Pet Shop Chains Strategic Account Manager

At Elanco (NYSE: ELAN) – it all starts with animals!As a global leader in animal health, we are dedicated to innovation and delivering products and services to prevent and treat disease in farm animals and pets. At Elanco, we are driven by our vision of Food and Companionship Enriching Life and our purpose – all to Go Beyond for Animals, Customers, Society and Our People.At Elanco, we pride ourselves on fostering a diverse and inclusive work environment. We believe that diversity is the driving force behind innovation, creativity, and overall business success. Here, you’ll be part of a company that values and champions new ways of thinking, work with dynamic individuals, and acquire new skills and experiences that will propel your career to new heights.Making animals’ lives better makes life better – join our team today!Your role: Pet Shop Chains Strategic Account ManagerThe Pet Shop Chains Strategic Account Manager (SAM) is a highly strategic and commercial role responsible for driving profitable growth, market share, and category leadership within the rapidly evolving Pet Shop Chains channel in Italy.The successful candidate will further advance our commercial model to a proactive, best-in-class Key Account Management framework. This role requires a high-performing professional with deep expertise in the Retail, FMCG, or Consumer Health sectors, possessing exceptional business acumen, learning agility, and a growth mindset. The SAM will act as the "orchestrator" across internal functions (Sales, Marketing, Trade Marketing, E-commerce, Supply Chain) and external stakeholders to deliver value beyond the product.Your Responsibilities: Sales Leadership: Achieve sales targets, manage budgets, analyze sales data, and collaborate cross-functionally within the omnichannel framework to develop successful channel plans.Channel & Omnichannel Strategy: Define and execute channel strategies for Pet Shop Chains as true omnichannel partners by establishing clear rules for assortment, promotions, pricing, and content to resolve online/offline price conflicts and prevent cannibalization. Optimize resource allocation by segmenting customers using a strategic importance versus competitiveness matrix.Joint Business Planning (JBP) & Operating Model: Drive the formal annual business cycle (Negotiation, Joint Planning, Implementation, Business Review) by executing comprehensive JBPs and aligning internal stakeholders across Sales, Marketing, Trade Marketing, and E-commerce early in the planning phase to ensure commercial readiness.Proactive Commercial Execution: Advance customer relationships through data-driven weekly in-season engagements, treating trade investments as dynamic, performance-linked levers. Execute an in-season commercial playbook with clear activation triggers and countermeasures, collaborating as a One Team to maximize customer service and sustainable growth through high-value analytical and commercial activities.Data, Measurement & ROI: Secure granular sell-out data by negotiating strategic data-sharing agreements, and build integrated KPI dashboards combining internal and external data. Monitor core metrics- sell-in, sell-out, category share, product availability, and ROI-using customer scorecards as a standard format to drive in-year resource reallocation and value creation meetings.What You Need to Succeed (Minimum Qualifications):Education & Experience: Bachelor's/Master's in Business, Marketing, or related; 5+ years in Key Account Management within Retail, FMCG, or Consumer Health, with proven omnichannel and JBP expertise.Financial & Technical Skills: Strong P&L, pricing, and ROI financial literacy combined with deep GDO/Retail fluency and proficiency in CRM and BI tools.Industry & Innovation: Knowledge of Animal Health trends combined with a readiness to embrace market innovation.Leadership & Mindset: Embodies Connect with People, Be Determined, Drive Continuous Improvement, a growth mindset, and a "Go Beyond" attitude as a strategic, ROI-driven problem solver.Cross-Functional Collaboration: Strong "One Team" partner for marketing, skilled at co-creating strategies and launches, connecting colleagues, and tracking outcomes with proper metrics.Communication & Influence: Influential "people person" with strong B2B experience, excellent team spirit, and strong multi-level oral/written communication to lead and influence others internally and externally.Change Management: Capable of driving changes to match an evolving marketplace.Languages: Fluent Italian and English (oral and written).What Will Give You a Competitive Edge (Preferred Qualifications):An MBA or specialized Retail/GDO training.Experience in the Italian pet health/food/care market or managing chains like Arcaplanet, Conad, or Isola dei Tesori.Additional Information:Travel: up to around 50%Location: North of Italy/ Field basedItaly COLA A1 full salary band: 60,000.00 - 90,000.00 EUR AnnualElanco currently anticipates that the base salary for this position could range from 75%–115% of this salary band depending partly on the successful candidate’s qualifications, including education and experience.The compensation elements might be subject to future change. Elanco reserves the right to amend, modify, or terminate its compensation and benefit programs in its sole discretion, and Elanco’s compensation practices and guidelines will apply regarding the details of any promotion or transfer of Elanco employees. Estimated application closing date is 20/09/2026. Applications will be accepted on an ongoing basis.Don’t meet every single requirement? Studies have shown underrepresented groups are less likely to apply to jobs unless they meet every single qualification. At Elanco we are dedicated to building a diverse and inclusive work environment. If you think you might be a good fit for a role but don't necessarily meet every requirement, we encourage you to apply. You may be the right candidate for this role or other roles! Elanco is an EEO/Affirmative Action Employer and does not discriminate on the basis of age, race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, national origin, protected veteran status, disability or any other legally protected statusElanco may use automated tools, including AI, to support parts of our recruitment process, such as reviewing applications against job‑related criteria and/or transferrable skills. These tools help ensure a consistent, structured evaluation, but they do not make hiring decisions. All decisions involve a human reviewer. For more information on how we handle personal data, please see our Elanco Workforce Privacy Notice.SummaryLocation: IT - MilanoType: Full time