Director of Sales

About the role

Drive revenue growth, expand customer relationships, and execute 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.

Responsibilities

• Develop and execute national sales strategies to drive revenue growth across retail, club, grocery, and mass merchandise channels
• Lead and manage strategic relationships with major CPG retailers, including national and regional account buyers and category managers
• Own annual sales planning, forecasting, budgeting, and revenue performance against company growth targets
• Negotiate pricing, promotional programs, distribution expansion, and joint business plans with key retail partners
• Identify and secure new business opportunities to expand market penetration and increase shelf presence
• Collaborate cross-functionally with operations, supply chain, marketing, finance, and product development teams to support customer initiatives and operational execution
• Lead, mentor, and develop commercial, innovation, and new product development teams, brokers, and distributor relationships
• Analyze syndicated data, POS reporting, market trends, and competitive activity to drive strategic sales decisions
• Oversee customer profitability, trade spending, margin performance, and promotional ROI
• Manage broker networks and distributor relationships to ensure alignment with company sales objectives
• Drive successful new product launches and retail commercialization strategies across key accounts
• Ensure customer compliance with retailer requirements, service levels, inventory management, and food industry standards
• Represent the company at customer meetings, trade shows, industry events, and executive business reviews
• Develop long-term strategic partnerships with retailers to support sustainable growth and category leadership
• Monitor industry trends, consumer behavior, and emerging retail opportunities within the RTE and prepared foods category
• Partner with executive leadership to support strategic planning, capacity growth, and market expansion initiatives
• Establish KPIs and reporting metrics to measure sales effectiveness, customer performance, and team productivity
• Support private label and branded business development initiatives across multiple retail channels
• Maintain a strong understanding of food manufacturing operations, supply chain constraints, and retailer fulfillment expectations
• Foster a performance-driven culture focused on accountability, collaboration, innovation, and customer service excellence

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in Business, Marketing, Supply Chain, or related field (MBA preferred)
• 10+ years of progressive sales experience within food manufacturing, CPG, or related industries
• Proven experience managing national or regional retail accounts and driving revenue growth
• Strong knowledge of retail sales processes, category management, and food industry operations
• Experience selling refrigerated, frozen, deli, or prepared food products preferred
• Demonstrated leadership experience managing sales teams, brokers, and strategic customer relationships
• Strong negotiation, communication, and presentation skills
• Proficiency with CRM systems, syndicated data platforms, and Microsoft Office applications
• Ability to travel as needed to support customer and business requirements
• Experience working with major retailers such as Walmart, Kroger, Costco, Target, and Publix
• Strong understanding of private label and branded product strategies
• Proven ability to lead cross-functional initiatives in a fast-paced manufacturing environment