Director of National Sales Distribution

About Request Foods, Inc.

Founded in 1990, Request Foods is a privately held, family-owned and operated frozen food manufacturer located in Holland, MI. We produce, package, and ship an assortment of frozen food entrees for Private Labels and National Brands for both the retail and food service markets. Our mission is to honor God in all we do, to help people develop, to pursue excellence, and to grow profitably.

Job Summary:

The Director of National Sales Distribution is responsible for driving volume growth and business stability across retail and foodservice channels. This team member will foster the strategic relationship between Request Foods and our customers leadership team, driving accountability to contracts, negotiations on key business terms and objectives, reviewing monthly volume and gap closure initiatives, forecasting, and the completion of annual business planning. This role will utilize, and leverage data sources and distributor reporting to create management dashboards, diagnose and drive volume trends, mine for insights, and build engaging selling stories out of opportunities required for distributor teams to engage with and drive volume for both organizations. The Director of National Sales Distribution will own the JBP process to understand and execute priorities in line with distribution partners to drive an intentional path to growth. This position will work out of Request Foods corporate headquarters in Holland, MI.

Essential Functions:

• Instill a relationship-based leadership mindset throughout the Sales team with a passion driven leadership style involving critical thinking and strong business acumen.
• Help create a center of excellence culture, and critical thinking mindset within the sales function through leading, coaching and developing high performance action-oriented teams.
• Inspire, develop and empower the Sales team to achieve business success, leading to a high profit organization (2X top line by 2030).
• Develop and implement a comprehensive sales strategy inclusive of a Go-To-Market sales channel strategy, aligned with the company’s goals and regulatory requirements designed to drive revenue growth and expand market share. Utilize market research, and data analytics to identify trends, adapt sales strategies and opportunities for sales optimization and channel strategy.
• Manage national strategic channel partnerships specific to retail and foodservice distributors including contract negotiation and management with broad channel distributors.
• Provide thought leadership in creating a multi-year roadmap and lead the development of new capabilities as well as execution of process enhancements that will deliver Best-In-Class fulfillment performance.
• Build strong partnerships supported by regular business reviews with key clients, and stakeholders, acting as a point person ensuring customer satisfaction and loyalty understanding their needs and providing tailored solutions. Conduct continuous data mining and outline key performance metrics to drive sustainable partnerships.
• Create insightful data usage and management across the organization from the sales team to the executives; Reporting, dashboards, and ad-hoc analysis to define and drive volume trends.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to ensure the alignment of sales efforts with overall business objectives.
• Provide accurate sales forecasts and regular reports to senior management to effectively manage growth plans.
• Provide visionary leadership to direct reports, foster their professional development, and empower the team to achieve business goals Inspire and develop people through coaching and feedback.
• Educate, train, and interact with distributor representatives on the capabilities and products that reflect Request Foods, merchandising standards, and sales strategies to drive superior execution in stores.
• Support and evaluate distributor trade shows as necessary.

Key Qualifications, Experience and Competencies: To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty effectively.

• A bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, Marketing, Sales, or a related field. Professional certifications in sales management, leadership, or related areas are a plus (e.g., Certified Sales Executive (CSE), Certified Professional Salesperson (CPSP)). Affiliations with industry related boards, associations also encouraged.
• Minimum of seven (7) years of distributor management experience, in a similar role or industry.
• Strong representation and sales experience with a successful history with national accounts and a deep understanding of the national distributor and strategic growth pillars with experience in various channels like conventional grocery, mass merch, and convenience. Knowledge of frozen foods category product distribution and the logistics of delivering products to store shelves.
• Experience using syndicated data sources (i.e., IRI, Nielsen, SPINs).
• Experience working with cross-functional business partners (finance, operations, etc.).
• Proven track record of building and developing high performing teams.
• Detailed knowledge, as well as a history of success managing and growing businesses with distributors, as well as a clear understanding of chain customer management dynamics.
• Excellent verbal and written communication/presentation and negotiation skills with the ability to listen well with high emotional intelligence.
• Aptitude for leading others and building highly productive business relationships with distributors.
• Self-driven to succeed, passionate, positive individual with a growth mindset and professional demeanor that aligns to the company values. Strong planning, organizing, and time management skills.
• Proficient computer skills including Microsoft Suite (Power Point, Word, Excel, Outlook, and Teams).
• Strong ability to positively influence others outside of a direct reporting relationship.
• Ability to travel outside of local territory for multiple nights, at least once per month.
• Ability to work flexible hours/weekends as travel and national marketing and consumer events require.