLP vs Hi-Lo pricing models and how discounter economics differ from mainstream grocery

• Track record optimizing category assortment and shelf/pallet strategy within limited-SKU, high-velocity formats

• Skilled in demand forecasting, margin management, and pricing discipline

• Confident using retail data and analytics (e.g. Nielsen/Circana) to drive fact-based negotiations

• Solid grasp of private label dynamics and how branded portfolios compete and win within discount retail

• Strong cross-functional collaborator — experience partnering with Supply Chain, Category Management, Marketing, and Finance

• Fluent in Dutch and English, with the executive presence to represent the business in senior/top-to-top retailer engagements

• Entrepreneurial, resilient, and comfortable operating in fast-paced, lean commercial environment