Director of Retail Grocery

Who We Are:

Whatever drives you, we are committed to unlocking your full potential and supporting you in achieving greatness. At Nature's Touch, we live by our core purpose and values as we work to create positive change in the world around us. As a leading force in the Private Brands frozen fruit industry, we proudly serve retail and industrial sectors in North America, Australia, Taiwan, and Japan. Our unwavering dedication to our customers, paired with our deep expertise, has earned us a reputation as a reliable partner in the frozen fruit sector, recognized with several prestigious awards.

The Role:

We are seeking a trailblazing Director of Sales - Grocery Canada to lead and elevate our relationships with our most significant customers while building and coaching a Key Account Manager. This role is more than sales leadership - it is about disrupting traditional sales practices by fostering bold and disruptive collaboration and partnerships that challenge the status quo and deliver sustainable growth for both Nature's Touch and our customers.

This role embodies the principles of Collaborative Disruption - driving meaningful, insight-based conversations, co-creating value, and leading joint business planning efforts that generate long-term mutual success.

Key Responsibilities:

Drive Strategic Growth and Partnership

• Be a co-creator with customers: Build trust-based, insight-led relationships with major Canadian retailers focused on private brand development.
• Lead customer strategy: Own and execute the customer roadmap, including JBP, forecast alignment, pricing strategies, and customer scorecards.
• Drive category growth: Collaborate cross-functionally with insights, R&D, and supply chain to identify whitespace and deliver category leadership.
• Champion long-term, profitable growth: Focus on sustainable wins, not just quick ones-balancing agility with strategic foresight.
• Foster radical transparency and collaboration: Communicate proactively-internally and externally-with honesty and clarity.
• Lead with influence: Mobilize teams to execute with excellence, from concept to shelf.

Key Account Management

• Take full ownership of one key retail customer, managing all aspects of the account, including day-to-day operations, strategic planning, and execution.
• Serve as the primary point of contact, building deep customer relationships and driving mutually beneficial outcomes.
• Lead joint business planning, promotional strategies, and performance tracking to ensure customer and company goals align.
• Collaborate with internal teams (supply chain, finance, marketing, and R&D) to ensure flawless execution and problem-solving for the account.

Revenue & Profitability

• Oversee national sales performance, ensuring revenue, margin, and growth targets are met or exceeded.
• Design and execute data-informed strategies across pricing, promotions, forecasting, and category management.
• Provide actionable reporting and marketplace insights that inform broader business decisions.
• Set and manage sales quotas for regions and territories aligned with strategic objectives.

Team Development & Leadership

• Manage and mentor one direct report (Key Account Manager), providing guidance, support, and development opportunities.
• Ensure alignment between the team's efforts and business priorities, fostering a high-performance, collaborative culture.

Negotiation & Relationship Leadership

• Lead high-stakes negotiations in pricing, contracts, and customer programs-ensuring win-win outcomes aligned with our seasonal crop model.
• Serve as a trusted partner to key accounts, cultivating long-term, collaborative relationships rooted in shared success.
• Clearly articulate our value proposition through compelling presentations and proposals that reflect our capabilities and customer-first mindset.

What You Will Bring:

1. Supervisory Responsibilities:

• Yes

Minimum Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree in business or related field

Preferred Qualifications:

• Minimum 8 to 10 years of experience leading transformative selling strategies or at a retailer

Knowledge and Skills:

• Proven record of disruptive collaboration, partnership, and category development
• Ability to lead and influence top management at Key Accounts
• Strong knowledge of food processing and packaging, international business,and quality systems
• Experience with private label products is required
• Experience with category management and or marketing is preferred.
• Superior verbal and written communication skills
• Strong commercial acumen with a passion for building long-term partnerships
• Proven track record of business development
• Comfortable in taking calculated risks
• Excellent interpersonal and negotiation skills
• Confident and driven to bring in new business

Additional Considerations:

• Traveling will be required; 10-15% of the time.