Senior Customer Manager - NAR Regional Grocery, Wholesale Region

Overview

We are seeking a Senior Customer Manager to lead a portfolio of regional wholesale customers, including AWG, Bozzuto's/Big Y, MDI/Lowe's, and NY Metro wholesalers. This role is responsible for delivering strong business results across a large and complex customer portfolio while leading a team of 12 sales professionals.

The ideal candidate brings strong sales leadership, sound business management skills, and the ability to work independently across multiple customers and priorities. Most importantly, this role requires direct sales experience working with wholesale customers and distributors, with a proven ability to grow volume, improve profitability, and build senior-level customer relationships.

This leader will partner closely with internal cross-functional teams and customer stakeholders to develop and execute strategies that drive profitable growth, strengthen customer partnerships, and improve in-market execution.

What You'll Be Responsible For

• Lead, coach, and develop a team of 12, including Key Account Managers and customer-facing sales roles

• Deliver revenue, volume, and profitability targets across a portfolio of regional wholesale customers

• Build and maintain strong relationships with senior customer leaders and decision-makers

• Create and execute customer growth strategies and joint business plans

• Drive distribution gains, promotional effectiveness, and share growth across key categories

• Manage trade investment budgets and evaluate return on investment

• Partner cross-functionally to deliver customer solutions and execute growth plans

• Foster a high-performing, inclusive team culture focused on accountability and development

Key Accountabilities

• Sales Leadership

• Build strong relationships with senior-level leaders across assigned wholesale customers

• Use customer, category, and market insights to influence assortment, pricing, and promotional decisions

• Identify growth opportunities and develop strategies to outperform the competition

• Lead forecasting discussions related to volume and trade investment

• Business and Execution Excellence

• Meet or exceed sales and revenue targets

• Develop and execute customer strategies that deliver profitable growth

• Manage trade spend effectively and make data-driven investment decisions

• Partner with internal teams to maximize in-store and market execution

• Cross-Functional Leadership

• Collaborate with internal and external partners to build multi-year customer growth plans

• Lead cross-functional efforts to solve customer challenges and unlock growth opportunities

• People Leadership

• Coach and develop team members to achieve strong performance and long-term growth

• Build an inclusive, accountable, and engaged team environment

• Recruit, train, and motivate talent across the organization

Preferred Location

The primary market area for this role is Kansas City, KS, or within a 40-mile radius of the major city airport. Candidates located in this market area will be strongly preferred. Candidates based in Philadelphia, PA, Minneapolis, MN, or Nashville, TN, will also be considered. Relocation support is available.

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree

• Minimum of 5 years of experience in sales, customer-facing account management, category management, shopper or consumer insights, analytics, trade funding, or marketing

• Direct sales experience working with wholesale customers, grocery wholesalers, distributors, or similar go-to-market partners

• Experience managing customer relationships and driving sales results in a complex retail or consumer products environment

• Strong analytical skills, including experience using internal and external data to make business decisions

• Proven people leadership experience, including coaching, developing, and motivating teams

• Strong strategic thinking, planning, financial management, and decision-making skills

• Self-motivated, detail-oriented, and able to perform effectively in a fast-paced environment

• Advanced proficiency in Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint

Additional Considerations

International relocation and international remote work arrangements outside of the United States will not be considered.

We exist to make food the world loves. But we do more than that. Our company is a place that prioritizes being a force for good, a place to expand learning, explore new perspectives and reimagine new possibilities, every day. We look for people who want to bring their best - bold thinkers with big hearts who challenge one other and grow together.Because becoming the undisputed leader in food means surroundingourselves with peoplewho are hungry for what's next.