National Account Manager

National Account Manager

apetito's Business Development team drives future growth- identifying and unlocking new revenue streams in priority sectors.

A rare opportunity for a commercially driven person to join as a National Account Manager, leading new business acquisition and develop early national accounts within Higher Education, where we are investing in a new commercial structure to accelerate our growth, scaling proven pilots into long-term partnerships.

Reporting to the Head of Business Development, the National Account Manager will play a critical role in growing apetito's presence in the HE sector.

You will combine new business acquisition with strategic account development to deliver sustainable, profitable growth.

You'll build relationships with senior stakeholders across university catering, procurement and commercial teams, and help shape our go-to-market approach in HE.

While the initial priority is Universities, the National Account Manager could also have scope to investigate and test opportunities in adjacent markets over time, using insight and learning from the sector to help shape apetito's wider new markets strategy.

We're looking for a commercially astute, ambitious salesperson with a track record of winning large, complex B2B accounts and delivering sustainable national account growth.

You'll need confidence engaging stakeholders at all levels, skilled in negotiation and relationship-building, and ideally bring experience of university or college catering.

Strong working relationships with internal cross-functional teams will also be critical to your success.

This is an exciting opportunity, and will play a crucial role in shaping the future of apetito!

This is a national role involving regular travel and overnight stays across the UK. A company car is provided to facilitate your travel.

Who We Are

apetito is the UK's leading food supplier to the health and social care sectors serving more than 1,300 care homes, health care and education settings.

Our meals are expertly crafted by our dieticians and chefs and then frozen to lock in the goodness. Wiltshire Farm Foods, our sister company, is the UK's largest ready meal supplier cooking and delivering over 330 different delicious frozen ready meals across the UK.

Responsibilities

• Identify, engage and secure new national account opportunities in Higher Education and future new markets, using a consultative, customer-led approach.
• Lead senior commercial discussions and negotiations (pricing, frameworks and contracts) to establish profitable, scalable long-term partnerships.
• Develop and deliver account and sector strategies, leading proposals and major tenders that solve customer needs and drive long‑term partnerships.
• Build trusted senior stakeholder relationships within newly secured accounts to maximise retention, satisfaction and lifetime value, and drive growth through joint business planning, unlocking agreed expansion across propositions, services and partnerships.
• Work closely with Marketing, Proposition, NPD, Operations and Finance to shape customer-led solutions and deliver flawless execution.
• Support the development, testing and refinement of new concepts as needed.
• Own end-to-end acquisition and growth targets, with clear KPIs, taking personal accountability for delivery, including building and managing a robust pipeline from early engagement through to contract award and onboarding.
• Maintain forecasting and reporting against OKRs, ensuring full visibility of pipeline, performance and actions to keep delivery on track.

About You

Essential skills and experience

• Highly commercial, with strong strategic and analytical capability.
• Customer-centric, confident influencing senior stakeholders internally and externally.
• Collaborative, effective at working across cross-functional teams.
• Growth mindset: resilient, ambitious, proactive and driven to exceed targets.
• Agile and creative, able to flex approach to deliver results.
• Strategic thinker, balancing long-term vision with short-term delivery.
• Passionate ambassador for the apetito brand and values.

Desirable experience

• Experience within retail food-service and/or public sector catering, specifically within Higher or Further Education.
• Understanding of procurement processes, contract and pricing structures within Higher Education or Further.

The successful candidate will bring credibility, confidence and energy, motivated and ready to make a tangible contribution to apetito's long-term growth ambitions.

You will influence and inspire stakeholders, building strong, long-term partnerships, and thrive in targeted new markets with an agile, test-and-learn mindset, building, measuring and refining your approach based on insight.

Additional Information

National role requiring regular travel and overnight stays.

A company car is provided.

Must hold a valid UK driving licence.

Company Benefits

• Competitive salary – accredited Living Wage employer
• Company car
• 25 days holiday per year, plus bank holidays
• Option to purchase up to 5 additional days holiday per year
• Generous annual bonus scheme
• Pension scheme - employer matched contributions up to 5%
• Life assurance scheme worth 2x annual salary
• Subsidised canteen (remove for roles not based at head office)
• Free turkey or voucher at Christmas
• Access to employee benefits including Perkbox with salary sacrifice options and retail discounts

Our Values

As a family-owned business, we take great pride in being a company that makes a real difference and is dedicated to creating outstanding meals to be proud of.

We develop a range of products designed to enhance health and well-being for all our customers.

We are driven by a passion for service and dedicated to feeding some of the UK's most vulnerable people.

We proudly support British food and farming, focusing on using the best ethical and sustainable produce in alignment with our goal to reach Net Zero by 2040.

Our ethical standards are recognised by the ETI and we are an accredited Living Wage employer. Learn more about apetito's commitment to a more sustainable future.

We embrace inclusion, empowering individuals from diverse backgrounds.

Our commitment to making a real difference extends to customers, communities, and staff and we're on a mission to build an inclusive workplace where everyone reaches their full potential.