SCOUT is a Washington, DC-based brand known for stylish, functional and affordable tote bags. The brand has found a niche in the market with a competitive advantage called “Pretty Utility”. The authenticity of the brand is best measured by the team of bright, talented, creative individuals who embody the perfectly imperfect lifestyle and share a genuine passion for the products. SCOUT has become the go-to resource by providing the products women need to contain, organize, and uplift all the stuff she needs to successfully navigate her busy life. Over the next three to five years, SCOUT aspires to be a national lifestyle brand which will be driven by thoughtful direct-to-consumer growth and strategic wholesale distribution expansion to meet the customer where she is in the marketplace.
About The Position
SCOUT is looking for a driven, strategic, and relationship-focused National Key Account Manager to lead and expand our most important national retail partnerships across mass, department store, and specialty channels. Reporting to the Senior Global Director of Sales, this role owns multi-door, high-volume retail businesses, drives revenue performance, and develops omnichannel growth strategies that deliver both top-line expansion and margin-positive results. The National Key Account Manager will manage the full business lifecycle- from identifying new partners to deepening existing relationships- with a sharp focus on results, collaboration, operational excellence, and brand growth.
Impact You Will Drive
Revenue Leadership & Channel Ownership
Own revenue performance and sales forecasting across the Key Account (KA) channel, ensuring aggressive yet achievable growth targets are set and met
Manage the full P&L for the KA business, including gross margin, inventory optimization, and sell-through performance and account health.
Partner with Planning and FP&A to align forecasts, inventory, and demand planning with account-level opportunities and risks.
Evaluate performance across multi-door national accounts and the SKU, door, category and seasonal level.
Drive assortment productivity, AUR/AOV optimization, and seasonal SKU rationalization, and margin performance based on retailer data and account priorities.
Monitor retailer KPIs including sell-through, weeks of supply, turn, replenishment performance and margin targets.
Strategic Business Development
Drive new key account acquisition in alignment with SCOUT’s growth strategy and distribution vision, and brand positioning.
Identify and evaluate, and prioritize potential national and regional partners that complement SCOUT’s channel mix and customer reach.
Lead the full business development lifecycle: from prospecting, outreach, and pitch creation to onboarding and long-term account planning.
Build compelling retailer pitches that translate SCOUT’s brand, product architecture, assortment strategy, pricing ladders, and merchandising plans into account-specific growth opportunities.
Partner cross-functionally with Marketing, Product, Planning, Operations and Finance to evaluate business case, support sell-in, and ensure post-launch execution.
Stay current on category trends and competitive placements and retailer strategies to identify white space and adjust account plans accordingly.
Navigate complex retailer onboarding including vendor compliance, EDI setup, routing guides, and operational readiness
Build multi-year joint business plans with key partners to drive sustained mutually-beneficial growth
Account Strategy & Relationship Management
Serve as the lead relationship manager for all national key accounts, building trusted partnerships with buyers, planners, and cross-functional retailer contacts.
Build and execute account-specific strategic sales plans tied to seasonal priorities, long-range growth goals, and retailer-specific success metrics.
Lead onboarding for all new key accounts, ensuring seamless alignment across sales, operations, and service
Develop and execute omnichannel strategies across in-store, dot-com, and marketplace channels
Partner with buyers and planners on seasonal assortment planning, flow strategies, replenishment cadence, and promotional calendars
Analyze POS data, inventory levels, sell-through patterns, and account performance to recommend timely, commercially sound decisions.
Sales Operations & Optimization
Oversee key elements of the sales lifecycle, including contract inputs, promotional planning, replenishment, line reviews, SKU setup, and ongoing account maintenance.
Collaborate closely with Operations on retailer systems, EDI workflows, vendor compliance, routing requirements, and process optimization.
Maintain working knowledge of retailer terminology, operational workflows, vendor portals, scorecards, routing guides, and compliance expectations; technical EDI setup is not required.
Monitor inventory flow, sell-through, margin performance, replenishment needs, and chargeback risk; adjust levers as needed to support account health.
