Principal Account Development Manager - ZEOS (all genders)

INCLUSIVE BY DESIGN At Zalando, our vision is to be inclusive by design. And this vision starts with our hiring - we do not discriminate on the basis of gender identity, sexual orientation, personal expression, ethnicity, religious belief, or disability status. You are welcome to leave out your picture, age, or marital status from your application. We only assess candidates on their qualifications and merit. We want to provide you with a great candidate experience. Feel free to inform us of any accommodations you may need, so we can best support you throughout the hiring process. do.BETTER - our diversity & inclusion strategy: Our employee resource groups: Zalando makes e-commerce easy for our customers and for our partners. Backed by our tech & logistics expertise dedicated to fashion and lifestyle, we offer innovative business-to-business (B2B) services to our global partners. Our brand ZEOS takes this to the next level. With ZEOS, we're opening our best-in-class fulfilment solutions to our partners so their direct-to-consumer business across Europe is seamless. In short, ZEOS takes Zalando's logistics capabilities on a new journey. Our teams combine passion and expertise for logistics, tech and solving relevant industry challenges. Everything we do is aimed at unlocking the full potential of the European market. Our solutions suppor t more than 1.000 fashion and lifestyle brands and retailers selling on Zalando and other sales channels across Europe. We've built the biggest logistics network in the fashion & lifestyle industry. Join us! If you share our passion, want to advance our partners in a rapidly growing and dynamic environment and are looking for an opportunity to shape the future of the industry – then join our innovative team and take the next step in your career . WHAT WE'D LOVE YOU TO DO (AND LOVE DOING) Drive Market Creation & Strategic Acquisition: You are a builder, not a maintainer. You will autonomously drive complex enterprise business cases from planning to steering and final evaluation. You will open new geographic or industry markets, establish entirely new profitable verticals from scratch, and create long-term commitments and contracts that guarantee sustained growth and profitability. Master Complex Stakeholder Navigation & Organizational Balance: Navigating our ecosystem requires a masterclass in diplomacy. Because our solutions are highly complex and many of our internal materials and approaches are still maturing, you cannot rely on clean corporate processes to push deals through. You will expertly navigate internal stakeholder networks across tech, product, and finance to clear roadblocks. Crucially, you know how to strike a perfect balance: acting as a fierce advocate for your Partner’s deal while fiercely protecting ZEOS’s operational setup and financial margins. You find that fine line between partner success and organizational protection, and you play there comfortably. Architect High-Impact, Scalable Solutions: Move beyond a simple sales pitch. You will connect complex commercial, financial, and operational insights to design overarching enterprise strategies that are both impactful and highly scalable across the ZEOS network. Build Economic C-Suite Partnerships: Develop deep, trusted partnerships up to the C-level by mapping ZEOS solutions directly onto enterprise balance sheets. You will manage intricate group dynamics, address critical issues respectfully, and confidently win over skeptical executive stakeholders using rigorous, data-backed business cases. Own Cross-Functional Complexity & Execution: Top sales professionals own the operational consequences of their deals. You will act as the critical bridge between business, logistics, operations, and tech teams. You will leverage your technical and processual understanding to resolve messy supply-chain or inventory bottlenecks, protecting internal operational trust and driving excellent results across all units. Drive Continuous Optimization & Process Innovation: You don't just work within a system; you make it better. You will actively identify opportunities to challenge, disrupt, and optimize current sales and operational processes. You will develop strategic measures and ideas aimed at elevating the efficiency and output of the entire organization. Act as an Organizational Force Multiplier: We don't believe in "black box" performance. You will ensure that your personal learnings, operational frameworks, and commercial success cases are systematically tracked, evaluated, and translated across the wider organization to maximize collective output. You will mentor junior colleagues and design playbooks that accelerate the ramp-up time of the team. WE'D LOVE TO MEET YOU IF... You Possess Uncompromising Startup Grit & Persistence: We operate as an agile, high-velocity business unit inside a larger global matrix organization. You do not expect perfect data, flawless tools, or clean corporate workflows to be handed to you on a silver platter. You have the entrepreneurial fire, resilience, and personal grit to stay on the ball, chase down missing information across internal teams, and relentlessly push through blockers until you get what you need to close the deal. You are a Proven Enterprise Market Builder: You possess 8+ years of B2B enterprise sales or strategic consulting experience, with a clear track record of launching new verticals, opening untapped markets, or scaling complex account portfolios from absolute zero. You Thrive on Strategic Autonomy & Ambiguity: You are highly organized and comfortable creating your own roadmaps and metrics where none exist. You view missing processes not as a frustration, but as an open invitation to challenge the status quo, disrupt current methodologies, and build highly efficient, future-proof operational structures from scratch. You Bring Real-Economy Logistics & Tech Grounding: You possess a deep understanding of contract/digital logistics, e-commerce infrastructure, wholesale, or physical supply chain operations. You have strong cross-functional capability, translating deep technical and processual knowledge seamlessly between commercial teams and tech/operations units. You Sell on Numbers, Economics, and Logic: You don't rely on generic relationship building or coffee chats. You comfortably interpret complex KPIs, predict market trends, and connect multi-layered data insights to construct airtight, scalable commercial business cases that survive intense executive scrutiny. You are an Operationally Credible Diplomat: You have a reputation for earning profound trust internally because you never "dump and run" a deal. You manage intricate stakeholder groups naturally, securing cross-functional compromises and clear alignment early in the sales cycle. You are a Teacher, Not a Black Box: You enjoy mentoring junior colleagues and sharing your personal success models. You ensure your winning frameworks are systematically tracked, evaluated, and codified into the wider team's practices to maximize collective organizational output. Qualifications: Graduate degree in Business, Supply Chain Management, or an operationally rigorous field. A non-traditional start in a real-economy business or a background showing deep intellectual breadth is highly valued. Fluent in English; German or other European languages are a strong asset. ​ OUR OFFER Zalando provides a range of benefits, here’s an overview of what you can expect. Ask your Talent Acquisition Partner to learn more about what we offer. Employee shares program 40% off fashion and beauty products sold and shipped by Zalando, 30% off Zalando Lounge, discounts from external partners 2 paid volunteering days a year Hybrid working model with up to 60% remote per week, actual practice is up to each team to best support their collaboration Work from abroad for up to 30 working days a year 27 days of vacation a year (for Zalando SE) Relocation assistance available (subject to prior agreement) Family services, including counseling and support Health and wellbeing options (including Gympass) Mental health support and coaching available