National Account Manager, ALT Channels

Simple Mills•Chicago, IL

19d•Remote

About The Position

Simple Mills is seeking a National Account Manager (NAM) for Alternative Channels / Away From Home to help build and execute the growth strategy for this business segment. The primary focus will be on Convenience and Drug channels, with support for expansion into emerging channels like travel and foodservice. This role involves managing key customer relationships, identifying opportunities for distribution and sales growth, and building long-term channel capabilities. The position combines strategic thinking with hands-on execution, inheriting and growing existing business while establishing playbooks for future growth.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree required
5-8 years of progressive CPG sales experience with required Convenience, Drug, distributor-led businesses, away from home and other alternative retail channels.
Experience owning customer relationships and delivering growth through direct customer management, broker networks, or distributor partnerships.
Travel requirement up to 50%, while being remotely based.
Ideally based out of the Chicago, IL area or Mill Valley, CA
Attend trade shows industry events and customer meetings to gain, maintain and grow relationships and opportunities.
Demonstrated ability to contribute to channel strategy development while successfully executing growth objectives.
Strong commercial acumen across forecasting, promotional planning, trade management, distribution expansion, and customer planning.
Experience leveraging syndicated and customer data (Circana/IRI, Nielsen, SPINS, distributor reporting, retailer portals, etc.) to identify opportunities and build persuasive selling stories.
Proven ability to influence cross-functional stakeholders and drive results in fast-paced, evolving environments.
Strong analytical, communication, relationship-building, and problem-solving skills.
Self-starter with the ability to balance strategic thinking and day-to-day execution.
Passion for better-for-you food and familiarity with the consumer-packaged goods industry.

Responsibilities

Lead execution of the Alternative / Away From Home Channels growth strategy, with primary ownership of Convenience and Drug and support for other emerging retail channels.
Partner with the Sr. Director of Club & Alternative / Away From Home Channels to evolve and activate the long-term channel strategy, identifying new opportunities for growth, distribution expansion, and customer development.
Manage key customer, broker, and distributor relationships across assigned channels and accounts.
Assume ownership of existing Alternative Channel business transitioning into the BFY Business Unit and develop plans to accelerate growth and improve execution.
Develop and execute customer business plans, including assortment recommendations, pricing and promotional strategies, distribution expansion, and new item launches.
Build compelling, data-driven selling stories and business cases that influence customer decisions and support channel growth objectives.
Own forecasting, account planning, trade management, and performance tracking across assigned customers and channels.
Partner cross-functionally with Marketing, Finance, Operations, Innovation, and Category Management to support commercialization, customer execution, and channel expansion.
Represent the voice of the customer internally while balancing channel needs, brand priorities, and long-term business objectives.
Support management of broker and distributor relationships to ensure strong in-market execution and customer service.
Monitor channel trends, shopper behavior, competitive activity, and emerging retail formats to identify opportunities that strengthen our long-term Alternative Channels strategy.
Performs other projects as assigned.