Lead weekly, monthly, or seasonal business reviews with accounts, presenting performance insights, risks, opportunities, and recommended action plans.
Marketing & Cross-Functional Collaboration
Partner with the Wholesale Sales Manager and Marketing team to develop tailored seasonal campaigns, retailer-specific activations, and brand-right promotional plans.
Ensure promotions, merchandising, digital placements, in-store storytelling, and account messaging align with SCOUT’s brand standards and channel strategy.
Represent the voice of Key Accounts in cross-functional planning, advocating for account needs while balancing brand, margin, operational, and long-term growth priorities.
Drive feature placement, seasonal storytelling, and promotional alignment within retailer calendars.
Required Skills & Qualifications
4+ years of national key account management experience with mass retail, department store, large specialty, or other complex multi-door retail accounts; relevant category experience may include outdoor, gift, travel, accessories, consumer goods, or home.
Demonstrated experience managing or selling into large-scale retailers and complex buying organizations; exposure to retailers such as Target, Nordstrom, Dick’s Sporting Goods, or similar national chains is highly relevant.
Strong understanding of sell-in, sell-through, retailer buying cycles, merchandising strategies, inventory planning, promotional planning, and account-level growth levers.
Proven track record owning revenue targets, forecasting, account planning, gross margin considerations, and P&L-related performance metrics.
Strong data fluency, including the ability to analyze POS data, inventory performance, sell-through, turn, weeks of supply, margin, and assortment productivity to generate insights and recommendations.
Advanced Excel capability, including comfort building and analyzing reports using formulas, functions, pivot tables, and account performance data.
Working knowledge of retailer systems, EDI terminology and workflows, vendor compliance requirements, routing guides, scorecards, and chargeback management; hands-on technical setup of EDI systems is not required.
Excellent relationship management, communication, presentation, and cross-functional collaboration skills with internal teams and external retail partners.
Ability to operate with both strategic judgment and executional discipline in a fast-moving, growth-oriented environment.
Who You Are
A strategic hunter who is energized by unlocking white space, winning new business, and turning opportunity into revenue.
A disciplined account operator who understands how to scale within complex retail environments without losing executional rigor.
Deeply fluent in the inner workings of major retail accounts, from sell-in to sell-through, promotions, planning, replenishment, and account reviews.
Analytical and commercially curious, with the ability to turn publicly available information, retailer data, and account signals into realistic plans and clear recommendations.
A strong communicator who can present account strategies, business cases, and performance insights clearly and credibly.
A natural relationship builder who earns trust through preparation, responsiveness, follow-through, and long-term thinking.
Entrepreneurial, resourceful, and hands-on; excited to help scale a high-potential channel with a beloved brand.
Comfortable operating with process and scale, bringing the rigor of larger retail environments and the drive to build something bigger.
Retail Expertise You Bring
Experience managing or selling into retailers such as Target, Nordstrom, Dick's Sporting Goods, or similar national chains
Proven ability to drive growth in large-format, high-volume retail environments
Strong intuition for assortment planning, pricing architecture, and merchandising strategy, promotional cadence, and account prioritization at scale
Work Location & Travel
This position is fully remote.
Employees are expected to work Eastern Time business hours (approximately 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM ET).
Occasional travel to SCOUT Bags headquarters (approximately four times per year) is expected for planning and team collaboration.
Up to 30% domestic travel required for key account meetings and industry events such as tradeshows, account events and other sales related activities
Core Values
We’re looking for someone who embodies the values that define us:
Kind, Authentic, Adaptable, Giving, Committed, and Creative
SCOUT is committed to maintaining a work environment in which all its employees are treated fairly. SCOUT prohibits discrimination on the basis actual or perceived race, color, religion, national origin, sex, age, marital status, citizenship status, veteran status, personal appearance, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, family responsibilities, genetic information, disability, matriculation or political affiliation, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law.
Seniority level
Mid-Senior level
Employment type
Full-time
Job function
Sales and Business Development
Industries
Retail
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