Sales Strategy & Planning Manager

The Marzetti Company • Columbus, OH

2d

About The Position

The Sales Strategy & Planning Manager is a key member of Marzetti’s Sales Strategy & Planning function. The role translates company and brand strategies into actionable sales strategies and execution plans that drive profitable Retail growth. It connects Sales with cross-functional partners, including Marketing, Revenue Growth Management (RGM), Category Management, Trade Analytics, and Supply Chain, to develop and execute strategies across merchandising, assortment, pricing, shelving, innovation, forecasting, annual business planning, and retailer execution. The position focuses on profitable growth and achievement of financial and non-financial objectives.

The manager leads sales planning for new product launches, develops customer-ready selling materials, supports pricing and forecasting, and monitors business performance. The role also represents the voice of Sales and the customer across internal teams and partners with Supply Chain to manage supply and inventory risks.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Marketing, Sales, or a related field.
• At least 5 years of professional experience in the consumer-packaged goods (CPG) industry.
• Experience in Sales, Sales Planning, Trade Development, Category Management, or a related function, with demonstrated progression in responsibility.
• Strong analytical and business acumen, with the ability to translate data and insights into actionable recommendations.
• Experience using syndicated data and analytics platforms such as Circana (IRI), NielsenIQ, or similar tools.
• Strong presentation development and storytelling skills, including the ability to translate complex information into clear, compelling recommendations.
• Hands-on execution and problem-solving capabilities, a growth mindset, and the ability to anticipate challenges, evaluate alternatives, and develop practical solutions.
• Strong cross-functional collaboration and influencing skills, including the ability to build relationships and drive alignment across stakeholders.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills for communicating with a variety of audiences.
• Ability to work effectively amid ambiguity, translate complexity into clear recommendations and thought leadership, and manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced, evolving environment with tight deadlines.

Responsibilities

• Drive merchandising, assortment, pricing, and shelving (MAPS) strategies for internal and customer annual business planning and reviews, translating company and brand priorities into actionable sales plans.
• Lead sales planning for new product launches, including retailer-specific distribution assumptions, competitive and category considerations, volume forecasts, sales inputs, and trade and channel pricing strategies.
• Develop customer-ready selling stories and materials for Sales teams and broker partners to sell new products, seasonal programs, and key brand initiatives.
• Champion Sales and customer perspectives across cross-functional teams, incorporating retailer insights and execution considerations into business strategies and aligning internal and external partners through business planning and reviews.
• Shape pricing strategies and recommendations with RGM, Marketing, and Sales leadership, including support for price changes and development of data-driven rationale and tools.
• Partner with Supply Chain to manage supply and inventory risks, including service disruptions, SKU prioritization, retailer-level inventory strategies, communications, and potential obsolete inventory.
• Develop, challenge, and rationalize volume forecasts for new products, promotions, and assigned businesses, identifying risks, opportunities, and actions to improve forecast quality and business performance.
• Monitor business performance, identify gaps to plan, and recommend actions that help Sales teams achieve financial and non-financial goals, including profitable growth, margin, share, and execution objectives.

What This Job Offers

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