National Accounts Manager - Contract Dining

National Checking Company

3d•$120,000 - $135,000

About The Position

The National Accounts Manager – Contract Dining is a sales hunter role responsible for finding, incubating and closing new opportunities from direct and indirect channels in the Contract Dining segment. In the Direct Channel, this role will be accountable for delivering first revenue for net new accounts (“new logos”) in targeted segments established yearly. This role will be accountable for identifying, filtering, incubating, and closing the new logo. The first year will be focused on B&I (business and industry), Education (K12 + Higher Education), DoC (Department of Corrections), and Senior Care. In the Indirect Channel, this role will focus on hunting alongside and within the Major Contract Partners (MCPs) that operate nearly 80% of the contract dining segment. NCCO has stellar and long-standing relationships with many of these major operators enabling this role to leverage the established trust and focus on leveraged growth execution and sales enablement at the corporate while hunting at the site level. This position requires a disciplined hunter mindset (especially in the direct channel), strong executive-level selling skills (especially in the indirect channel), and the ability to align day-to-day sales execution with Director-level growth priorities, pricing strategy, and margin objectives. This role is laser focused on new growth and delivering first account revenue in the target segments. To support this focus, this role is fully harmonized within the Enterprise Revenue Team at NCCO – which includes Regional Sales Managers (RSM), Digital Sales Managers (DSM), National Account Managers (NAM), EAM (Enterprise Account Managers), Customer Success and Marketing – across all five NCCO entities. Specifically for this role, the NAM – Contract Dining focuses on Acquisition (new logos); the EAM on expansion and long-term growth; and Customer Success on adoption, onboarding, renewal/retention. For each sub-segment noted there is a lead-in proven product and product, sales, and marketing resources to assist the NAM in closing accounts.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Business, Marketing, Sales, or Military or other form of civil service or training is preferred but not required.
3+ years in a hunter role.
3+ years in complex organizational or corporate program and ‘indirect’ or ‘partner’ sales or account expansion/retention role.
3+ years in Food Service operations including training, staffing, and compliance when paired with demonstrated sales hunter mentality.
Institutional sales, product or account management in Contract Dining – B&I (Business & Institutional sales, Education, Institutional, Department of Corrections, including compliance, hygiene, allergy training, staffing, and digital/software offerings.
Willingness to travel nationally (40–60%).

Nice To Haves

Contract Dining sales and account management, especially with the big three major contract partners who are not required but would be highly valued.
Strong sales experience, including prospecting, lead nurturing, and closing high-value contracts.
Proficiency in SalesForce, sales automation tools, and virtual sales platforms.
Strong negotiation, communication, and presentation skills.
Ability to translate technical solutions into business impact for customers.
High level of integrity and work ethic.
Creativity and curiosity to deliver for the customer and the company.
Self-motivation with a track record of taking the initiative.
Adaptable selling style to meet audience needs including C-Suite level.
Proven ability to drive sales process from plan to close.
Cross-functional collaboration.
Willingness to travel as required to meet with clients, attend shows, and visit key markets.
Be able to travel by plane and car.

Responsibilities

Maintain end-to-end sales process -- including Identify, Incubate and First Close -- for each sub-segment noted in sufficient quantity and quality to deliver the monthly, quarterly and annual new growth revenue established for each Fiscal Year.
Execute sales strategies and growth priorities established with the Director of Sales – National Accounts.
Prospect, develop, and close net new regional and national accounts, by maximizing MCP programs and partnerships.
Lead assigned programs and competitive bid processes in coordination with cross-functional teams.
Drive profitable growth, adhering to pricing, margin, and contract guidelines set by leadership.
Maintain a consistent hunter cadence, including new opportunity creation, pipeline advancement, and close rates.
Grow revenue within assigned accounts through program expansion, product mix optimization, and contract extensions.
Identify whitespace opportunities and present business cases for incremental growth.
Partner with the Director on account strategy for high-value or at-risk customers.
Implement segment-specific selling approaches leading with DateCodeGenie as base entry product for MCP programs: Business & Industry (corporate dining, manufacturing, office campuses) K-12 Education Senior Living (independent living, assisted living, skilled nursing)
Collaborate with the Director, Enterprise Account Manager, cross-functional partners (Marketing, Operations, Culinary, Supply Chain, Finance) to deliver scalable customer solutions.
Coordinate with Enterprise Account Manager, Distributor partners, brokers, and field resources to ensure execution aligns with negotiated agreements.
Escalate pricing exceptions, contract deviations, and strategic risks to the Director and Program Manager for approval.
Maintain accurate pipeline management, forecasting, and CRM reporting in accordance with leadership expectations.
Provide regular updates on opportunity status, competitive activity, and market trends.
Support Director-level business reviews, planning sessions, and customer executive meetings as required.
Other duties as assigned.