Fashion & Lifestyle – Account Managers
Fashion and lifestyle businesses ask Encore Recruitment to help them hire account managers.
Fashion and lifestyle professionals ask us to help them find account manager opportunities.
We find, assess and recommend people they’d want to work with.
Key Takeaways
- Account manager recruitment across fashion & lifestyle: We recruit from Junior Account Manager to Head of Account Management roles for brands, retailers, suppliers and importers across fashion, accessories, footwear, beauty and homeware.
- Understand, find and filter: We understand what you’re trying to achieve, find people who could help, and filter what we find through that understanding.
- Assess, qualify and recommend: We assess and qualify who remains before deciding who we’re prepared to recommend. We make the recommendation. You decide what happens next.
Account Manager Recruitment Starts for Different Reasons
Businesses recruit account managers to strengthen customer relationships, manage growth or take ownership of increasingly complex accounts.
Account managers may consider a move because they want larger customers, greater commercial responsibility or more influence over business decisions.
The starting point changes what we need to understand and explore.
What if Key Customer Relationships Are Becoming Harder to Manage?
As customer numbers grow, communication can become fragmented and important details can be missed.
You may be looking for someone who can build stronger relationships, manage customer expectations, coordinate internal teams and provide greater consistency across the account portfolio.
What if Growth Is Creating More Commercial Complexity?
Growth can increase pressure on delivery schedules, production updates, forecasting, reporting and customer communication.
You may need someone who can take ownership of key accounts, coordinate multiple stakeholders and maintain confidence across customer relationships as the business expands.
What if You’re Ready to Take Ownership of Larger Accounts?
Many career moves begin with a simple question: what’s next?
That may mean managing larger customers, handling more complex product categories, leading commercial conversations, influencing business decisions, mentoring colleagues or taking responsibility for account growth.
The next move should support the direction you’re trying to take.
What if You Want Greater Influence on Commercial Decisions?
Some account managers enjoy customer communication but want more involvement in the wider commercial conversation.
A move may provide the opportunity to work more closely with buying teams, sourcing teams, production functions or senior leadership, helping shape decisions rather than simply communicating them.
H2: Account Manager Careers, Responsibilities and Salaries
The Same Account Manager Title Can Mean Different Things
Account managers can sit between customers, suppliers, production teams, merchandising functions and commercial departments.
Depending on the organisation, responsibilities may include customer relationship management, order coordination, delivery updates, forecasting, critical path management, supplier communication, retailer meetings, commercial reporting and account growth.
Retailers, brands, suppliers and importers organise these responsibilities differently. A supplier may need someone managing retailer relationships and coordinating production updates across several customers. A retailer may place greater emphasis on supplier communication and commercial performance. A brand may focus on wholesale growth, customer development and long-term partnership management.
The same title can therefore lead to different conversations depending on where responsibility sits within the organisation.
Account Manager Responsibilities Change as Careers Progress
Account management careers can develop through the following stages:
- Junior Account Manager
- Account Manager
- Senior Account Manager
- Head of Account Management
As careers progress, responsibility can expand beyond account administration and customer communication into commercial negotiation, customer ownership, team leadership, account growth and wider strategic influence.
Account Manager Salaries Reflect Responsibility, Experience and Market Demand
Salary expectations are influenced by customer ownership, commercial complexity, product category, location, business size and market demand.
Typical salary ranges across parts of the UK fashion and lifestyle sector include:
- Junior Account Manager: £25,000–£32,000
- Account Manager: £32,000–£45,000
- Senior Account Manager: £45,000–£60,000
- Head of Account Management: £60,000–£90,000+
Salary ranges updated August 2026
Salary ranges are indicative. Any salary offered must reflect contracted hours, the applicable age band and UK National Minimum Wage requirements.
How We Approach Account Manager Recruitment
Understanding What You’re Looking For
For a business, we start with why you’re recruiting and what the account manager needs to contribute: customer structures, account ownership, commercial objectives, reporting lines, product categories, team structure and the complexity of the relationships they will manage.
For a professional, we explore what you’re doing now and what you want next: career ambitions, product interests, customer exposure, commercial responsibility, leadership goals and the type of environment in which you want to contribute.
A job title or CV gives us information. The conversation gives us the context needed to use it.
Finding Account Managers and Opportunities Worth Exploring
For clients, what we learn helps us identify account managers whose experience gives us a reason to have a conversation.
Because account manager responsibilities differ between businesses, we consider experience in the context of the customers, commercial responsibility, product category and where responsibility sits within the organisation rather than relying on title alone.
For professionals, it helps us identify opportunities that may support what you’re looking for next.
Not every person identified leads to a conversation. Not every opportunity discussed leads to representation.
Discover how we approach our Process.
Before We Make a Recommendation
Finding an account manager is not the same as recommending one.
Every recommendation is shaped by conversations, questions and assessment completed throughout our process. Recommendations reflect what we learn about the position, the organisation, the individual and the circumstances surrounding the decision.
The opportunity is discussed with the candidate first. We don’t represent someone for a role until they have agreed that they want us to do so.
Read about the guidelines behind our Recommendation Standard.
Clients and Candidates Decide What Happens Next
We don’t decide who gets hired or who accepts an offer. We make a recommendation. Clients and candidates decide what happens next.
A client may want to interview, ask questions or not proceed. A candidate may continue, need more information or decide the opportunity isn’t for them.
Where both sides continue, we support interviews, feedback and offer discussions through to the start.
If either side doesn’t want to proceed, we understand why and agree what happens next.
FAQ
What Does an Account Manager Do?
Account managers help manage customer relationships, coordinate communication, support commercial activity and maintain visibility across orders, deliveries and ongoing account requirements. Responsibilities vary according to the business, customer structure and level of commercial ownership.
Do Account Managers Work Closely With Suppliers and Production Teams?
Many positions involve regular communication with suppliers, sourcing teams, production functions and logistics partners to coordinate activity, manage updates and keep customers informed.
What Helps Account Managers Progress into Senior Positions?
Progression can involve greater customer ownership, commercial responsibility, relationship management, negotiation, leadership and responsibility for increasingly complex accounts or teams.
Hiring an Account Manager?
Start a conversation about what you’re looking for. You can either Submit a Vacancy→ or Contact Us→
Considering Your Next Account Manager Opportunity?
Start a conversation about where you’d like to go. You can either View Jobs→ or Contact Us→