About the Role

Saudia Dairy & Foodstuff Company (SADAFCO) is seeking an Associate Director Key Accounts to lead and expand its strategic partnerships with major national and regional key accounts. Based in Jeddah and Makkah, this full-time role involves overseeing a portfolio of accounts and the teams managing them. The Associate Director is responsible for translating commercial strategy into account-level execution, driving sustainable, profitable growth, and elevating customer relationships to senior decision-maker levels.

Key Responsibilities

• Own the overall relationship strategy for a portfolio of key accounts, acting as the senior escalation point and executive-level relationship holder.
• Set the account prioritization framework, ensuring resources and investment are directed toward high-value growth opportunities.
• Represent the company in senior-level business reviews, top-to-top meetings, and strategic negotiations with customer leadership.
• Lead or directly oversee the negotiation of major commercial agreements, trading terms, and annual contracts with key customers.
• Build and maintain senior-level relationships with customer decision-makers to secure long-term, mutually beneficial partnerships.
• Anticipate market and customer shifts and proactively adjust account strategy.

Team Leadership and Development

• Lead, coach, and develop a team of Key Account Managers, setting clear KPIs and holding the team accountable for account performance.
• Conduct performance management, talent development, and succession planning within the team.
• Build commercial and negotiation capability across the team through coaching, structured reviews, and knowledge-sharing.
• Ensure consistent standards of account planning, forecasting, and reporting quality across all managed accounts.

Commercial Strategy and Financial Oversight

• Own the annual joint business planning (JBP) process across the account portfolio, ensuring plans are data-backed and aligned with overall commercial and category strategy.
• Set portfolio-level trade investment strategy and approve promotional/rebate budget allocation based on ROI and strategic priority.
• Own the portfolio's sales forecast and be accountable for its accuracy, working closely with Demand Planning and Supply Chain leadership.
• Manage portfolio-level P&L performance (sales, trade spend ROI, market share, EBIT contribution) and report against targets to senior leadership.
• Review in-market execution trends across accounts, identifying systemic gaps and directing corrective strategies.
• Own governance of trade spend, rebates, and customer investment budgets across the portfolio, ensuring compliance with approved budgets and company policy.
• Partner with Finance on budget planning, claims audits, and reconciliation governance, ensuring financial integrity across all accounts.
• Approve deductions/disputes exceeding KAM authority and monitor deduction trends and aging across the portfolio.

Qualifications and Experience

• 8–12 years of progressive experience in Sales or Key Account Management within FMCG or a similar industry.
• At least 2–3 years of experience in a people-management or team-lead capacity.
• Proven track record managing large, complex national accounts and multi-million-value trade budgets.
• Advanced Microsoft Office skills, particularly Excel, and comfort working with BI/reporting tools.

Required Competencies

• Strategic thinking with strong commercial and financial acumen (P&L ownership level).
• Senior-level negotiation and executive relationship management skills.
• Demonstrated people leadership abilities, including coaching, performance management, and team development.
• Advanced analytical skills, capable of translating portfolio data into strategic recommendations.
• Strong cross-functional influence, particularly with Finance, Supply Chain, Marketing, and senior leadership.
• Executive presence and communication skills, including comfort presenting to senior internal and external stakeholders.
• Change management and resilience in navigating complex, high-stakes account situations.