District Manager, Southern California - San Diego/Desert

About the role

Palm Bay International is a dynamic, family-owned importer with one of the most comprehensive fine wine and spirits portfolios in the country – over 50 suppliers strong, sourced from every corner of the globe. Decades-long partnerships with leading wholesale companies in all 50 states, the Caribbean, Mexico, and Central America let Palm Bay show up everywhere the industry does: independent restaurants, retail, chains, supermarkets, hotels, airlines, cruise ships, duty‑free, and U.S. military bases. The right person for this role is tenacious, competitive and charismatic, a relationship builder first, a natural educator, comfortable presenting to large groups, organized under pressure, and self‑driven. The role involves owning relationships, influencing and selling in the top 100 account universe, conducting weekly distributor work‑withs, running distributor education on a cadence, participating in weekly, monthly and tertile business reviews, and maintaining a direct line to the Regional Manager. The typical week breaks down to roughly 75% customer‑facing (on‑ and off‑premise selling), 20% distributor‑facing (work‑withs, training, GSMs), and 5% administrative and reporting, with primary geography in the home market in California and periodic travel for supplier events, company meetings, and training.

Responsibilities

• ACCOUNTS & RELATIONSHIPS – Build and manage the target account universe across on‑ and off‑premise; sell directly to key accounts and grow Palm Bay’s footprint one relationship at a time.
• DISTRIBUTOR PARTNERSHIP – Develop and execute monthly plans and programs with distributor partners; train their sales team, work the market alongside them, and turn every rep into a Palm Bay advocate through consistent education and communication.
• EVENTS & ACTIVATION – Plan and run supplier market visits, wine dinners, and consumer tastings that create real, visible demand for a 50+ supplier portfolio.
• SALES GOALS & KPIS – Own the annual sales plan for the California defined territory; track and deliver against KPIs across the 100 Top Accounts, on‑ and off‑premise.
• PLANNING & REPORTING – Show up for weekly, monthly, and tertile business reviews; keep the Regional Manager current on sales updates, market conditions, and issues.

Requirements

• Home‑based in California with regular travel across the state.
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