WHOLESALE DIRECTOR OF SALES

United Dairy Farmers•Norwood, OH

23h

About The Position

The Director of Sales develops and executes the sales and execution strategy for United Dairy Farmers’ branded products across grocery, food service, and emerging channels. This leader drives profitable revenue growth by expanding distribution, strengthening customer relationships, leading the sales team, and collaborating across functions to maximize market opportunities. The Director serves as the commercial leader for ice cream, bakery, and co-manufacturing, executing annual business plans and identifying opportunities for sustainable growth. The position oversees strategic planning, customer and account management, sales leadership, revenue and financial management, market intelligence, and people management. It partners closely with Marketing, Supply Chain, Food Manufacturing (Ice Cream & Bakery), Accounting, Product Development, and Customer Service. Success is measured through KPIs including net sales growth, gross margin improvement, distribution gains, new customer acquisition, market share growth, customer retention, forecast accuracy, trade-spend effectiveness, and sales team engagement and performance.

Requirements

High school diploma or GED equivalent required.
6–8 years of CPG sales experience.
3–5 years leading high-performing sales teams.
Experience managing national and regional retail accounts.
Proven success growing branded consumer products.
Demonstrated experience in sales, prospecting, negotiation, and contract management.
Strong strategic sales planning skills and customer orientation.
Ability to develop sales targets and budgets that balance revenue, growth, and profitability.
Financial and business acumen, including the ability to analyze business performance, forecast short- and long-term outcomes, and develop solutions that drive profitability and growth.
Customer relationship management capabilities to retain and enhance customer relationships.
Strong analytical, strategic planning, organizational, problem-solving, and attention-to-detail skills.
Strong relationship management, interpersonal, influencing, verbal, and written communication skills; ability to present to internal and external groups.
Ability to use data to tell a compelling story, communicate findings and recommendations, and support or drive strategic business priorities.
Fundamental understanding of key financial and sales performance metrics.
Ability to operate in a complex, rapidly changing environment while adhering to schedules and budgets.
Demonstrated project management skills and ability to balance multiple projects at different stages of implementation.
Ability to coordinate multiple tasks and requests and solve challenges of varying complexity.
Ability to partner with Product Development, Manufacturing, Marketing, Accounting, and other key functions to lead wholesale sales.
Proficiency in MS Office (Word, Excel, and PowerPoint) and business intelligence tools.

Nice To Haves

Bachelor’s degree or equivalent preferred.
Prior experience selling packaged food products, especially ice cream, frozen novelties, and bakery items.
Knowledge of the consumer packaged goods industry.
Knowledge of ice cream, frozen novelties, and bakery products.
Knowledge of grocery, food service, and emerging channels.
Knowledge of trade promotion management.
Knowledge of category analytics.
Knowledge of retail and shelf merchandising.
Knowledge of supply chain fundamentals.
Proficiency with retailer-specific systems and data platforms such as 1WorldSync, Kroger 84.51 and V.I.P., Walmart Retail Link and Scintilla Charter, and Meijer Vendor Net.
Familiarity with Trade Promotion Management tools, category management principles, and digital e-commerce and omnichannel strategies.

Responsibilities

Develop and execute annual and long-term CPG sales strategies aligned with company growth objectives.
Identify business opportunities across existing and emerging channels, and develop geographic expansion and new-customer acquisition strategies.
Build strategic partnerships with national, regional, and local retailers to increase distribution, sales, and profitability.
Lead annual business planning, sales forecasting, revenue management, and Joint Business Planning with strategic customers.
Negotiate customer agreements, pricing strategies, promotional programs, and annual business plans.
Ensure strong customer service, resolve complex customer issues, and maintain long-term customer partnerships.
Recruit, develop, coach, and lead the sales and business development team; establish performance goals and accountability measures.
Foster collaboration, innovation, and continuous improvement across the sales team.
Deliver annual revenue, volume, margin, and profitability targets; manage trade spending and promotional investments to maximize ROI.
Monitor sales performance, customer profitability, category trends, competitive activity, consumer trends, and marketplace dynamics.
Develop pricing recommendations with Finance and Marketing, and use sales analytics to improve opportunities and execution.
Use internal UDF data, including Power BI, syndicated data, and customer-specific data to identify opportunities and recommend strategic actions.
Partner with Marketing, Supply Chain, Food Manufacturing, Accounting, Product Development, and Customer Service to lead wholesale sales.
Incorporate United Dairy Farmers’ DAIRY Culture into day-to-day management practices.
Provide direct reports with timely, candid, constructive feedback; develop associates, provide challenging career-growth opportunities, and recognize accomplishments.
Build talent pools, bench strength, and succession plans; hold direct reports accountable for carrying out applicable people-management responsibilities.
Grow associate engagement as measured by regular engagement surveys.
Use category management knowledge—including assortment, merchandising, shelf placement, trends, and data insights—to help position UDF as a preferred CPG for customer category managers.
Track and support performance against sales, margin, distribution, customer-acquisition, market-share, retention, forecast, trade-spend, and team-performance KPIs.