Strategic Account Manager

Strategic Client Manager

Salary Range: £48,000 - £58,000 per annum

Permanent, Full Time

Location: Hybrid / Leatherhead, Surrey

About us

Zest is transforming the way employers engage with their people. Our market leading SaaS platform empowers businesses to deliver a world class employee proposition, allowing employees to tailor their benefits package, understand their total reward, access personalised content and communications and celebrate their colleagues' achievements. Our platform supports hundreds of employers, including household names like Yahoo, Hargreaves Lansdown and Travis Perkins, create a workplace where employees feel valued, informed and deeply connected to their company's success.

We're proud to boast an impressive NPS of over +72%, a testament to our commitment to outstanding client and end-user experiences. But what truly sets us apart is our culture. Here at Zest, we foster a work environment that's as friendly as it is professional, as high-performing as it is supportive. We're a team that thrives on empowerment, autonomy and the support each member needs to excel.

In 2025, Zest joined forces with Epassi, one of Europe's fastest-growing companies and a leading provider of employee benefit solutions across Finland, Sweden, the UK & Ireland, Italy, Germany, and the Netherlands. Epassi has been recognised by the Financial Times multiple times as one of the fastest-growing companies in Europe. This acquisition marks an exciting new chapter, combining Zest's innovative technology with Epassi's purpose-driven mission to boost everyday well-being. Together, we're shaping the future of employee engagement and benefits across Europe.

Our doors are open to those who bring a natural drive to excel in their discipline, who challenge the status quo, and who drive continuous improvement. We celebrate achievements, learn openly from failures, and set a high bar for ourselves and our peers. If you're ready to contribute to a positive, dynamic team that helps each other grow, Zest might just be the place for you.

About the job

As a Strategic Client Manager, you will be responsible for owning and growing relationships across a portfolio of existing customers.

With a key focus on benefit adoption, revenue retention and growth, you will work in partnership with HR Leaders and Benefit Teams to ensure the customers corporate and people strategy succeeds through efficient delivery of the Zest Platform.

You will own the commercial partnership between vendor and customer, be proficient in managing complex renewal and expansion sales processes, liaise with internal teams to provide exceptional service delivery and as act as the voice of the customer internally to shape future product development.

Areas of responsibility

• Account management of all accounts to ensure retention and development of these
• Maintain regular contact with all clients, promoting new product advances to them to help them
• appreciate the value that Zest brings and probing to identify areas of dissatisfaction.
• Organising QBR's and annual meetings with each account attended by senior Zest executives.
• Be the voice of the user and their user experience inside the business, providing input to the development of the product proposition and roadmap.
• Use the knowledge gained of our clients' business drivers and our technology capabilities to develop their needs further and inform development of product propositions that differentiate us.
• Nurture accounts to develop further business in line with annually set revenue targets
• Drive product campaigns into these clients in conjunction with other members of the business.
• Maintain awareness of and comply with all legal requirements and company policies, including those relating to information security and data protection

Key competencies and skills required for this role

• A passion for excellence, client satisfaction and putting the client first. Ability to develop, review and implement both client retention and additional business strategies. Ability to handle demands, targets, guidelines and high stress situations
• Superior negotiator with ability to handle objections, close cross and up-sells and execute. Able to be resilient, detailed and creative.
• Excellent verbal and written skills. Able to speak confidently and with authority in public. Able to manage multiple stakeholders internally and externally.
• Able to work with internal teams to highlight product issues or trends that negatively impact account health.
• Advanced influencing skills. Able to reinforce clients' buying decision so they appreciate the full value that Zest brings and in turn become strong advocates. Able to obtain willing agreement to case studies and references.
• Drive, Energy and Determination: Winning mentality. Able to create a culture of over-performance. A self-starter, able to work under their own initiative and achieve their objectives. Highly effective at completing work on time. High levels of drive, energy, enthusiasm and integrity. Tenacity to achieve goals.
• Values: Able to live and breathe the Zest Values; focussed on an excellent client experience.

Experience / Skills Required

• Ideally 5+ years' experience of Flexible Benefits and Pensions/AE market.
• Proven track record in successful Partnership and/or Account Management roles.
• Able to engage with customers and markets in general and understand the commercial drivers.
• Excellent interpersonal skills. Able to influence and communicate effectively with all levels
• Excellent problem-solving skills. Able to provide out-of-the-box solutions to difficult problems.
• Strong commercial awareness and judgement as well as good understanding of technology.
• Ability to remain calm and focused under pressure and to take responsibility to resolve issues.
• Team player who improves any team part of. Works well with clients and colleagues.
• Ability to prioritise and multi-task on simultaneous activities.

Additional Information

Competitive salary and on target bonus plan with a comprehensive range of flexible benefits

Normal working hours 37.5 per week as per Ts&Cs

Office based with hybrid working

Office location: Kings Court, Kingston Road, Leatherhead, Surrey, KT22 7SL.

Zest is an equal opportunities employer. If you don't meet every single requirement, please don't let that hold you back. Research indicates that some candidates hesitate to apply for roles unless they meet every criterion. We're committed to fostering an inclusive workforce, so if you're enthusiastic about this opportunity but your experience isn't an exact match, we encourage you to apply.

No agencies please.