Director, AFH Tomatoes

Job Description

As the Sales Director for Away from Home Tomatoes, you will be responsible for driving the sales strategy and performance for our tomato product portfolio, targeting foodservice channels. This role will lead and inspire a high-performing sales team, build long-lasting client relationships, and be instrumental in achieving ambitious growth objectives. The ideal candidate should have extensive experience in the food industry, specifically within tomato or similar product categories, and a proven ability to lead a sales organization to success.

What's on the menu?

• Develop, implement, and refine a comprehensive sales strategy to achieve revenue growth in food service channels. Ensure sales initiatives align with company goals, customer needs, and market trends.
• Build, lead, and mentor a high-performing sales team. Cultivate a collaborative and results-driven culture that prioritizes accountability, growth, and development of team members. Set clear performance goals and ensure the team is equipped with the tools and resources to succeed.
• Establish and maintain relationships with key stakeholders such as distributors, retailers, and foodservice operators. Leverage market insights to identify growth opportunities and expand the product portfolio. Actively engage with customers to ensure satisfaction, loyalty, and expanded market share.
• Partner with Marketing, Product Development, and Operations to facilitate product launches, promotions, and ongoing customer support. Act as the primary advocate for sales in company-wide initiatives, ensuring alignment and execution across departments. Lead cross-functional working groups to ensure sales plans align with product innovation and operational capabilities, contributing to AFH initiatives.
• Develop and manage the sales budget for the tomato portfolio, allocating resources efficiently to improve return on investment. Monitor sales performance against financial targets and adapt strategies as needed to ensure profitability.
• Stay ahead of market trends, competitor activities, and customer behaviors to inform strategic decisions. Provide regular reports and insights to senior leadership on sales performance, forecasts, and opportunities for growth.
• Establish a tomatoes-centric business, strategy, and organizational structure.
• Directly manage the P/L for the tomato product portfolio, ensuring revenue, margin, and profitability targets are achieved. Develop and implement strategies to optimize cost efficiency and enhance profitability while balancing investments in growth initiatives,
• Achieve or exceed annual sales targets by implementing a comprehensive sales strategy across foodservice channels, driving year-over-year revenue growth for the tomato portfolio.
• Increase market share by developing and maintaining strong, long-term relationships with key customers, including distributors and food service operators. Secure new strategic accounts that contribute to overall sales growth.
• Provide leadership in identifying and capitalizing on new growth opportunities, expanding the product portfolio, and staying ahead of competitive threats.
• Lead successful cross-functional initiatives with marketing, product development, and operations to support product launches, promotional campaigns, and customer support efforts, ensuring alignment and timely execution.
• People Management Responsibilities: 5 direct reports.

Recipe for Success - apply now if this sounds like you!

• A bachelor's degree in business, marketing, finance, or a related field is preferred. Candidates with extensive proven experience will be considered.
• 10+ years of experience in sales within the food industry, with a focus on tomato products or a related category highly desired. Possesses a strong understanding of the tomato product market, including trends, competitor landscape, and customer segmentation.
• Experience with contract negotiations, pricing strategies, and trade promotion management is a plus.
• Proven track record of driving revenue growth, managing sales teams, and achieving sales targets in highly competitive markets.
• Demonstrated ability to navigate ambiguity, take ownership of business outcomes, analyze complex information, and develop solutions that benefit the organization.
• Ability to prioritize your time and others' time on what’s most important while eliminating roadblocks for the team, creating focus.
• Ability to quickly develop organizational agility, e.g., knows how to get things done through formal and informal channels and is an effective delegator.
• Exceptional leadership skills, with a history of coaching, mentoring, and developing high-performing teams.
• Strong negotiation, communication, and relationship-building skills, with th