Surya Foods
Commercial Executive – Indie Sales
How your CV stacks up
Upload your CV to see how well it fits this job role
?%
Commercial Executive – Indie Sales
Location: Surya Foods HQ, Europa Way, Harwich, Essex, CO12 4PT
Department: Independent Sales Team
Reports to: Global Business Unit Director-Frozen & Director of Independent retail
About Surya Foods
Surya Foods is a leading provider of international food products, with an extensive range of over 1,300 SKUs. We cater to diverse cultural food groups as well as mainstream consumers looking to broaden their food experiences. With a strong presence in the UK retail market and exports to 45 countries worldwide, Surya Foods serves over 100,000 retail points across the UK mainstream retail channel and works with leading retailers.
The Role
This is a site-based position at Surya Foods HQ in Harwich, Essex (CO12 4PT). Candidates must be able to reliably commute to our Harwich HQ or be willing to relocate. The role will also involve occasional travel to support Sales Managers and Sales Executives at sales meetings, including meetings held at our sister hotels. Candidates must therefore have a valid UK driving licence and access to a vehicle, or otherwise have reliable access to suitable transport, to meet the travel requirements of the role. Hours are 9am till 6pm Monday to Friday
We are looking for a Commercial Executive – Indie Sales to join our growing Commercial Team and provide hands-on commercial support to our Independent Sales Team. This is a site-based, commercially focused role that will work closely with our Sales Managers and Sales Executives, helping them maximise sales opportunities, manage customer requirements and make informed commercial decisions.
You will play an important role in supporting the team with pricing, promotions, customer relationships, sales analysis and performance reporting, ensuring that commercial decisions are supported by accurate data and deliver against our sales and margin objectives.
This role would suit someone who is commercially minded, analytical, confident and resilient, with the personality to hold their own within a fast-paced sales environment. You will need to be comfortable asking questions, challenging information when necessary and constructively pushing back where something doesn't make commercial sense.
We are looking for someone who will think commercially, spot opportunities, challenge the numbers and actively support the sales team in delivering results.
Key Responsibilities
Commercial & Sales Support
- Provide day-to-day commercial support to the Independent Sales Team.
- Support Sales Managers and Sales Executives with pricing, promotions and customer proposals.
- Prepare and maintain accurate pricing and promotional information.
- Support the development of customer-specific commercial proposals and opportunities.
- Monitor pricing, promotional activity and commercial performance.
- Work closely with the sales team to ensure pricing and promotional activity is aligned with commercial objectives.
- Challenge pricing, promotional or customer requests where appropriate and ensure decisions are commercially justified.
- Identify opportunities to increase sales, improve customer performance and maximise product penetration.
Reasons to use Rodeo
Start with a chat, not a search bar
Grad scheme, placement, apprenticeship? Not sure what you want yet — that's fine. Your agent talks it through with you and turns "I have no idea" into a shortlist.
It searches the market for you
Every day your agent scans the market matching roles against what actually matters to you, not just keywords on a CV.
Only hits
No noise. No "maybe this fits." Just roles with a clear explanation of why they're right — and where to focus when applying.
Sales Analysis & Reporting
- Analyse sales data, customer performance, product performance and promotional activity.
- Prepare regular sales reports, dashboards and performance analysis for the Commercial Team.
- Monitor sales against agreed targets and KPIs.
- Identify trends, opportunities and areas of underperformance and communicate these clearly to the sales team and management.
- Support the team in turning data and analysis into practical sales actions.
- Track the effectiveness of promotions and other commercial initiatives.
- Maintain accurate commercial records and ensure information is kept up to date.
Customer Relationships
- Support Sales Managers and Executives with customer queries and commercial requirements.
- Assist with customer communications relating to pricing, promotions, products and commercial activity.
- Build positive working relationships with customers and internal stakeholders.
- Help resolve commercial issues promptly and professionally.
- Develop a good understanding of our customers, products and the Independent channel.
Sales Team Support
- Work closely with Sales Managers and Sales Executives to understand their customer requirements and priorities.
- Provide the team with the information and analysis they need to support customer meetings and sales activity.
- Attend sales meetings where required and provide commercial and analytical support.
- Work collaboratively with the wider Commercial, Finance, Supply Chain and Marketing teams.
- Support the preparation of presentations, sales packs and customer meeting materials.
- Help ensure agreed actions from sales meetings are followed through.
Meetings & Travel
Although this is a site-based role at our Harwich HQ, the position will involve occasional travel to support the Independent Sales Team at customer and sales meetings. Sales meetings may take place at our sister hotels and other locations, so the successful candidate must be able to drive or have reliable access to suitable transport to attend meetings when required.
Get help with your application
Your very own career expert that helps elevate your application to the next level.
About You
We are looking for someone who is:
- Commercially minded and sales-number driven, with a genuine interest in understanding what drives sales and profitability.
- Highly analytical, with strong attention to detail and the ability to interpret and explain sales data.
- Confident working with numbers, pricing, margins, targets and KPIs.
- Assertive and confident enough to hold their own within a busy sales environment.
- Not afraid to ask questions, challenge information or respectfully challenge decisions.
- Strong-willed, resilient and able to work with a range of personalities.
- Organised and able to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced environment.
- Customer-focused with strong communication and relationship-building skills.
- Proactive, with the ability to identify issues and opportunities rather than simply waiting to be told what to do.
- Comfortable working independently while also being a strong team player.
- Able to communicate commercial information clearly to both sales colleagues and management.
- Confident using Excel and working with sales data and reports.
Experience & Qualifications
- Previous experience in a commercial, sales support, sales analysis, account management or similar role.
- Experience working within the food, FMCG, wholesale, retail or Cash & Carry sector would be advantageous.
- Strong Excel and data analysis skills.
- Experience working with pricing, promotions, sales targets and/or customer performance data.
- Experience supporting a sales team or working closely with sales professionals would be advantageous.
- A commercial or sales-related qualification would be advantageous but is not essential where relevant experience can be demonstrated.
What We Offer
After successful completion of probation, employees receive a Staff Discount Card entitling them to:
- Discounted / free food.
- Staff events.
- Access to our Benefits Reward Platform, offering discounts at leading retailers across home, beauty, clothing and electronics, plus access to a virtual GP, wellbeing hub, fitness/gym and nutrition apps, and much more.
- Competitive salary.
If you are commercially driven, analytical, confident and enjoy working alongside a high-performing sales team, we'd love to hear from you.
“It took my CV and asked me questions relevant to understanding what kind of jobs to suggest for me. Suggestions were almost perfect. Jobs were exactly what I’ve been looking for.”
Jessica, London
Skills
Location