Away From Home Sales Controller

PepsiCo Deutschland GmbH; Reading; Hybrid; GBP 70,000 - GBP 90,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading global food and beverage company is seeking a Senior Strategic Channel Leader in Reading, UK, to drive growth and innovation across the Workplace channel. This hybrid role involves leading a high-performing team, managing key customer relationships, and devising commercial strategies to secure sustainable growth. The ideal candidate will possess strong influencing and negotiation skills, with a proven track record in driving sales performance within food service. You will work closely with senior stakeholders to achieve strategic alignment and operational excellence.

Qualifications

• Proven commercial acumen with the ability to create mutual value.
• Strong negotiation skills with internal and external stakeholders.
• Experience in managing change and enhancing sales performance.

Responsibilities

• Serve as the executive sponsor for key Workplace accounts.
• Lead commercial strategy development with finance for revenue models.
• Inspire and develop a high-performing team for achieving targets.
• Elevate customer relationships through top-to-top engagement.
• Shape future portfolio and route-to-market strategies.

Skills

Commercial acumen

Influencing skills

Negotiation skills

Change management

Collaboration skills

Leadership capabilities

Job description

Overview

Step into the vibrant and fast‑paced world of PepsiCo’s Away From Home (AFH) sales team, where your entrepreneurial spirit, problem‑solving mindset, and innovative thinking will thrive. Here, you’ll work hand‑in‑hand with customers to grow their businesses and make a tangible impact—turning ideas into action in just days. Be inspired by visionary leaders and a team that embodies agility, resilience, and camaraderie.

As the Senior Strategic Channel Leader, you will own and shape the future of our Workplace channel, driving growth and innovation across some of our most critical accounts. This role is pivotal in defining long‑term commercial strategies, building influential partnerships, and unlocking enterprise‑wide value through global collaboration. You will lead a high‑performing team, foster a culture of excellence, and act as a trusted advisor to senior stakeholders—both internally and externally. Your leadership will ensure sustainable growth, operational agility, and strategic alignment with our overarching business objectives.

The role sits on the UK AFH Leadership Team and reports directly into the AFH UK Director.

Responsibilities

Strategic Customer Leadership

• Serve as the executive sponsor for two of our largest Workplace accounts—Foodbuy and WSH—driving strategic growth and deepening partnerships
• Provide senior oversight for all Workplace channel accounts, ensuring alignment with enterprise priorities.
• Shape and deliver multi‑year Joint Business Plans (JBPs) that accelerate brand penetration and secure long‑term, sustainable growth.

Commercial & Financial Excellence

• Lead commercial strategy development in partnership with Finance, creating robust revenue models and performance frameworks.
• Drive accountability and agility through collaboration with GCC teams for proactive reporting and strategic course correction.
• Unlock global synergies to translate scale into local market advantage.

Team Leadership & Development

• Inspire and lead a high‑performing team of 3, setting a clear vision and empowering them to achieve PSP/AOP targets.
• Cultivate future leaders through coaching, mentorship, and career development initiatives.
• Champion excellence across consortia customers in Education, Healthcare & Defence (e.g., NHS, TUCO, HCA, LACA), ensuring strategic alignment and growth.

Customer Engagement & Innovation

• Elevate customer relationships by driving World Class Customer Engagement (WCCE) and leading top‑to‑top (T2T) strategic dialogues.
• Balance operational execution with visionary planning, ensuring short‑term wins contribute to long‑term transformation.
• Shape the future of our portfolio and route‑to‑market strategy in partnership with RTM teams, positioning the business for sustained success.

Qualifications

• A positive, can‑do attitude with a passion for winning.
• Proven commercial acumen and ability to turn opportunities into mutual value.
• Strong influencing and negotiation skills across internal and external stakeholders.
• Experience managing change and driving sales performance.
• Cross‑functional collaboration skills to build internal partnerships.
• Background in foodservice or working with national customers.
• Demonstrated autonomous leadership in customer management and team development.

This is a hybrid role, requiring three days per week working from our Reading office.