Associate Director, Head of Sales Specialised Nutrition, Arla Foods Ingredients - Aarhus

Arla Foods Ingredients (AFI) is seeking an experienced Associate Director to lead the global sales of our whey- and milk-based ingredients for the Medical and Early Life Nutrition industries. This is a pivotal leadership role with a unique opportunity to shape the future of our Specialised Nutrition business and drive value creation in B2B markets worldwide.

As our new Head of Sales, you will set strategic direction, lead a global team, and build long-term partnerships with our customers that bring innovative nutrition solutions to life. The role is based in Aarhus and reports directly to the Head of the Strategic Business Unit, Specialised Nutrition. Due to the leadership responsibility for a team of six colleagues, regular presence in Aarhus is required.

 

How you will make an impact

You will play a central role in shaping our business agenda through strong commercial leadership, customer-centric thinking, and cross-functional collaboration. Together with your team of account managers and sales supporters, you will drive commercial execution while working closely with regional and functional teams to achieve strategic goals.

Key responsibilities include:

• Lead, mentor and manage local sales team in EMEA to meet and exceed sales targets
• Collaborate closely with AFI’s regional sales teams in Asia-Pacific and the Americas to be a global voice on pricing, volume allocation and sales operations for the business unit
• Set strategic direction in collaboration with the business unit leadership, aligned with market and customer opportunities
• Build strong, lasting relationships with key global customers and distributors
• Represent AFI in top-to-top customer interactions and strategic partnerships
• Negotiate major agreements and commercial contracts with top-tier accounts
• Oversee sales operations, including forecasting, pricing, and performance tracking
• Co-lead portfolio development and market rollouts together with Sales Development
• Develop annual sales plans aligned with global and regional business priorities
• Shape and execute go-to-market strategies across regions and customer segments

 

What will make you successful

We seek for a candidate that brings a strong commercial profile, having worked with large B2B customers in the food ingredients, life science, or nutrition sectors. The ideal candidate combines strategic thinking with operational excellence and thrives in leading teams and complex stakeholder landscapes.

Your qualifications ideally include:

• A commercial Master's degree, or a technical background/Masters in the Biosolutions, Life Science of Food industries coupled with strong commercial flair and sales management experience
• 7–10+ years of experience in global B2B sales, business development, or commercial leadership
• Proven success managing strategic accounts and driving innovation to market
• Experience with leading diverse teams across geographies and cultural contexts
• Strong analytical and strategic planning capabilities
• Excellent commercial acumen with a track record in pricing and product mix optimization
• Proficiency in CRM and business tools
• Proven success in selling high-value ingredients and bioactives, such as diary proteins, enzymes, probiotics, or similar products.

 

Additionally, you thrive in a matrix organization with a complex stakeholder landscape and have ideally worked in international roles. As an Associate Director, you will need to inspire confidence and trust in your team, stakeholders, and customers. 

For the right candidate this is a great opportunity to work with our key global customers as part of a great team of colleagues and with the opportunity to develop further within Arla Foods and AFI, both in Northern Europe and across other geographies.

What we offer

In Arla Foods Ingredients we are characterized by our collaborative innovative, and entrepreneurial culture. Your colleagues will be as smart and driven as you.

You can look forward to becoming part of an international, fun and sociable team. We prioritize work life balance and building a positive team spirit and have both social activities and team events on a regular basis.

 

Ready to join us and shape the