Zone Sales Manager - New Jersey/Pennsylvania

About the role

As a Zone Sales Manager (ZSM), you will lead a team of Market Development Leaders (MDLs) to achieve distribution, sales, merchandising, and promotional targets through effective engagement with the Independent Distributor Partners (IDP) network and the local warehouse logistics organization. The ZSM is responsible for over $100MM in revenue and will develop and implement the zone business strategy to drive growth across brands, increase dollar share, and optimize resource deployment for volume maximization and cost minimization. You will provide sales leadership, personal development for MDLs, and alignment with the Customer Team.

Responsibilities

• Proactively manage, monitor, evaluate, and update the overall business plan to meet Campbell Snacks objectives.
• Develop business plans for 60-90-180 days across all retailers and multiple geographies to support executional excellence and share growth.
• Communicate targets for distribution, merchandising, and promotional execution.
• Secure retail space for new items and points of interruption with key retail decision makers through partnership with IDPs.
• Forge and develop strong relationships with key retail decision makers.
• Assess retailers’ competitive positions, behaviors, and strategies to align with Campbell Snacks’ strategic goals and identify win-win opportunities.
• Track and evaluate competitive threats in the market and set strategic gap closure plans.
• Design and forecast quarterly business plans to attain key metrics across the portfolio.
• Develop go-to-market strategies through partnership with IDPs and utilize business analytics to recommend key business issues/plans.
• Conduct retailer-specific analysis across the portfolio to identify opportunities and make recommendations.
• Provide insights and collaborate with internal retail customer teams on solution-oriented ideas for continuous improvement.
• Communicate retail execution goals and monitor MDL performance to achieve business strategies.
• Lead retail development with an emphasis on designing and maintaining a retail wiring plan for compression selling through IDP partnerships.
• Penetrate and establish retail relationships with elevated levels of management through focused compression selling.
• Cultivate and implement optional quality joint business engagements with IDPs.
• Participate in quarterly IDP business meetings to collaborate on operational matters.
• Offer syndicated and retailer-supplied data to discuss business trends, consumer insights, and incremental opportunities.
• Develop growth strategies to support route infrastructure and align priorities with local Business Development Managers.
• Improve route viability by reengineering for growth and minimizing turnover to support IDP engagement.
• Recommend potential IDPs for open routes as future business partners.
• Collaborate with the internal sales operations team to create a route infrastructure strategy.
• Provide clear communication regarding sales and distribution opportunities using available tools.
• Coach and influence the internal team to improve engagement with IDPs.
• Understand IDP contracts and the independent distributor partner business model.
• Review weekly MDL deployment plans to improve execution, IDP engagement, and retailer visibility.
• Collaborate with Sales Operations to improve market efficiency and drive growth.
• Support cross-functional teams on assigned categories (e.g., new product development, process improvement, brand marketing).
• Track monthly forecasts to maximize supply chain efficiencies and provide feedback on shipments, consumption data, and inventory changes.
• Proactively identify potential risks or threats to monthly forecasts.
• Utilize performance management plans with MDLs to develop individual skills and enhance team culture.
• Conduct MDL team meetings to share best practices, role-play, and communicate deployment plans.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree preferred, but not required.
• With a Bachelor’s degree: minimum 5 years of Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) or Direct Store Delivery (DSD) sales experience.
• Without a Bachelor’s degree: minimum 10 years of Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) or Direct Store Delivery (DSD) sales experience.
• Minimum 2 years managing and influencing sales teams.

Skills

• 7+ years of CPG and DSD experience (nice to have).
• DSD route-to-market experience (nice to have).
• Master’s Degree (nice to have).

Job Complexity / Scope

• Engage with a diverse set of outside stakeholders, including retailers and IDPs, while navigating a complex route-to-market distribution model.
• Assess market needs and deploy resources against business issues and demands.
• Utilize iPad business applications to provide up-to-date information on business trends.
• Train, coach, and develop new MDLs on processes and best practices.
• Identify and implement growth strategies for infrastructure opportunities.
• Deliver gross revenue targets, share growth, and executional excellence metrics.
• Deliver ACV display gains in key accounts and region geography.
• Establish strong selling relationships with key retailers and divisional leaders.
• Ensure the MDL team engages IDPs in a collaborative spirit to build relationships and maximize growth potential.
• Build, recruit, and develop a high-performing MDL team that promotes positive IDP engagement and culture.
• Conduct periodic strategy meetings with the MDL team to align on goals and opportunities.
• Identify and mentor MDLs for personal development and career progress.
• Effectively manage the performance of MDLs struggling to meet role expectations.
• Requires cross-functional interaction within retailer, sales strategy, operations, supply chain, plant operations, depot management, and IDPs.

Benefits

• Benefits begin on day one, including medical, dental, short- and long-term disability, AD&D, and life insurance (for individuals, families, and domestic partners).
• Eligibility for a matching 401(k) plan with immediate vesting starting on the first day of employment.
• Unlimited sick time, paid time off, and holiday pay.
• Free access to the fitness center (if at WHQ).
• Access to on-site daycare (operated by Bright Horizons) and a company store.
• “Campbell’s Cares” program matches employee donations and/or volunteer activity up to $1,500 annually.
• Access to a variety of Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) for support.

Pay

The target base salary range for this full-time, salaried position is between $108,000 and $148,500. Individual base pay depends on work location and additional factors such as experience, job-related skills, and relevant education or training. Total pay may include other forms of compensation.