Quick overview
Job description
Love pets. Love the commercial game. Ready to make your mark?
Flexible to accommodate a January 2027 Start Date
Newly Created Growth Opportunity
At The Real Pet Food Company, we’re passionate about creating fresher, more nutritious food to help pets live healthier, happier lives. We’re proud to be an Australian pioneer in fresh pet nutrition, with a portfolio of much-loved brands (including Ivory Coat, Billy & Margot, Trilogy, Nature's Gift and Fussy Cat) and a genuine ambition to keep challenging the market.
As a result of a strategic restructure, we have created a new role for commercially savvy National Account Manager to step into our High-Profile Pet Specialty team help us take our brands, customer partnerships and category performance to the next level.
Reporting to our innovative and commercially astute National Business Manager for Pet Specialty, you’ll take ownership of key national accounts across the Pet Specialty channel, building strong customer partnerships and developing strategies that deliver sustainable, profitable growth for both our business and our retail partners.
You’ll bring together commercial acumen, category insights, customer understanding and a passion for pets to help you identify opportunities, negotiate outcomes and execute plans that make a real difference at the shelf, online and across the broader customer experience.
We’re looking for someone who can think strategically but loves getting into the detail — someone who can build compelling JBP's, confidently negotiate the commercial deal and then bring it to life through outstanding execution.
Pet specialty sales experience will be highly regarded. You’ll already understand the dynamics of this channel, the customers who operate within it and the opportunities and challenges that come with growing brands in a competitive pet market. If you have experience working with Independent Retailers in the Retail Pharmaceutical, Food Services or Food Distribution channels, we would also love to hear from you!
What you’ll be doing
Own the customer strategy: Develop and execute robust JBP's that deliver revenue, volume, margin and market-share growth.
Build genuine partnerships: Establish trusted relationships with key decision-makers, understanding their business priorities and creating joint plans that deliver mutual commercial value.
Drive commercial outcomes: Lead negotiations across trading terms, pricing, ranging, promotions and customer investment, balancing customer expectations with our profitability objectives.
Turn insights into action: Use sales data, category trends, customer performance and market intelligence to identify opportunities, challenge the status quo and unlock incremental growth.
Grow our brands: Identify opportunities for distribution gains, new product launches, ranging expansion, improved visibility and stronger promotional execution across the Pet Specialty channel.
Collaborate to deliver: Partner with Marketing, Category, Supply Chain, Finance and other internal teams to ensure we deliver on our customer commitments and execute plans seamlessly.
Stay ahead of the market: Keep your finger on the pulse of the pet industry, competitor activity, retailer strategies and changing shopper expectations to identify where we can win next.
What you’ll bring
You’re a commercially driven National Account Manager or Senior Account Executive looking to own this role in a company that is commercially targeting growth in our Pet Specialty Channel. You combine strategic thinking with a hands-on, get-it-done attitude. You build relationships easily, but you know that strong relationships must translate into tangible business outcomes.
Importantly, you have proven experience selling into the Pet Specialty/Independent Retailers channel and understand the unique dynamics of these channels have. You can hit the ground running because you already know the landscape, the customers and what it takes to grow a brand in this market.
You’ll also bring:
A strong track record of delivering sales growth, margin improvement and customer performance against commercial targets.
Confidence and capability in negotiating trading terms, pricing, ranging, promotional activity and customer investment.
Strong financial and analytical skills, with the ability to interpret data, build forecasts and turn insights into commercially sound decisions.
Experience developing strategic account plans and translating them into measurable outcomes.
The ability to influence and collaborate with stakeholders at all levels, both externally and internally.
A genuine passion for pets and an appreciation for the role great nutrition plays in their health and wellbeing.
Why The Real Pet Food Company?
We’re here to change the game in pet nutrition. Our portfolio includes brands such as Ivory Coat, Billy + Margot, Nature’s Gift, Fussy Cat, Trilogy and more — giving us an exciting platform to bring fresh thinking, great products and new opportunities to the market.
At RPF, our values are more than words on a wall:
Work as a Pack — collaborate, share ideas and achieve more together.
Make Your Mark — take ownership, challenge convention and make a meaningful impact.
Lead with Passion — bring energy, commitment and purpose to what you do.
Change the Game — look for better ways to work, think differently and push for progress.
You’ll join a business with ambitious growth plans, a diverse portfolio of brands and the opportunity to make a tangible contribution to our commercial success.
If you’re energised by building customer partnerships, negotiating great deals and finding new ways to grow brands in the Pet Specialty channel, we’d love to hear from you.
Ready to make your mark? Join our pack and help us create more REAL opportunities for pets, our customers and our business.
What we’re about
Welcome to RPF, where we believe in keeping it Real.
Since 1994, we have been Australia and New Zealand’s pioneers in fresher dog and cat nutrition. Our story is one of passion for a better way to care for pets, a belief in fresher nutrition, and an unwavering commitment to delivering this to pet parents and pets worldwide.
We're dedicated to fostering authentic partnerships, encouraging real ambition, and providing real career opportunities for our employees to make a difference.
Real means fresher ingredients and fresher methods. We'll never stop expanding, innovating, and trying new things. We compete in every pet category and channel, creating favourite brands such as Ivory Coat, Nature’s Gift, V.I.P. Petfoods, Love ‘Em, & Fussy Cat!
Since the establishment of RPF, we have grown to over 800 people across Australia and New Zealand, and Asia.
With the pet industry growing rapidly (a $15 billion industry!) and pets becoming increasingly important in our lives and homes, this is a unique opportunity to be a part of our remarkable growth story and advance your career.
RPF Benefits:
Working for our Pack provides you unique advantages, to name a few are:
Career development that is only as limited as your thinking
Unlimited Access to our Digital Learning Platforms (UKG Learning, LinkedIn Learning)
Pet Parents leave for those times when need to care for your fur-babies
RPF Me Days - to celebrate each service anniversary you will get one day off all to yourself!
Employee Assistance Program
Additional Employee Benefits through our valued partner Flare HR. This gives you access to perks from brands such as Adore Beauty, Hello Fresh, AIA Vitality and hundreds of discounts at a variety of retailers so there is something of value for everyone.
Should you be considered for this role you will be required to:
Attend a phone interview and 2 on-site interviews
Submit evidence of your Rights to Work in Australia (you must have full work rights- we are not able to consider sponsorship)
Agree to completing a Psych Assessment
Agree to allowing RPF to contact up to two references.