Sales Director, Personal Care Retail Private Brands

PLZ Corp • Downers Grove, IL

7d • Hybrid

About The Position

The Sales Director – Retail Private Brands, Personal Care Solutions will build PLZ’s retail private-label personal care business from the ground up. The role develops a prioritized retailer and customer strategy, identifies categories and assortment gaps where PLZ can compete, and differentiates PLZ through its manufacturing, innovation, quality, regulatory, and commercialization capabilities.

This leader combines an entrepreneurial builder and hunter mindset with influence, collaboration, and disciplined execution. Working with the Retail Category Director and other team members, the Sales Director develops and executes the growth strategy, wins new business, manages broker relationships, leads retailer-specific product concepts, and coordinates internal teams to launch profitable programs.

The position owns commercial development from prospecting through commercialization, including customer relationships, pipeline management, pricing, negotiations, forecasting, onboarding, and launch performance. It partners cross-functionally to translate customer requirements into executable plans and ensure commitments align with company capabilities and customer expectations.

The work environment is hybrid or remote, with extensive use of computers, phones, and video conferencing. Chicago is the preferred location; Minneapolis may also be considered. Travel is required for customer meetings, broker engagement, training, company events, and manufacturing site visits.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Marketing, Chemistry, Consumer Products, Supply Chain, or a related field.
• 7–10 years of progressive sales, business development, or commercial leadership experience in consumer products, retail, private label, personal care, beauty, or related industries.
• Proven private-label experience, including direct involvement with retailer-owned brand or store-brand programs.
• Experience selling directly to retailers, including mass, drug, grocery, club, specialty, beauty, or regional retail customers.
• Experience managing brokers, sales agencies, or external commercial partners.
• Strong understanding of retail customer development, private-label commercialization, category management, line reviews, RFP/RFQ processes, assortment-gap identification, and retailer decision-making.
• Ability to develop retailer-specific product concepts and translate customer and category insights into commercially viable programs.
• Ability to build, prioritize, and convert a strategic sales pipeline in complex retail environments.
• Strong financial acumen, including pricing strategy, margin management, customer profitability, demand forecasting, launch economics, and business-case development.
• Experience working cross-functionally with Product Development, Operations, Quality, Regulatory, Supply Chain, Procurement, Finance, Marketing, and Customer Service.
• Strong executive-level communication, negotiation, presentation, influence, and collaboration skills.
• Entrepreneurial, accountable builder/hunter mindset, with the ability to create a new business while engaging the broader organization and leveraging existing capabilities.
• CRM proficiency.

Nice To Haves

• MBA.
• Personal care experience, particularly in skin care, hair care, bath and body, sun care, deodorants/antiperspirants, shave, or related consumer product segments.
• Contract manufacturing experience.
• Branded-product experience.
• Chicago-area location; Minneapolis may also be considered.

Responsibilities

• Work with the Retail Category Director and other team members to develop and execute a retail private-label personal care growth strategy across prioritized national and regional retail customers.
• Create a prioritized retailer and customer strategy identifying target categories, assortment gaps, PLZ’s right to win, and customer-specific differentiation.
• Identify and pursue new business opportunities in personal care categories and adjacent segments.
• Build and maintain an 80/20 target-account strategy focused on revenue, profitability, margin expansion, and strategic market growth.
• Position PLZ as a private-label partner through its product innovation, category insight, regulatory compliance, supply chain reliability, manufacturing capabilities, and speed to market.
• Monitor consumer trends, retailer strategies, competitive activity, and category insights to identify growth and innovation opportunities.
• Develop relationships with retail buyers, private-brand leaders, category managers, sourcing and procurement teams, brokers, and other customer stakeholders.
• Lead customer presentations, innovation reviews, assortment discussions, line reviews, RFP/RFQ processes, pricing negotiations, and annual business planning.
• Develop retailer-specific product concepts and account strategies aligned with customer needs and PLZ’s commercial and operational objectives.
• Serve as the primary commercial contact for assigned customers and prospective accounts, while aligning internal stakeholders with customer priorities and launch requirements.
• Represent the organization at industry conferences, retailer meetings, trade shows, and personal care industry events.
• Manage broker networks, sales agencies, and external partners; establish expectations, priorities, objectives, and opportunity-tracking processes, and drive accountability for engagement and results.
• Own the sales pipeline from prospecting through commercialization, including qualification, RFP/RFQ activity, pricing, contract negotiations, onboarding, forecasting, and launch.
• Drive accountability for new-business revenue, profitability, pipeline development, forecast accuracy, launch readiness, and post-launch performance.
• Maintain accurate CRM reporting on opportunity size, probability, timing, financial impact, risks, customer requirements, and next steps.
• Partner with Finance and business leadership on pricing, margins, customer profitability, investment decisions, and commercial trade-offs.
• Manage the portfolio and opportunities to maximize strategic and financial value; analyze win/loss performance and implement improvements.
• Partner with R&D, Product Development, Operations, Quality, Regulatory, Procurement, Supply Chain, Marketing, and Customer Service to commercialize products and programs.
• Translate customer requirements into project plans covering specifications, formulations, packaging, regulatory requirements, testing, timelines, and operational readiness.
• Ensure customer commitments align with manufacturing capabilities, quality standards, lead times, and service expectations.
• Resolve issues and remove barriers that could affect customer approval, commercialization, or launch timelines.
• Support post-launch business reviews and account-growth initiatives.

Benefits

• Medical, dental, and vision benefits.
• Company-paid life insurance and short-term disability.
• Voluntary additional life, disability, and hospital/accident insurance.
• 401(k) with company-provided match.
• Paid time off.
• Bonus incentive programs, subject to program rules and factors including individual and organizational performance.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Director