Your Opportunity as the Director, Sales Operations and Channel Commercialization – Away from Home (AFH) is to lead the channel marketing teams and sales operations teams essential for translating strategy into channel marketing and sales execution plans to deliver the annual plan for Away from Home. To continue the business growth trajectory, the Away from Home team focuses on the following key channels: Healthcare, K-12 schools, Colleges & Universities, Offices, Hospitality, and Commercial Restaurants. This team drives the execution of our annual plan through channel marketing planning, reporting, quota setting and management, sales process optimization, forecasting processes, sales program implementation, CRM system management, and external communications—including pricing, trade, and supply messaging.

The Director of Sales Operations and Channel Commercialization is responsible for executing the annual sales and channel marketing plans. Reporting to the Senior Director of Marketing, Planning, and Commercialization, the Director also works closely with internal and external stakeholders to ensure the appropriate objectives and priorities are enabled to deliver business results. Working closely with our sales and execution teams, this role is vital to delivering our top and bottom-line objectives. This position is a great opportunity to turn strategy into action, delivering consistent, outstanding results.

Location: Orrville, OH (Corporate Office)

Work Arrangements: In Orrville, Ohio office during Core Weeks (approximately 9 days per month) and as business needs require. Travel up to 25% for key industry or customer events.

In This Role You Will

Strategy & Collaboration

Act as the key liaison and partner with our Sales Leadership Team to deliver volume and profit goals through effective and efficient execution, processes, and systems.
Bring external market needs, voice of the customer, and channel knowledge into the long range connected planning process
Subject matter expert and key leader responsible for channel insights and opportunity identification to unlock growth through insights
Responsible for category management activities at key distribution partners and select retail-like channels including office supply and cash & carry.
In partnership with Sales Leaders, guide the long-term (3-5 years) strategy for the AFH broker network.

Annual Planning & Execution

Leads Customer & Operator Planning Process in partnership with Marketing & Finance planning processes
Coordinate’s sales forecasting, planning, and budgeting processes used within the sales organization. Proactively monitors and strives to maintain high levels of quality, accuracy, and process consistency in the sales organization’s planning efforts. As needed, coordinates planning activities with other functions and stakeholders within the Company including supply chain, forecast consensus meetings, and allocations
Develop and implement annual plan for brokers.
Manage and monitor monthly broker scorecards, quarterly business reviews and annual performance reviews.

Processes, Tools & Continuous Improvement

Proactively identifies opportunities for sales process improvement. Works closely with sales management to inspect sales process quality and prioritize opportunities for improvement. Assists sales management in understanding process bottlenecks and inconsistencies. Facilitates an organization of continuous process improvement.
Monitors the accuracy and efficient distribution of sales reports and other intelligence essential to the sales organization.
Recommend revisions to existing reports or assist in the development of new reporting tools as needed.
Implements enabling technologies, including CRM, to field sales teams. Monitors the assigned sales organization’s compliance with required standards for maintaining CRM data. Works closely with sales management to optimize the effectiveness of the company’s technology investments.
Owns customer segmentation & JBP processes and tools

Team Leadership

Strong cross functional collaboration with the ability to demonstrate executive presence with Away from Home leadership team to provide thought leadership, industry intelligence, and drive decisions
Lead a diverse team of 8-12 individuals across varying responsibilities including channel marketing, sales operations, and system management.
Ability to effectively navigate across business units and centers of excellence within the broader company

The Right Place for You

We are bold, kind, strive to do the right thing, we play to win, and we believe in a strong community that thrives together. Our culture is rooted in our Basic Beliefs, and we believe in supporting every employee by meeting their physical, emotional, and financial needs.

Minimum Requirements

What we are looking for:

Bachelor’s Degree
7+ years of experience in commercial leadership planning, building, and executing an annual plan including sales and marketing.
3+ years of experience in sales, marketing or related commercialization experience in a business to business environment. (Sales operations experience preferred.)
Must possess strong Microsoft Suites skills and the ability to learn and master company systems (CRM, Spotfire, SharePoint, Workday, Excel, data visualization tools, and others).
Demonstration and application of process development and utilization.

Additional skills and experience that we think would make someone successful in this role:

Experience in consumer-packaged goods (CPG) and Away from Home food and/or beverage sales, marketing or commercialization is preferred.
Fosters close, cooperative relationships with peer leaders, sales management, marketing, revenue growth management, finance, and other support personnel.
Possesses experience and understanding of AFH Supply Chain customer’s business acumen (operations, customer logistics and financial implications) that support a CPG manufacturers' ability to successfully implement within the AFH industry.
Can convert data and observations to insights that lead to opportunity development
Experience in other commercial areas including Marketing, Sales, Revenue Growth Management, Category Management, etc.
Strong analytical skills, with foundational P&L understanding.
Experience in cross-functional collaboration.

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Director, Sales Operations and Channel Commercialization – Away from Home (AFH)