Key Account Manager

Company Description

Modern Sprout is a Chicago-based design shop and manufacturer leading the grow-your-own movement with innovative indoor and outdoor garden-focused lifestyle goods. Our mission is to make gardening easy and accessible for everyone by combining sustainability with elevated design.

Our products can be found at national retailers including Target, World Market, and Whole Foods Market, as well as thousands of independent retailers across the country. We sit at the intersection of garden, gifting, and lifestyle, creating products that feel as good as they look.

Role Description

Modern Sprout is seeking a driven, entrepreneurial, and relationship-oriented Key Account Manager to oversee and grow a portfolio of strategic retail, ecommerce, and emerging business accounts. This role will play a critical part in expanding existing partnerships, identifying new business opportunities, and helping shape the future growth of the brand across multiple channels.

This is a high-visibility role with meaningful opportunity for career growth. The right candidate will have the ability to evolve into a broader National Account Manager or senior sales leadership position over time as they demonstrate ownership, strategic thinking, and business impact.

We are intentionally open-minded about background and experience level. This role could be a strong fit for:

• A hungry, ambitious professional looking to accelerate their growth within sales and account management
• Or a seasoned account manager who knows how to manage relationships and drive business, but is looking for a more entrepreneurial environment with greater ownership, autonomy, and upside

We are looking for someone with an “owner mentality” self-sustaining, proactive, resourceful, and energized by building business. Someone who naturally looks for opportunities, follows through without being asked twice, and thrives in a fast-moving environment where they can truly make an impact.

The ideal candidate is equally comfortable managing existing relationships, developing new business, solving problems creatively, and helping grow accounts from the ground up. This role is less about rigid corporate structure and more about someone who wants to build something.

Qualifications

• 3-7+ years of experience in account management, sales, partnerships, business development, or related customer-facing roles
• Strong business acumen with the ability to think both strategically and executionally
• Exceptional communication and relationship-building skills
• Highly organized with strong attention to detail and follow-through
• Self-motivated, proactive, and capable of independently managing priorities and moving projects forward
• Entrepreneurial mindset with a strong sense of ownership and accountability
• Comfortable navigating ambiguity and wearing multiple hats within a fast-growing business
• Coachable, curious, hungry, and eager to grow professionally
• Experience managing retail, ecommerce, CPG, lifestyle, home, gift, or consumer product accounts is a plus, but not required
• Passion for design-forward brands, product storytelling, and building customer relationships is always welcomed

Key Responsibilities

• Manage and grow a portfolio of strategic retail, corporate gift, ecommerce and new business accounts
• Build strong customer relationships while driving profitable sales growth and long-term partnerships
• Identify opportunities for expansion across assortments, seasonal programs, merchandising, and new channels
• Prospect and develop new business opportunities, dormant accounts, and strategic partnerships
• Own day-to-day account communication, forecasting, reporting, and execution from pitch through shipment
• Develop thoughtful sell-in strategies, presentations, and account growth plans tailored to customer needs
• Partner cross-functionally with operations, marketing, product development, and leadership teams to ensure strong execution and customer experience
• Monitor sales performance, customer feedback, and market trends to proactively identify opportunities and risks
• Maintain accurate account data, customer forms, item setup information, and PO tracking
• Represent Modern Sprout at customer meetings, tradeshows, and industry events as needed

Why Modern Sprout

• Significant opportunity for long-term growth into broader national account management and leadership responsibilities
• Ability to own and help shape meaningful areas of the business
• Exposure to national retail, ecommerce, specialty, and emerging growth channels
• Entrepreneurial, collaborative culture where strong ideas and initiative are valued
• Opportunity to work closely with leadership and have a visible impact on company growth
• Join a genuinely collaborative team that is smart, hardworking, supportive, and kind - a group of people who care deeply about the business, enjoy working together, and value building a positive, high-energy culture!

To apply- please email resume and intro about yourself and why you are a fit for this role to [email protected]. Chicago based candidates preferred - remote considered for the right fit.