Director of Sales

Position Requirements

• Bachelor's degree or higher; business and marketing majors preferred.
• Ten or more years' experience in produce or related sales with experience in food service and retail channels
• Five or more years experience in leading a sales team, marketing, logistics, and administering contracts within the perishable food industry, produce preferred.
• Proven experience with product positioning and market opportunity assessment.
• Knowledge of contemporary food trends and a creative vision for new sales opportunities.
• Direct sales success and proven track record closing deals in line with revenue expectations.
• Proficient at managing 12-month rolling forecasting.
• Experience hiring and forecasting for team expansion. Strong interpersonal skills. A problem solver that is resourceful, innovative and creative.
• Excellent communication skills and ability and desire to foster a collaborative and empowering team environment.
• Exceptional written and verbal communication skills.
• Familiarity with data analysis and reporting.
• Ability to travel by air, train, car as situation dictates.

Position Responsibilities

• The successful candidate will work with the VP for Business Development and other Senior Management Team members to design and implement a strategic sales plan that expands company's customer base and ensures a strong market presence in retail and foodservice through the implantation of this plan, the Director of Sales will lead a team that attains increased sales and pre-determined profit goals through effective business development and strong relationships with new and existing customers.
• The successful candidate will have a sharp sense of food, produce and consumer trends and will Identify emerging markets and market shifts while monitoring new products and competition status. The Director of Sales will understand the challenges in the marketplace for products which may be supplied by the company and use this knowledge to propose new, creative, and innovative opportunities to the organization in addition to maintaining and growing current business trajectories.
• The Director of Sales works closely with the Director of Marketing and Communications to ensure effective integration of Sales and Marketing teams and optimal use of resources, providing constructive input on design and artwork of packaging and marketing materials. The Director of Sales will work closely with marketing and operations to ensure continued on-target development of product portfolio.
• The Director of Sales is comfortable creating and delivering presentations to current and prospective customers and is skilled in leading sales negotiations and representing OSF effectively at trade events. The Director of Sales has the opportunity to grow the OSF Sales Team and lead, direct, and supervise the current team as well as new recruits. The Director will provide development and learning opportunities to support the long-term growth of reporting team members, consistent with the OSF culture that promotes professional growth and collaboration.
• The Director of Sales will work closely with company analysts to set meaningful sales targets, regular forecasts, and report on Sales team metrics and reporting data at regular intervals to leadership and other members of the Senior Management Team. The Director of Sales will present sales revenue and realistic forecasts to the management team, including weekly updates through meetings and reports based on insights from sales team. The Director will plan and achieve annual growth in account penetration through gross profit dollars and gross profit percentage and be responsible for drafting budget for sales that allows for proper development of new business in addition to developing pricing strategies, balancing firm objectives and ensuring customer satisfaction.
• The Director of Sales will be skilled at not only growing new sales but will also focus on the retention of current customers by building and fostering strong, long-lasting customer relationships by partnering with them and understanding their needs through visits and contacting customers on a regular basis.
• The Director of Sales will bring in-depth knowledge of produce distribution networks and will work closely with OSF's current distribution partners in addition to leading the rapid growth of additional partnerships.
• A successful Director of Sales will be an adaptable team player willing to stretch in a fast growth environment and will readily complete other tasks as assigned by the supervisor and members of the Executive Leadership Team.

Mission Statement

Leading the market with Arctic® branded fruit products that consistently deliver exceptional eating experience to consumers through transparent stakeholder outreach, communication and innovative science.

Okanagan Specialty Fruits® (OSF) is a vertically integrated company specializing in the development, growing, processing and marketing of novel tree fruit varieties developed through bioengineering and other molecular tools. Based in Summerland, British Columbia, Canada, OSF was founded in 1996 and acquired by an affiliate of Third Security, LLC in 2020. OSF’s flagship product is its nonbrowning Arctic® apples. Arctic apples provide a sustainable solution to less food waste and improved apple consumption. For consumer information, visit www.arcticapples.com; for company information and partnership opportunities, visit www.okspecialtyfruits.com.