Senior Manager of Sales-Pet Food

About the Role

The Senior Manager of Pet Food Sales is responsible for executing new business development strategies, plans, and opportunities aligned with the company’s strategic goals. This role involves building and maintaining relationships with clients, supporting sales initiatives, and contributing to market research and trend analysis. A key focus is driving revenue growth through proactive lead generation, hunting new sales opportunities, and converting prospects into long-term customers. The role also requires collaboration with product development and other stakeholders to support business development plans, expanding the company’s market presence, and achieving sales targets.

Responsibilities

• Identify and pursue new business opportunities within assigned markets and categories for long-term growth initiatives.
• Proactively reach out to potential clients to establish business relationships.
• Collaborate with internal teams to explore opportunities with existing customers.
• Attain volume and profitability targets established for assigned portfolio and manage all aspects of daily business operations.
• Fulfill requests for proposals (RFPs) from potential partners and customers.
• Negotiate new contracts with established controls and approvals and execute effective onboarding of new clients.
• Help direct the development of customer-facing web platforms.
• Build solid business cases to secure internal buy-in, using supporting data/trends.
• Serve as the liaison between customers and internal stakeholders (Planning, Procurement, Operations, Quality, R&D, and Thermal Processing) in product development and commercialization.
• Assess competitor assets, capabilities, and utilization to support new business acquisition.
• Represent the company at trade or networking events to enhance image and develop additional business.
• Collaborate with production and supporting departments to ensure food safety and quality of products.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, Marketing, or related field; MBA is a plus.
• 5-10 years of extensive experience in Pet Food business development, sales, and marketing.
• 3+ years of managerial experience.
• Experience within branded, retail, grocery, co-manufacturing, and private label segments.
• Expertise in the CPG grocery industry, including pricing strategies, client relations, category management, and broker supervision.
• Understanding of eCommerce / DTC pricing strategies and key differentiators between eComm / DTC and traditional CPG channels.

Skills

• Business Development
• Campaign Management
• Competitor Analysis
• Customer Engagement
• Lead Generation and Management
• Marketing Analytics and Strategy
• Relationship Marketing
• Tactical Planning
• Customer Relationship Management
• Strategic Analysis
• Product/Sector Knowledge
• Excellent Presenting Skills
• Strong Communication Skills
• Conflict Resolution
• Problem Solving
• Accountability
• Initiative
• Operational Excellence
• Integrity

Physical Requirements

• Prolonged sitting and continuous use of a computer.
• May lift, carry, push, or pull objects up to 10 lbs.

Travel

30-50% travel required.