Vice President of Sales & Marketing

About Our Company

Giraffe Foods Inc. (www.giraffefoods.com) is the industry leader in custom, private label manufacturing of sauces, dips, salad dressings and drink concentrates. We are culinary-focused and customer-driven. We anticipate and respond to the ever-changing industry demands addressing on-trend dietary needs with world-class product development and customer service. Our commitment to our employees and to contributing to the food community in North America has strengthened over our twenty years of growth and expansion.

Our products can be found under Private Label in local and national groceries, multi-unit restaurant operations, and other food manufacturers across the US and Canada. We supply a vast range of chef-created sauces and dressings for meal kits, frozen meals, restaurant entrees and salads and salad kits. Though you may not know Giraffe Foods yet, you certainly know our customers and have most likely already enjoyed some of our delicious products without realizing it.

Proud to be chosen as Canada’s Best Managed™ company three years running, Giraffe Foods boasts a strong leadership team and enjoys a mutually-beneficial partnership with our global parent company Symrise, headquartered in Germany.

The Role

The Vice President of Sales & Marketing is responsible for the commercial face of the business. They will need to continue to develop the Giraffe go-to-market strategy and ‘brand’ as the sales strategy evolves. All in support of a growing team, revenue and margin targets both in Canada as the US. This included the sales structure, process and people within the group. The VP Sales & Marketing has full accountability for all customer relationships for both existing, potential, and new customers. They would research, develop and execute the Go Market Strategy for the organization and is the ultimate “voice of the customer” in any and all aspects related to customers. They will be involved in setting and managing sales targets, budget, has influence on gross margins, pricing as well as any accounts receivable. The VP is also responsible for leading, coaching and developing their direct reports while strategically analyzing data, market trends to capitalize on opportunities. They would be building relationships with senior leaders of key customers and would be responsible for any external resources related to sales such as of brokers. This individual will sit as a key member of the Senior Leadership Team, working to guide and support the overall of direction and strategy of the company and would work closely with all other department leaders.

Key Measures of Success

• Annual Revenue and margin target attainment

• Successfully attracting new customers with meaningful revenue

• Drive business results, entering into new markets

• Measurement of customer satisfaction

• Successful launch of new products

• Continued growth and development of the team

Key Responsibilities

• Develop and drive key sales strategies or initiatives relating to the company’s market, products and sales goals

• Directs sales forecasting activities and sets performance goals accordingly

• Lead and execute sales activity with existing and new customer acquisition

• Track, analyze and present sales metrics to leadership team

• Manage the Sales, marketing, customer service and logistics teams (11 direct reports, 11 indirect reports)

• Lead and support functional teams both within the commercial team and cross functionally i.e. Customer Service, Product Development, Quality Assurance, Operations and Finance.

• Stay up-to-date with developments in the marketplace

• Develops effective sales incentive programs which support company’s goals for revenue and growth

• Establishes marketing presence as part of the go-to-market approach

• Prepares presentations to management groups and leadership groups to explain the company’s market position and initiatives

• Work collaboratively across Symrise to drive synergies and stronger product and market competitiveness

• Direct market analysis of competition to ensure competitive advantage

• Assisting with the recruitment, training, and onboarding of new staff.

Background Experience and Skills

• Bachelor’s degree in a business-related field.

• Master’s degree in a business-related field may be advantageous.

• Minimum of 7 years experience in a sales leadership position.

• Minimum of 4 years experience working in a selling role and with sales technology and CRM software.

• Minimum of 2 years experience in a senior (C-level) leadership role may be advantageous.

• Minimum of 3 to 5 years’ sales team leadership

• Strong operational focus with tracking of weekly, monthly and quarterly KPI’s

• Ability to develop, execute and analyze a sound Go to Market strategy

• A deep understanding of Key Account Selling; needs analysis, relationship management across multiple levels of an organization, business acumen at senior levels,

• A strong understanding of marketing communication fundamentals; advertising, trade shows, sponsorship, POS

• Ability to build lasting relationships both internal and external

• Ability to multitask, handle challenging situations and be very detail oriented with energy and enthusiasm

• Excellent written and oral communication

• Strong proficiency with Microsoft Office Suite

• Ability to travel

• Experience leading managers and individual contributors

• Proven track record of attracting, hiring, developing, and leading top-performing salespeople

• Experience driving and sustaining the highest performance levels from your team members through coaching, training, and helping others achieve personal bests

• Develop a high performance, strong culture and value driven sales team.

We thank everyone for their expression of interest—and are truly appreciative of the time individuals put into applying—but with the limitations of time only those selected for an interview will be contacted.

Giraffe Foods Inc. is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We are committed to equal treatment of all applicants and employees without regard to race, color, creed, religion, gender, sexual orientation, marital status, family status, pregnancy, age, disability/handicap, record of offences, or any other characteristic protected by law. If you require accommodation measures during any aspect of the recruitment process, we will work with you to address your needs. Information related to accommodation measures will be treated as confidential.

Job Types: Full-time, Permanent

Benefits:

• Company events
• Dental care
• Employee assistance program
• Extended health care
• Life insurance
• Paid time off
• RRSP match
• Vision care

Schedule:

• Day shift

Application question(s):

• Have you been leading sales team for 5+ years?

Education:

• Bachelor’s Degree (required)

Experience:

• sales leadership: 7 years (required)