Strategic Customer & Projects Manager

Strategic Customer & Projects Manager

Fresh Produce | UK

A genuinely different opportunity within fresh produce

We are working with a highly successful and ambitious fresh produce business to appoint a Strategic Customer & Projects Manager into a newly created and influential position.

This isn't a conventional Commercial Manager role or a traditional Project Manager position.

We're looking for someone who can join the dots —building trusted relationships with growers, major UK retailers and strategic partners, then bringing together the right people to turn ideas and opportunities into results.

Reporting to the Chief Commercial Officer , you'll work across six interconnected areas:

Growing Community | Innovation & Development | Sustainability & CSR | Consumer & Marketing | Customer Partnerships | Ways of Working

The Opportunity

The organisation's growing community is fundamental to its success.

You'll develop strong relationships with growers, gaining a genuine understanding of their businesses, capabilities, challenges and ambitions. You'll improve communication, encourage greater collaboration and ensure the grower perspective is represented in relevant business and customer conversations.

You'll also help growers understand changing retailer, consumer and sustainability priorities, creating stronger alignment across the supply chain.

Alongside this, you'll become a trusted and consistent point of contact for key retailers and strategic partners—understanding their priorities and coordinating the appropriate expertise from across the business.

One day you could be meeting growers to discuss future crop plans, supply challenges or new product opportunities. The next, you might be coordinating a sustainability initiative, reviewing consumer insight or bringing several teams together to deliver an important customer project.

You don't need to be the expert in every subject.

You do need to know how to find the expertise, bring the right people together, ask intelligent questions and make sure things happen.

Your Remit

Growing Community
All candidates should make sure to read the following job description and information carefully before applying.
Strengthen relationships and communication with growers, creating a more connected, engaged and forward-looking grower network. Understand their capabilities and priorities, share relevant insight and help develop collaborative plans around innovation, sustainability, resilience and future supply.

Innovation & Development
Build relationships with growers, breeders and development partners to identify emerging products, varieties and growing techniques, ensuring the business has early visibility of future opportunities.

Sustainability & CSR
Understand retailer expectations and coordinate credible, measurable initiatives across growers, internal teams and external partners.

Consumer & Marketing
Translate changing consumer behaviour and market insight into opportunities for category growth, innovation and stronger customer propositions.

Customer Partnerships
Work alongside the commercial team to understand retailer priorities and develop deeper, more strategic relationships by connecting customers with the right knowledge, ideas and expertise.

Ways of Working
Improve communication, collaboration and accountability, ensuring actions are captured, responsibilities are clear and commitments are delivered.

Who Are We Looking For?

We're deliberately keeping an open mind about background and current job title .

You could come from grower relations, agriculture, commercial, category, innovation, sustainability, marketing, customer strategy or project management.

Fresh produce or wider food/FMCG experience would be highly relevant, particularly if you have worked with growers, suppliers or major UK retailers .

More important is your ability to demonstrate:

• Exceptional relationship-building and communication skills.
• Credibility with growers, customers and senior stakeholders.
• A genuine interest in agricultural supply chains and long-term partnerships.
• Strong commercial awareness.
• Natural curiosity and an appetite to learn.
• The confidence to challenge constructively.
• The ability to influence without relying on hierarchy.
• Strong project management and organisational capability.
• A track record of bringing people together and delivering results.

Why Consider It?

Roles with this breadth don't come along very often.

You'll work across the entire journey from grower and product development through to consumer insight, retailer relationships and business strategy .

You'll report directly to the Chief Commercial Officer , with the visibility and support required to make a genuine impact.

This could particularly suit someone who has built a strong career within one area of food, agriculture or fresh produce and now wants to broaden their influence across an entire business and supply chain . xwwtmva

UK based | Fresh Produce | Senior strategic appointment

If you're intrigued—even if your current job title doesn't appear to be an obvious match—we'd be very interested in having a confidential conversation.

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