Senior Sales Manager

Reports To: President & Director of Business Development

Position Summary

The Senior Sales Manager is responsible for the overall leadership, management, and performance of the Sales Department.

This position provides strategic direction, leadership, coaching, and accountability to the Sales team while ensuring departmental objectives align with the company's overall business goals. The Senior Sales Manager is responsible for developing employees, improving processes, monitoring departmental performance, and fostering a culture of accountability, collaboration, and continuous improvement.

This role does not maintain an individual sales territory or carry a personal sales quota. Instead, the Senior Sales Manager focuses on leading the department, supporting the Sales team, monitoring key performance indicators (KPIs), and ensuring the department operates efficiently and effectively.

The ideal candidate is an experienced leader with strong knowledge of the food manufacturing industry, exceptional communication skills, sound business judgment, and the ability to develop high-performing teams.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead and oversee all day-to-day operations of the Sales Department.
• Develop departmental goals, objectives, and action plans aligned with company strategy.
• Foster a culture of accountability, professionalism, teamwork, and continuous improvement.
• Promote collaboration between Sales, Production, Planning, Customer Service, Purchasing, Quality Assurance, Logistics, Finance, and Human Resources.
• Support the President with departmental planning and strategic initiatives.

Leadership & Employee Development

• Recruit, interview, onboard, train, coach, mentor, and develop Sales employees.
• Conduct regular one-on-one meetings with team members.
• Provide ongoing coaching and constructive performance feedback.
• Complete employee probationary reviews, performance evaluations, and annual performance reviews.
• Establish and monitor individual employee KPIs and departmental performance metrics.
• Develop Performance Improvement Plans (PIPs) where appropriate.
• Recognize employee achievements and encourage professional growth.
• Support succession planning within the department.

Performance Management

• Monitor departmental productivity and effectiveness.
• Hold employees accountable for achieving established goals and expectations.
• Review sales reports, performance metrics, and operational data to identify trends and opportunities.
• Ensure employees meet customer service standards and company expectations.
• Implement corrective actions when performance expectations are not met.

Operational Management

• Ensure the Sales Department operates efficiently and consistently.
• Improve departmental processes and workflows.
• Support forecasting, production planning, inventory coordination, and customer fulfillment.
• Collaborate with cross-functional departments to ensure customer requirements are met.
• Monitor workload distribution and resource planning.

Customer & Commercial Support

• Support the Sales team with major customer initiatives and complex customer matters.
• Participate in key customer meetings when required.
• Assist with contract reviews, pricing discussions, and commercial planning.
• Monitor customer satisfaction and identify opportunities to improve service.
• Support customer retention and long-term business relationships.

Compliance & Administration

• Ensure employees complete all mandatory annual training.
• Maintain departmental compliance with company policies and procedures.
• Ensure accurate completion of documentation, reports, and departmental records.
• Support company audits and customer audits as required.
• Maintain confidentiality of company and customer information.
• Identify opportunities to improve departmental efficiency and customer service.
• Recommend process improvements and operational enhancements.
• Promote innovation and best practices throughout the Sales Department.

Qualifications

• Minimum five (5) years of progressive leadership experience in sales management or commercial management.
• Previous leadership experience within food manufacturing, bakery manufacturing, or consumer packaged goods (CPG) is strongly preferred.
• Proven experience managing and developing teams.
• Strong understanding of food manufacturing operations and customer requirements.
• Experience managing KPIs, employee performance, and departmental objectives.
• Excellent organizational, analytical, and problem-solving skills.
• Strong leadership, coaching, and conflict resolution abilities.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
• Advanced proficiency with Microsoft Office, particularly Excel, Outlook, and PowerPoint.
• Experience with ERP, CRM, or sales management systems is considered an asset.

Working Conditions

• Primarily office-based with regular interaction across departments.
• Frequent communication with customers, suppliers, and internal stakeholders.
• Occasional visits to the production floor are required.
• Standard business hours with flexibility based on operational and business needs.
• Occasional travel may be required for customer visits, trade shows, meetings, or training.

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