Salespeople work as account managers for some of the world’s biggest brands, owning their business and creating the sales strategy and plans to grow the brand and the overall category.
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The manufacturing team work on new innovations to develop, install, and monitor the processes and equipment that turn raw materials into a product that can be sold in stores.
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Marketing managers take on the role of both marketer and brand builder, owning their own brand to build and make it a market success.
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In R&D, managers work on inventing the next big thing, leading teams of scientists, engineers and technical staff to create new products and improve on existing ones.
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IT and tech services at an FMCG company merge business and technology with innovation to create competitive advantages.
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The overall role of a logistics and supply chain manager is to manage the transfer of goods.
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Consumer & market knowledge managers integrate shopper needs and market understanding to catalyze business growth.
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HR managers are tasked with driving business growth and using innovative strategy to look after some of the world’s best talent across the globe and help them to perform at their best.
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Forget what you know about sales, because in FMCG, sales is a different role altogether. There isn't any cold calling – instead, salespeople work as account managers for some of the world’s biggest brands. Sales managers own their business –usually a brand with a retailer – and create the sales strategy and plans to grow the brand and the overall category. Their overall objective is to consistently increase sales figures, and boost revenue profitably for both the retailer and supplier by building meaningful and long-lasting relationships. If you are a driven individual who wants to work with some of the world's best-loved brands, this could be the role for you.
As a grad
Even as a grad you will probably have your own account to run, be given the responsibility of your own mini-business and be tasked with building your brand in a retailer. You will need to budget well and have financial and commercial acumen, as your role will be to manage key accounts and simultaneously forge positive relationships with clients, create business plans, and drive sales to make money for their company.salary bands and hours
- £22k – £34k
- Average of 40 – 45 hours per week
training
Training is usually provided in-house – you’ll learn from more senior salespeople who have plenty of experience in the industry. This will generally involve shadowing them and learning on the job, working your way up to bigger accounts as you progress.progression
From starting off as a sales executive, you'll progress to area sales manager, then to national sales manager, and eventually become sales director, depending on results and your performance. As well as moving up within your industry, you'll also develop the skills to move into related sales fields such as advertising, marketing, or public relations.necessary skills and requirements
Skills:- You'll need to be happy and comfortable with being on-the-go
- Excellent communication skills, particularly in terms of presenting and pitching
- Good interpersonal skills and the ability to build strong and lasting relationships with clients
- Strong negotiation skills are required in order to get the best value out of your clients
- Financial skills and the ability to crunch numbers are a must
- A 2:2 or above in any degree discipline, although having a degree in Business, Management or Marketing may improve your chances.
top tips
Try and get any relevant work experience or involvement with university activities, especially where socialising and building relationships is involved. This will help you stand out, and prove that you can demonstrate the skills necessary to succeed in the job.testimonials
Jack
Sainsbury’s Gillette and Venus Sales Account Manager at P&G HQ
From the first week into the job you will become a business owner – not just helping run the business, but in an actual leadership role. This comes with real budgets, a huge amount of responsibility and the opportunity to work on one of the biggest brands in the world. Many of my friends at other companies started on rotations through different functions, and while that’s interesting to understand the different aspects of the company, I find it far more beneficial to start work on your very own business from day one.
Navneet
Technical Leader in Manufacturing at P&G Manchester
I love working in manufacturing because every day is different. The plant isn’t enormous, so you get to know everyone who works there and so you know who to go to whenever you need support for different issues, and vice versa. The people definitely make the company – I feel like everyone is working together towards the same goal which is to create products which touch and improve the lives of our customers.
Danny
Brand Manager for Braun in Northern Europe at P&G HQ
The culture is great, from a social perspective I never really anticipated that some of my best friends would be ‘work friends’ but that’s definitely how it’s worked out. There’s a decent social calendar, both P&G organised and otherwise. One of the highlights is undoubtedly the annual P&G World Cup, where 60 guys and girls from the UK head to a European city to compete with other global P&G offices in a weekend-long football tournament.
Martha
Global Microbiological Lead for Hard Surface Cleaners in Research & Development at P&G Egham
My work life balance is well preserved. I always leave my laptop at work every night and never work on the weekends. Every Friday I also go to an exercise class as part of the Vibrant Living programme which runs on all of our sites and helps our employees to live a healthy and balanced lifestyle.
Leonardo
IT Application Manager at P&G Newcastle
The aspect I enjoy most about my work is the impact that I can have on P&G. Given the company’s large size and the level of responsibility that every person has, every great idea has the potential to be scaled up to impact entire teams or markets around the world. In addition to a really engaging and intellectually challenging work environment, I’d highly recommend P&G for its “work hard play hard” culture and career growth opportunities.
Annie
Customer Demand Planner in Supply Network at P&G Harrogate
The responsibility and leadership you are given from day one allows you to set the direction within your role, and identify and lead projects that will contribute to the company’s growth. As P&G is a predominantly promote from within company, personal development is considered important and encouraged as part of your work plan.
Sophie
Analytics & Insight Associate Manager in Consumer Market Knowledge at P&G HQ
P&G is an amazing company to work for, and probably the best place to kickstart your career. The company offers a great work/life balance, as well as a unique opportunity to never stop learning. Employees are fully trusted from day one and recognised for their hard work. With the world of FMCG moving at such a fast pace, every day is different, bringing on a new and exciting challenge, whether it be an external project with a retailer or internally with the category team, the job never gets boring.
Joe
HR Account Manager on Sales and Marketing in Northern Europe at P&G HQ
I would recommend working at P&G to anyone who wants to work on projects which really matter and make a difference to the bigger picture, to anyone who wants the freedom, autonomy and ownership to lead those projects in the direction they see best, and to anyone who wants all of this from their first day on the job.
Steph
Europe Product Supply Finance Analyst at P&G HQ
The company really understands the correlation between an effective work/life balance and delivering great business results. In my role, I’m given the responsibility and flexibility to manage my own workload around any personal commitments. Outside of work I still find plenty of time for socialising with friends, hobbies and travel. There is absolutely no expectation to work weekends and I’ve found P&G managers are great at helping support priority setting making sure work plans are balanced yet still challenging to enable personal growth and results.
