Sales Director, Grocery

Position Title: Sales Director, Alt Channels - Mass, Club, Drug, C-Store

Reports to: Vice President Sales

Location: US Flexible, Remote

Our Company:

Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams is an American ice cream company dedicated to making better ice creams and bringing people together. Founded in 2002 by James Beard Award-winning ice cream maker Jeni Britton—who introduced a modern, ingredient-driven style of ice cream making that revolutionized the industry, forever changing the way ice cream is made—Jeni’s has emerged over the past two decades as the new standard by which all other ice creams are judged. Today, the creative-led, community-spirited company is a certified B Corporation with 88 scoop shops (and counting), an online shop with nationwide shipping at jenis.com, and distribution in top grocery stores across the country.

Our Mission:

Team Jeni's is a nationwide team of people who bring their talent, hustle, guts, resilience and empathy (lots of heart too) to making better ice creams and bringing people together. Working at Jeni's means devotion to service.  Serving by caring - about ourselves, each other, our communities, ice creams and customers. We are a force for good!

The Role:  

The Grocery Sales Director, Alt Channels (Mass, Club, Drug, C-Store), will work closely with, and report directly to, the Vice President Sales to provide targeted account management and executional focus across the country. The ideal candidate will be scrappy, able to roll up their sleeves, and laser focused on ensuring healthy and productive performance in a highly competitive marketplace.  

Responsibilities include oversight of all sales activities across designated accounts to achieve optimal market penetration for Jeni’s portfolio of items. This will entail working at both strategic and tactical levels to develop, implement, and manage programs that maximize both shor-t and long-range objectives for the company’s sales growth; managing and motivating regional brokers; and working in close collaboration with the Jeni’s Wholesale team & other functional leads (Marketing, Scoop Shops, Operations, Customer Service, Finance, Supply Chain, etc.). This includes new leadership in commercializing new package types by channel. 

This position requires a proactive approach to addressing day-to-day operating issues and providing strategic input.  This role’s primary focus will be key account management, planning and forecasting, data analysis, new product launch plans, marketing & trade programs, in-store execution, & the ability to drive significant targeted distribution gains. 

The Responsibilities:

• Identify and execute on opportunities to expand the sales of Jeni’s across the Mass, Club, and Alternate Channels. This includes working with our brokers and distributors to maximize sales and distribution opportunities

• Manage relationships with key account headquarter buyers and their cross-functional departments

• Set strategic direction, performance expectations, & manage all appointed brokers and distributors to achieve quality distribution in targeted accounts. This includes timely execution on new item introductions, POG development & implementation, promotional programming, deck development, and incorporating meaningful data analysis.

• Collaborate cross-functionally to build strategic annual support plans (trade, shopper marketing, etc).

• Leverage data tools to uncover key insights and build effective sales presentations that will optimize the business and drive sales

• Develop and maintain sales forecasts to ensure optimal order fulfillment.

• Complete store-level audits to ensure execution of merchandising standards & promotional programming

• Develop sales reports & analysis to support future sales initiatives and decisions. 

• Identify and attend trade shows to represent the brand and develop sales opportunities.

• Build strong connections and impactful relationships that benefit the Jeni’s brand (from consumer to buyers and everyone in between).

• Ensure all POS are utilized effectively in the marketplace (e.g. coolers, shelf talkers, coupons, etc.) 

Requirements:

• Background experience

  • Bachelor’s degree in business administration, Marketing or related field. Graduate degree a plus.

  • Minimum 5-8 years CPG experience in Grocery, Club, and Mass channels.  Costco experience is a requirement.

  • Building entrepreneurial BCorp ventures, selling premium products & ice cream (preferred)

  • Demonstrated success in commercializing new package types for channel expansions

  • Demonstrated leadership, delivering sustainable strategies, achieving aggressive sales goals, & building deep partnerships with retailers, brokers, & distributors 

  • Ability to build both core business & new segments/categories, navigate supply complexities, and drive profitable results 

  • Well-versed in managing trade, forecasting, shopper marketing, & sales planning.  Utilizes category analytics and consumer insights to develop actionable plans & results. 

  • Full competency in Microsoft Office & Google Suite

• Work Style

  • Entrepreneurial, scrappy,, and can work both collaboratively and independently

  • Strong organizational, analytical, communication, & presentation skills 

• Driven to be “best-in-class” - thoughtful partnerships, respectful collaborations, meaningful recommendations, with flawless attention to detail

• Ability to travel throughout Western United States as needed, up to 30-40% of the time

BENEFITS OFFERED

• Competitive pay: base salary range for this position is from $120,000 - $150,000, plus eligibility for sales bonus

• 15 paid vacation days per year when a full year is worked

• 5 paid sick days per year when a full year is worked (or sick time accrued based on applicable state or local regulations)

• 10 paid holiday days annually

• Health, dental, vision and life insurance (single and family coverage available)

• 4% match on 401k contributions after 3 months of employment 

• One-month paid sabbatical after 3 years of continuous employment

• 8 hours of paid Volunteer Time Off annually 

• 50% discount at Jeni’s Scoop Shops and online and one free serving per shift

Jeni's is an equal opportunity employer. Said our way, we love and honor differences, and we love sharing common values such as talent, hustle, guts, resilience, and empathy. Our differences are a primary source of our team's strength and we crave having a team rich with diversity which is creativity and art in its human form.