Online Key Account Manager
Job description
About Walker Books
Walker Books UK is part of the vibrant international Group that includes Candlewick Press, Holiday House and Peachtree in the USA and Walker Books Australia. Renowned for its truly original publishing and outstanding quality, the Walker Books Group is home to a wide range of children's and young adult books.
Award-winning authors and illustrators for the group include Angie Thomas, Sydney Smith, M.T Anderson, Patrick Ness, and Jon Klassen. We are also enormously proud to publish beloved family brands including Lucy Cousin’s Maisy, Michael Rosen’s We're Going on a Bear Hunt, Sam McBratney and Anita Jeram’s Guess How Much I Love You and Martin Handford’s Where’s Wally?
About the Role
We are seeking a proactive and commercially minded Key Account Manager to grow sales through online channels. The Key Account Manager is responsible for managing and growing sales across a portfolio of key online retailers, including eBooks, to deliver profitable growth across Walker’s list, as well as for our third-party publishers. The role focuses on building strong strategic plans to drive sell-through and executing impactful promotions in collaboration with the campaigns team as well as editorial.
Key responsibilities:
Account Management
Act as primary relationship owner and point of escalation for Amazon (physical and digital), ensuring a first-class day-to-day working relationship.
Oversee strategy and implementation of our Amazon advertising with our third-party advertising partner, and monitor advertising spend against budget.
Lead negotiations on terms, promotional investment and merchandising positions with key online retail partners.
Submit products for Amazon promotions across Walker Books and third-party clients, staying within acceptable margin parameters.
Manage accounts for all library eBook platforms, understanding this market and identifying opportunities for Walker Books.
Apply expert knowledge of online retailing, promotional mechanics, pricing structures and sales trends to drive commercial growth.
Oversee direct to consumer sales via Walker’s online shop.
Sales Development
Track developments in hardware, software and retailer platforms, and adapt Walker's approach accordingly.
Identify, research and evaluate new digital platforms and retail opportunities; in conjunction with the UK Sales Director, build business cases and recommendations for senior management, and instigate new customer relationships.
Recommend pricing strategy in UK to optimise revenue, drawing on analysis from the Online Sales Executive.
Work with the wider UK Sales team where print retailers have a digital partner, maximising ebook sales opportunities for key titles.
Communicate retailer developments and category performance to editorial to build understanding of online and digital sales.
Attend relevant digital trade conferences and events, feeding back key learnings to the wider team.
Planning and Forecasting
Set and continually refine online and digital sales strategy for key titles and brands, working closely with editorial, campaigns and third-party publishers.
Monitor performance against targets and take proactive action to address underperformance or capitalize on opportunities.
Prepare accurate sales forecasts and advise on reprint recommendations, working closely with operations and finance
Ensure excellent execution of agreed activity, from launch campaigns to seasonal peaks (e.g. Christmas, World Book Day).
Market & Performance Analysis
Analyse sales data and market trends to inform decision-making and account strategy.
Track competitor activity and retail trends within children’s publishing and the wider consumer market.
Provide regular reporting, insights, and recommendations to senior sales leadership.
Partner with metadata leads to improve discoverability, metadata quality and online sales performance across retail platforms.
Key Performance Indicators
Meeting budget for online and digital Key Accounts.
Contribution to, and delivery of, UK digital strategy.
Quality of communication, planning and execution of digital commercial plans.
Strength of internal and external relationships with digital providers, maximising commercial opportunity.
Knowledge and practical application of new digital opportunities.
Growth in online and digital sales of new authors and brands.
Skills and Experience
To be successful in this role, you will be able to demonstrate evidence of the following skills and/or experience:
Proven track record in online/digital or key account sales, ideally including direct experience of managing Amazon
Experience negotiating trading terms, promotional investment and merchandising positions with major retail partners.
A track record of building business cases and influencing senior stakeholders.
Strong commercial and analytical skills, with the confidence to translate sales data into strategy and back a recommendation with evidence.
Sound understanding of online retailing: promotional mechanics, pricing structures, sales patterns and metadata/SEO principles.
Confident, credible negotiator, comfortable representing Walker externally with senior retail contacts.
Strong Excel skills; working knowledge of BookScan and Amazon Vendor Central is a strong advantage.
Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills across editorial, campaigns and Group companies.
Highly organised, with the ability to prioritise own workload against competing deadlines.
Why join Walker Books?
We offer:
A supportive working environment where all voices are respected and creativity is not hierarchical
Hybrid work (at least two days in the office per week) once you have successfully passed probation
22 days annual leave per year plus bank holidays and Christmas closure (with annual leave increasing with length of service up to 27 days)
Enhanced Pension Scheme
Health Insurance and Health Cash Plan
Life Assurance
Summer Hours
Remote working for up to two weeks per year
Enhanced Maternity and Paternity Pay
Access to an Employee Assistance Programme
Cycle to Work Scheme
Plus, other great benefits!
All children deserve to see themselves, their families, and their communities represented in the books they read. As children’s book publishers, it is our goal to ensure that the books and content we publish authentically and joyfully reflect the world around us. As an employer, we are committed to creating and maintaining a supportive working environment where everyone is included, valued, and empowered to do their best and most creative work. As an equal opportunities employer, we welcome candidates from all backgrounds without regard to race, ethnicity, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, disability, religion, sex, or any other characteristic protected by law and those not yet protected by law.
If you have any queries about this role or require any reasonable adjustments for your application or throughout the recruitment process, please let our team know by contacting us at recruitment@walker.co.uk.
Please note we reserve the right to close vacancies before the closing date where we have received sufficient applications. We recommend submitting your application as early as possible to avoid disappointment.