Sales Manager, Food service - Chains

Job description

The Irca Group is an International Leader in high quality finished and semi-finished ingredients for the bakery, pastry, and ice cream markets. With a solid history of over 100 years in the industry, the Group has its headquarters in Italy (Gallarate) and a strong global footprint with 23 production sites and over 2000 employees in Europe, the United States and Vietnam. Our core product categories include chocolate, compounds, chocolate decorations, sprinkles, creams, pastry mixes, gelato ingredients, nuts and candied fruit. The most recent acquisition of Kerry Sweet complements our existing categories with the addition of sweet particulates, chocolate confections, inclusions, variegates and frozen fruit purees. Through its 8 key brands (IRCA, Dobla®, in2food, Via Degli Orsini, JoyGelato, RaviFruit, Cesarin and Anastasi®) the IRCA Group offers an unparalleled "one-stop shop" approach for delivering quality solutions to all ingredients needs, through a broad range of innovative products. We offer every day and seasonal solutions to 3 macro channels: Gourmet, Food Manufacturing and Consumer Product (Retail). “Extraordinary made simple”. We are seeking a Sales Manager, Foodservice – Chain Accounts to drive the growth and development of IRCA's business in the United States. The primary responsibility of this role is to oversee the growth of sales across the U.S. territory, with a particular focus on the Southeast region. This position will be responsible for developing and executing sales strategies, identifying new business opportunities, and building strong, long-term relationships with customers. The Sales Manager will play a key role in expanding IRCA's market presence and achieving revenue growth objectives. It is also important to ensure that all sales activities are conducted in compliance with company policies, applicable regulations, and BRC standards. This includes staying informed of relevant industry requirements and maintaining adherence to all compliance and quality expectations. ### DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES: - Develop and implement strategic sales plans and forecasts to achieve corporate objectives: This would involve analyzing market trends, identifying new business opportunities, and developing sales strategies to drive growth and managing sales operating budgets to ensure that the sales team operates within budgetary constraints. - Establish and manage strategic relationships with key chain accounts and their industrial/distribution partners to drive sales growth. - Create new sales opportunities by leveraging customer insights to connect product capabilities with unmet customer needs. - Work with our Marketing and Culinary teams to develop opportunities for engagement with clients, ensuring budgets and targets are met. - Oversee, develop, and execute sales of our multi-brand product line. - Dedicated time in the field working with and training distributor reps, end users & manufacturing customers as needed - Negotiate and implement sales and marketing programs with customers - Prepare regular sales pipeline reports showing volume, potential sales and areas of proposed growth: This would involve analyzing sales data and preparing reports to provide insights into sales performance and identify areas for growth. - Utilize CRM system to keep accurate records of potential customers & track follow up on all potential new leads and manage pipeline - Continuous analysis, planning and forecasting of territory sales & opportunities - Account analysis and management of territory expenses - Lead internal cross-functional alignment to support customer relationships, partnering with multiple departments to drive execution and customer satisfaction. - Regular reporting on sales activities and opportunities to VP of Sales - Support and encourage a positive team approach with fellow sales reps and internal support staff ### QUALIFICATIONS: - 3–5 years of sales experience in the Foodservice Chain channel, with a proven track record of growing strategic customer accounts. - Experience in chocolate, bakery ingredients, or related food ingredient categories is preferred. - Strong business development, account management, and customer relationship-building skills. - Ability to lead customer meetings, identify opportunities, solve complex business challenges, and support demand forecasting. - Knowledge of market trends, customer needs, and industry developments within the foodservice sector. - Excellent verbal, written, and presentation skills, with the ability to effectively communicate across all levels of an organization. - Strong organizational, planning, and strategic thinking skills, with the ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced environment. - Demonstrated interpersonal skills and the ability to build collaborative relationships with customers, colleagues, and company leadership. - Self-motivated and able to work independently while maintaining a strong team-oriented approach. - Positive, proactive, and results-driven mindset. - Home-office based, with the ability and willingness to travel approximately 50% within the assigned territory.