Director of Sales - National Accounts (Foodservice)

Job Summary

We are seeking an experienced and driven Director of Sales – National Accounts to champion Kettle Cuisine’s differentiated offerings and expand our footprint with leading national foodservice operators. This individual contributor role leverages Kettle Cuisine’s culinary excellence, customization capabilities, and world-class manufacturing platform to secure, grow, and support national account partnerships.

National Account Development

• Build multi-level relationships across customer Marketing, Culinary, Purchasing, Supply Chain, and QA teams to uncover insights, align on needs, and strengthen partnership value.
• Collaborate with internal insights, marketing, culinary, and product development teams to create tailored, operator-specific solutions.
• Represent Kettle Cuisine’s branded and custom product capabilities—including culinary-led development, small-batch craftsmanship at scale, and flexible manufacturing—to national foodservice operators.
• Proactively identify and initiate engagement with high-potential operators not yet working with Kettle Cuisine, leveraging strategic outreach, industry networks, and market intelligence.
• Drive top-line growth by delivering best-in-class partnerships, differentiated solutions, and consistent, superior execution.

Operator-Driven Innovation

• Engage directly with operators to understand menu strategy, operational constraints, and evolving culinary trends.
• Partner with operators to develop on-trend custom soups, sauces, broths, sides, and other kettle-crafted and sous-vide items that showcase Kettle Cuisine’s full capability set.
• Work with culinary and marketing teams to deliver compelling product solutions and operator-ready storytelling emphasizing craftsmanship, quality, and innovation.

Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Work closely with R&D, Operations, Supply Chain, and Finance to ensure seamless development, trials, and commercialization for new and existing accounts.
• Maintain accurate forecasts, pipeline management, and reporting aligned to strategic growth priorities.
• Actively participate in PMO governance and S&OP processes to ensure organizational alignment and operational readiness.

Qualifications

• 7+ years of progressive foodservice sales experience, including at least 4 years in national accounts or major operator development.
• Proven success partnering cross-functionally—especially with R&D and culinary—to commercialize custom products.

Skills & Attributes

• Exceptional negotiation, presentation, and relationship-building skills.
• Proficient in CRM systems (e.g., Salesforce), Microsoft Office Suite, and foodservice analytics.
• Self-directed, collaborative, and detail-oriented.
• Passionate about food, culinary innovation, and delivering differentiated solutions that drive operator success.