Director of Sales

The ideal candidate has a strong background in CPG or food manufacturing sales, experience managing major retail accounts, and a proven ability to lead teams, negotiate customer partnerships, and deliver profitable growth across multiple distribution channels. This role leads key retail and foodservice accounts, develops sales strategies to increase market share, and collaborates cross-functionally with operations, marketing, and executive leadership to support business objectives.

The Director of Sales is responsible for driving revenue growth, expanding customer relationships, and executing strategic sales initiatives within the ready-to-eat (RTE) food manufacturing industry. This role leads key retail and foodservice accounts, develops sales strategies to increase market share, and collaborates cross-functionally with operations, marketing, and executive leadership to support business objectives. The ideal candidate has a strong background in CPG or food manufacturing sales, experience managing major retail accounts, and a proven ability to lead teams, negotiate customer partnerships, and deliver profitable growth across multiple distribution channels.The Director of Sales is responsible for driving revenue growth, expanding customer relationships, and executing strategic sales initiatives within the ready-to-eat (RTE) food manufacturing industry. This role leads key retail and foodservice accounts, develops sales strategies to increase market share, and collaborates cross-functionally with operations, marketing, and executive leadership to support business objectives. The ideal candidate has a strong background in CPG or food manufacturing sales, experience managing major retail accounts, and a proven ability to lead teams, negotiate customer partnerships, and deliver profitable growth across multiple distribution channels.Main Responsibilities/Duties:Develop and execute national sales strategies to drive revenue growth across retail, club, grocery, and mass merchandise channelsLead and manage strategic relationships with major CPG retailers, including national and regional account buyers and category managersOwn annual sales planning, forecasting, budgeting, and revenue performance against company growth targetsNegotiate pricing, promotional programs, distribution expansion, and joint business plans with key retail partnersIdentify and secure new business opportunities to expand market penetration and increase shelf presenceCollaborate cross-functionally with operations, supply chain, marketing, finance, and product development teams to support customer initiatives and operational executionLead, mentor, and develop commercial, innovation and new product development team, brokers, and distributor relationshipsAnalyze syndicated data, POS reporting, market trends, and competitive activity to drive strategic sales decisionsOversee customer profitability, trade spending, margin performance, and promotional ROIManage broker networks and distributor relationships to ensure alignment with company sales objectivesDrive successful new product launches and retail commercialization strategies across key accountsEnsure customer compliance with retailer requirements, service levels, inventory management, and food industry standardsRepresent the company at customer meetings, trade shows, industry events, and executive business reviewsDevelop long-term strategic partnerships with retailers to support sustainable growth and category leadershipMonitor industry trends, consumer behavior, and emerging retail opportunities within the RTE and prepared foods categoryPartner with executive leadership to support strategic planning, capacity growth, and market expansion initiativesEstablish KPIs and reporting metrics to measure sales effectiveness, customer performance, and team productivitySupport private label and branded business development initiatives across multiple retail channelsMaintain a strong understanding of food manufacturing operations, supply chain constraints, and retailer fulfillment expectationsFoster a performance-driven culture focused on accountability, collaboration, innovation, and customer service excellenceEducation:Bachelor's degree in Business, Marketing, Supply Chain or related field (MBA preferred)Level of Experience Required: 10+ yearsKnowledge, Skills, Experience:10+ years of progressive sales experience within food manufacturing, CPG, or related industriesProven experience managing national or regional retail accounts and driving revenue growthStrong knowledge of retail sales processes, category management, and food industry operationsExperience selling refrigerated, frozen, deli, or prepared food products preferredDemonstrated leadership experience managing sales teams, brokers, and strategic customer relationshipsStrong negotiation, communication, and presentation skillsProficiency with CRM systems, syndicated data platforms, and Microsoft Office applicationsAbility to travel as needed to support customer and business requirementsExperience working with major retailers such as Walmart, Kroger, Costco, Target, and PublixStrong understanding of private label and branded product strategiesProven ability to lead cross-functional initiatives in a fast-paced manufacturing environmentDevelop and execute national sales strategies to drive revenue growth across retail, club, grocery, and mass merchandise channelsLead and manage strategic relationships with major CPG retailers, including national and regional account buyers and category managersOwn annual sales planning, forecasting, budgeting, and revenue performance against company growth targetsNegotiate pricing, promotional programs, distribution expansion, and joint business plans with key retail partnersIdentify and secure new business opportunities to expand market penetration and increase shelf presenceCollaborate cross-functionally with operations, supply chain, marketing, finance, and product development teams to support customer initiatives and operational executionLead, mentor, and develop commercial, innovation and new product development team, brokers, and distributor relationshipsAnalyze syndicated data, POS reporting, market trends, and competitive activity to drive strategic sales decisionsOversee customer profitability, trade spending, margin performance, and promotional ROIManage broker networks and distributor relationships to ensure alignment with company sales objectivesDrive successful new product launches and retail commercialization strategies across key accountsEnsure customer compliance with retailer requirements, service levels, inventory management, and food industry standardsRepresent the company at customer meetings, trade shows, industry events, and executive business reviewsDevelop long-term strategic partnerships with retailers to support sustainable growth and category leadershipMonitor industry trends, consumer behavior, and emerging retail opportunities within the RTE and prepared foods categoryPartner with executive leadership to support strategic planning, capacity growth, and market expansion initiativesEstablish KPIs and reporting metrics to measure sales effectiveness, customer performance, and team productivitySupport private label and branded business development initiatives across multiple retail channelsMaintain a strong understanding of food manufacturing operations, supply chain constraints, and retailer fulfillment expectationsFoster a performance-driven culture focused on accountability, collaboration, innovation, and customer service excellenceEducation:Bachelor's degree in Business, Marketing, Supply Chain or related field (MBA preferred)Level of Experience Required: 10+ yearsKnowledge, Skills, Experience:10+ years of progressive sales experience within food manufacturing, CPG, or related industriesProven experience managing national or regional retail accounts and driving revenue growthStrong knowledge of retail sales processes, category management, and food industry operationsExperience selling refrigerated, frozen, deli, or prepared food products preferredDemonstrated leadership experience managing sales teams, brokers, and strategic customer relationshipsStrong negotiation, communication, and presentation skillsProficiency with CRM systems, syndicated data platforms, and Microsoft Office applicationsAbility to travel as needed to support customer and business requirementsExperience working with major retailers such as Walmart, Kroger, Costco, Target, and PublixStrong understanding of private label and branded product strategiesProven ability to lead cross-functional initiatives in a fast-paced manufacturing environment