OEM Key Account Manager

Job Description

Job Description

Essentra is a leading provider of essential components and solutions. Every day we produce and distribute millions of small but essential products. Our international network extends to 28 countries, with headquarters in the United Kingdom and includes 14 manufacturing facilities, 24 distribution centers and 33 sales & service centers. At the center of everything is our purpose, to responsibly provide the products and services our customers need to succeed. Put simply, our purpose is why we exist as a company. Many companies claim to be changing the world; we don't. But we do make a powerful difference to our customers. We make it work. Every one of us. Every day.

The Key Account Manager (KAM ) is a critical member of our Commercial team of Essentra, owning a portfolio of high-value strategic accounts with a strong mandate to drive new business growth — expanding footprint, uncovering opportunities, and converting relationships into revenue. Acting as trusted advisor and growth architect, the KAM builds account plans that combine retention with proactive pipeline generation, ensuring every account delivers measurable, expanding value.

This is a high-impact role for a commercially driven hunter who thrives on consultative selling, prospecting within accounts, and executive-level deal-making. The ideal candidate pairs strong business acumen with a track record of exceeding growth targets in complex, multi-stakeholder environments.

This position will be based in the Houston area with up to 75% travel. There may be a need to occasionally work from our Houston office for team meetings or training.

Key Accountabilities:

Account Strategy & Planning

• Develop, own, and continuously update accounts, including stakeholder maps, growth and new-business roadmaps, risk registers, and executive relationship plans 

• Analyze each account's business objectives and translate them into measurable account strategies with 12-month growth targets, including specific new-revenue and pipeline targets 

• Lead internal account planning sessions — aligning Sales, Product Management, Marketing, Customer Service, and Support around account-specific priorities and identified growth opportunities

Relationship Management & Executive Engagement

• Own end-to-end relationship management across all levels of the customer organization — from daily users to C-suite executives, ensuring our solutions remain aligned with the customer's evolving strategic priorities 

• Apply structured stakeholder mapping (using an Influence/Relationship matrix) to identify decision-makers, champions, influencers, and blockers within each account

Revenue Growth & Expansion

• Drive revenue growth against plan across the managed portfolio through disciplined account management and proactive expansion 

• Identify and qualify upsell and cross-sell opportunities via untapped opportunity analysis, product adoption reviews, and stakeholder conversations 

• Execute "land and expand" plays — anchor with proven use cases, demonstrate ROI, and expand across business units, geographies, or product lines 

• Maintain an expansion pipeline at 5x individual quota, building joint business cases for opportunities above defined thresholds

Renewal Management

• Own the full renewal cycle for all assigned accounts, following a structured timeline — from early health reviews and discovery through proposal, negotiation, and signature — to secure renewals well ahead of contract end dates 

• Forecast renewal revenue with accuracy, maintain up-to-date renewal stages in CRM, and promptly escalate at-risk renewals to leadership with a clear recovery plan and owner accountability

Risk & Churn Management

• Monitor account health indicators — including product adoption, engagement, support volume, NPS, and commercial signals — on a weekly basis to proactively identify early warning signals such as declining usage, unresponsive stakeholders, unresolved escalations, or competitive threats 

• Escalate critical churn risks within 24 hours of identification and schedule intervention calls within 48 hours, initiating recovery actions promptly

CRM Hygiene & Operational Excellence

• Log all customer interactions in CRM within 24 hours, including meeting summaries, action items, and next steps 

• Maintain accurate account records — including health scores, stakeholder data, renewal dates and opportunity stages — and contribute account-level insights to weekly pipeline and risk reviews

New Business Development & Onboarding

• Identify and pursue new key account opportunities — including first time customers, dormant accounts, or accounts transitioning from other teams — that fit the strategic account profile

• Lead the onboarding process for newly won or transferred key accounts, including stakeholder mapping, account health baselining, and integration into the managed portfolio

• Build early account plans and relationship strategies that set the foundation for long-term retention and expansion, ensuring a strong first-90-days experience for the customer

Qualifications:

• At least 5 years of experience in Account Management and technical / industrial sales, with a preference for those who have experience selling to OEMs in the following growth end markets: Energy Transformation, Specialist Vehicles, Machine Building, Digital Infrastructure, Defense and Metal Fabrication.

• Demonstrated track record of achieving or exceeding revenue growth.

• Experience conducting executive-level strategic business reviews with stakeholders.

• Proven ability to manage complex, multi-stakeholder relationships across large organizations.

• Experience with CRM platforms (CE, Salesforce).

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Business or a related field — or equivalent professional experience.

• Willingness and ability to travel 75% - including overnights.

• Self-starter who can develop and implement growth strategies.

• Effective at prioritizing and managing multiple demands.

• Skilled at problem-solving and resolving challenges diplomatically.

• Collaborative team player who aligns well with Essentra’s culture and values.

This job offers a competitive base salary, quarterly bonus target, full benefits package, and generous paid time off.