Key Accounts & Branding Manager

Job Purpose

Coordinates and manages assigned key account relationships across the commercial portfolio to retain existing customers, sustain service continuity, and protect account health and customer satisfaction. The Key Account & Branding Manager monitors and mitigates relationship risks and opportunities and coordinates cross-functional action to protect profitable account performance and strengthen long-term account stability.

Principal Accountabilities

• Manages regular contact with assigned airline and catering clients to maintain existing relationships and protect retention.
• Maintains account histories, service commitments, flight-related requirements, and issue logs to support consistent account management.
• Conducts follow-up actions after client meetings and service reviews to ensure commitments are completed on time.
• Identifies changes in customer schedules, menus, and service expectations and escalates risks early to protect the relationship. Promotes a customer-focused approach across internal teams to strengthen trust and service continuity.
• Monitors account revenue, margins, and volume trends to ensure assigned accounts remain commercially healthy.
• Analyses key account performance data to identify relationship risks, service gaps, and areas for improved value.
• Tracks forecasts, renewals, and business updates to ensure accurate planning for each key account.
• Coordinates pricing and service inputs with internal teams to protect commercial returns on assigned accounts.
• Recommends corrective actions when performance drifts to ensure account targets remain achievable.
• Oversees renewal preparation and joint business planning to secure continuity of existing accounts.
• Reviews account progress against agreed plans to ensure actions remain aligned with client and operational targets.
• Prepares action trackers and follow-up plans to keep milestones visible and measurable.
• Identifies opportunities to strengthen service scope or account value within existing relationships where appropriate.
• Leads account review discussions to reinforce retention and long-term partnership.
• Collates client and market insights on promotions, visuals, advertising, and product presentation to inform brand proposals.
• Manages promotional material requests with marketing teams to ensure timely client support.
• Reviews brand execution at account level and identifies gaps to ensure consistency with approved direction.
• Advises on social media and influencer trends that may affect account engagement to support decision-making.
• Prepares recommendations for brand-related actions to ensure executive stakeholders have relevant information and final approval remains at the correct level.
• Communicates with internal sales, quality, finance, and operations teams to align account actions.
• Presents account updates, risks, and service improvement opportunities to internal stakeholders to ensure timely support and decisions.
• Interacts with external clients and buying teams to clarify requirements and confirm expectations.
• Research customer, competitor, and market trends to identify threats and opportunities in assigned accounts.
• Keeps account plans current with market intelligence to ensure decisions are based on evidence

Qualifications & Experience

• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Marketing, Sales, Hospitality, or a related field.
• 5 to 8 years’ experience in key account management, customer relationship management, brand management, brand communication, social media experience or commercial account support.
• Experience managing established client relationships and coordinating follow-through on service commitments, food solutions, hospitality, catering, or consumer goods environments, working across sales, operations, quality, finance, and marketing teams and preparing account reviews, client reports, and action trackers

Knowledge and Skills

• Understanding of client retention, service continuity, and profitability drivers, account reviews, corrective action tracking, and customer-facing communication, and service delivery, food quality, and customer satisfaction expectations
• Strategic Thinking
• Business Acumen
• Sales and Negotiation skills
• Brand and Trade Marketing expertise
• Stakeholder Management
• Financial Acumen
• Problem-solving skills
• Organisational skills

Attributes

• Strategy development
• Integrity
• Impact and Influence
• Creativity and resourcefulness
• Customer service orientation
• Teamwork and cooperation
• Achievement orientation

Additional Information

Air Chefs SOC Ltd is a premium food solutions company with over 40 years of experience. A wholly owned subsidiary of South African Airways, we are uniquely positioned to deliver exceptional food and hospitality services across air, corporate, and event sectors. With three strategically located operational units in Johannesburg, Cape Town, and Durban, we have the capacity to produce over 50000 meals daily, serving domestic and international airlines, airport lounges, events, and corporate canteens.