Commercial Partner - Retail Accounts
About the Role
The Commercial Partner - Retail Accounts plays a critical role within the UK Retail Cluster Commercial Team, partnering closely with a Retail Sales Manager and wider Sales and Commercial teams to drive profitable growth across key retail accounts.
This position combines commercial finance expertise, pricing strategy, business partnering, and people leadership to support volume and margin growth while delivering value creation initiatives across the retail customer base.
Key Responsibilities
Pricing & Commercial Support
Support pricing activities, customer quotations, and tender submissions across retail accounts.
Work closely with Sales teams to provide commercial insights and recommendations.
Help analyse pricing data and customer feedback to identify opportunities for growth and profitability.
Commercial Analysis & Value Creation
Assist in monitoring account performance, profitability, and commercial trends.
Support commercial projects and continuous improvement initiatives within the Retail Cluster.
Use financial and operational data to help inform pricing and business decisions.
Business Partnering
Build strong working relationships with Sales, Finance, and Commercial teams.
Provide clear and accurate analysis to support decision-making.
Collaborate with colleagues across the business to help deliver commercial objectives.
Development & Team Support
Support the wider Commercial team with day-to-day activities and projects.
Take ownership of personal development and actively seek learning opportunities.
Develop commercial, analytical, and stakeholder management skills through hands-on experience.
About You
Qualifications
Graduate calibre.
Qualified Accountant (ACA, ACCA, or CIMA) with at least 1 year post-qualification experience; or
4-5 years' demonstrable commercial experience in a relevant business environment.
Experience
Commercial finance, pricing, business partnering, or commercial analysis experience.
Proven ability to influence and challenge stakeholders.
Experience working in cross-functional teams.
Previous leadership or people management experience.
Manufacturing, FMCG, logistics, or multi-site business experience would be advantageous.
Skills & Knowledge
Strong commercial awareness and understanding of financial management principles.
Ability to translate financial data into actionable business insights.
Advanced Excel and strong analytical skills.
Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills.
Strong problem-solving and decision-making capabilities.
Ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced commercial environment.
Benefits
Competitive salary
25 days holiday plus bank holidays
Pension scheme, life assurance and income protection
Employee Assistance Programme
Employee Discounts
Cycle to work scheme
Location: home based with frequent travel to sites
Hours: 37.5 - Monday to Friday
About us
We are DS Smith, together with International Paper, we are a global leader in sustainable packaging solutions and other fibre-based products. We believe a better, more sustainable tomorrow is possible with the right people, who challenge and support one another to enact positive change. We employ more than 65,000 colleagues in North America and Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA), who are experts in innovation, manufacturing, design, sales, sustainability, supply chain, and much more. Together with our customers, we make the world safer and more productive, one sustainable packaging solution at a time. Become part of a world-leading organisation and do your best work with us!
Fair recruitment at DS Smith
To fulfil our purpose of redefining packaging for a changing world, we aim to build a diverse, motivated, and engaged workforce. Our goal is to create a culture of inclusion where everyone is treated fairly, differences are valued, and everyone has an equal opportunity to succeed.
Our people come from diverse backgrounds, bring different perspectives, ideas and experiences to generate unique solutions focused on present and future sustainability challenges. We welcome all candidates to apply, even those not meeting all criteria