Sr. Manager, Customer Development - Retail

Aspire Bakeries is a North American baking company with a leadership position in specialty frozen baked goods. Formed from leading bakery companies, its innovative food portfolio includes breads, artisan breads, buns, cookies, donuts, muffins and pastries from beloved brands like La Brea Bakery®, Otis Spunkmeyer®, and Oakrun Farm Bakery®. With 13 bakeries in North America, we are committed to driving innovation, predicting upcoming consumer trends and flavors, and exceeding our customers’ expectations. Aspire Bakeries champions the values of Integrity, Ownership, Customer Focus, Creativity and Care to help us deliver on People Safety, Food Safety, Quality and Collaboration.

The Sr. Manager Customer Development, Retail is a key sales leadership position for the company and is accountable for driving existing company revenue and new item/program implementation within the assigned accounts. 

The ideal candidate is a goal-oriented, customer and growth-focused individual who can quickly establish internal and external relationships and propel the assigned accounts forward. They are a well-balanced leader, particularly adept at driving results through collaboration as this position works closely with cross-functional teams when overseeing and launching new item launches.

Responsibilities:

• Manage key customer relationships and accounts to achieve all volume and value goals
• Serve as an expert on assigned customers and develops strategic customer plans that align with company goals and objectives
• Lead an internal cross-functional team (ex. Innovation/R&D, Finance, Commercialization) to successfully launch new items/line extensions and achieve the desired result for both customers and Aspire Bakeries
• Collaborate with Sr Director to define, design, and deliver on key growth strategies, tactics, and action plans for the assigned accounts.
• Manage sales forecasts and budgets to achieve established goals and deliver profitable growth for assigned accounts
• Provide leadership and tactical direction to internal company departments in order to achieve outlined performance objectives
• Lead & participate in presentations, negotiations, sales meetings, and trade shows with key external & internal stakeholders
• Ensure customer satisfaction and develop lasting relationships with customers to ensure the attainment of all key metrics to drive profitability.

Qualifications:

• Bachelors degree is required
• 5-7 years minimum of retail sales experience in a sales role in a club and/or mainstream retail channel
• CPG/Food experience strongly preferred
• Bakery technical skills desired but not required
• Passion for food with experience and an understanding of food trends and flavor profiles
• Demonstrated relationships and ability in customer management within specific account
• Exceptional interpersonal, communication, presentation, negotiation, & relationship-building abilities
• An entrepreneurial, strategic, and resourceful individual who is a proven hands-on sales leader that thrives in a team environment
• Flexible personality and able to regularly transition between high-level, strategic work and detailed, tactical work
• Must be able to drive a car and travel via plane/train, lift up to 45lbs
• Frequent travel within assigned area of business

Aspire Bakeries is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability or veteran status.