Channel Director Jobs in Minnesota (NOW HIRING)

Ocean Spray is hiring for a(n) Sr. Director of Sales, Grocery Channel! We’re a team of farmers, thinkers, creators, and doers. Whatever your title, whatever your role — it always comes back to this: we’re a farmer-owned co-op where everyone rolls up their sleeves to get the job done. Three maverick farmers started it all — and we’ve been making our own way ever since. 

Position Location: We\'re all about flexibility. This will be a remote role based out of our corporate headquarters in Lakeville, MA. We are open to remote candidates.

The Senior Director of Sales – Grocery Channel is a critical commercial leadership role responsible for driving topline growth, profitability, and strategic execution across the U.S. grocery channel. This leader will own customer strategy, sales execution, and trade investment optimization while building long-term partnerships with key retail customers. Building internal influence with key stakeholders and actively leading the sales organization is paramount to success.
The role requires a balance of strategic vision, customer influence, operational excellence, and inspirational leadership to deliver sustainable growth and competitive advantage.

A Day in the Life...

1. Channel & Customer Strategy

• Develop and execute a 3–5 year strategic plan for the Grocery channel aligned with enterprise growth priorities.
• Define customer segmentation and prioritization strategy (e.g., national vs. regional grocery chains, emerging retailers).
• Lead joint business planning (JBP) with top retail partners, establishing shared growth objectives, category vision, and innovation pipelines.
• Anticipate shifts in shopper behavior, retailer strategies (private label, omnichannel), and competitive dynamics to proactively adapt plans.

2. Revenue Growth & Market Share

• Deliver annual and long-range revenue, volume, and profit targets across key product categories.
• Identify and unlock growth opportunities through:
  • Assortment optimization
  • Distribution expansion
  • Pricing and promotion strategy
  • Innovation launches and commercialization
• Drive execution excellence in-store and online, ensuring strong shelf presence and digital visibility.

3. Trade Strategy & Financial Ownership

• Own and optimize trade spend investments, ensuring strong ROI and alignment with strategic priorities.
• Manage full channel P&L responsibility, including forecast accuracy, margin delivery, and cost control.
• Partner with Revenue Growth Management (RGM) teams to:
  • Improve promotional effectiveness
  • Enhance pricing architecture
  • Drive profitable growth

4. Leadership & Team Development

• Lead, coach, and develop a high-performing team of 4 direct and 11 indirect reports.
• Build strong leadership bench strength and succession plans.
• Establish a performance-driven culture with clear accountability, metrics, and continuous feedback.
• Inspire cross-functional collaboration across sales, marketing, supply chain, and finance.

5. Customer & Broker Management

• Serve as executive sponsor for key national and regional grocery accounts by building multi-level relationships across organizations including executive levels, category, merchandising, and replenishment.
• Lead and align broker organization(s) to execute against company strategy and customer priorities.

6. Forecasting, Insights & Analytics

• Own demand forecasting and sales planning aligned with S&OP processes.
• Leverage data and insights (Circana, shopper data, retailer insights) to:
  • Identify category growth drivers
  • Improve decision-making
  • Track performance vs. objectives

7. Innovation & Market Leadership

• Partner with Sales Strategy, Marketing, and Category teams to bring consumer-relevant innovation to market.
• Drive speed-to-market and successful commercialization across grocery customers.
• Monitor industry trends and competitive activity to maintain a leading market position.

What We Are Looking For:

Required

• 10+ years of progressive leadership experience in Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) sales.
• Deep expertise in grocery channel management, including national and regional retailers.
• Proven track record managing large-scale P&L and trade investments.
• Strong experience leading high-performing sales teams and developing talent.
• Experience with broker-led selling models and complex account structures
• Demonstrated ability to influence internally and externally at senior executive levels.

Preferred

• Experience in Revenue Growth Management (RGM) or advanced analytics
• Omnichannel / eCommerce grocery experience

Education:

Bachelor\'s or University Degree (Required) Master\'s Degree (Preferred)

Work Experience:

At least 10 Years of Experience

Annual Salary:

$166,400 - $219,000

The base salary range information above serves as a guideline of the position’s typical hiring range.  We value and appreciate what makes you unique and will consider a variety of factors when determining an offer.  These factors include, but are not limited to, your skills and experience, external and internal benchmarks, as well as overall company considerations.  Certain positions may be eligible for short-term and long-term incentive rewards. We also offer a competitive and comprehensive benefits program that supports all aspects of your health and well-being.

Benefits:

• Complete insurance package on Day-1 that includes a plethora of health and wellness programs

• • Health, Dental and Vision insurance

  • Health savings account

  • Flexible spending account

  • Life and accident insurance

  • Employee assistance program

  • Telehealth services

  • 1:1 health coaching

  • Supportive benefits for all the stages of your life

• 401(k) with up to 6% Company matching; additional potential discretionary match at year-end

• Short-Term Incentive/Performance bonuses

• Flexible scheduling options

• Vacation pay, up to three weeks of time (pro-rated for your first year of employment)

• Holiday pay for 12 holidays

• Career development and growth opportunities

• Tuition/Education assistance programs

• Access to LinkedIn Learning

• Scholarship programs for children of employees

• Parental leave

• Bright Horizons Family Solutions – Back-up care, tutoring, etc.

• Adoption assistance

• Bereavement leave

• Up to $300 fitness reimbursement

• Up to $300 massage reimbursement

• Employee appreciation events

• Employee discounts

• Charitable giving

Who We Are:

You might have our iconic cranberry juice in your fridge or have gotten into heated holiday debate about what’s better - canned or fresh cranberry sauce. But did you know that the hardworking people growing the superfruit in our products are 700 family farmers that own our cooperative? They entrust us with what is most precious to them to create new and innovative products that will delight consumers and grow this beloved brand today and into the future.
Team members, farmers, consumers and communities alike--we value what makes us unique and strive to connect our farms to families for a better life by living our values:

• Grower Mindset – We embrace our grower-owners innovative spirit and heritage through confidence, learning and focus on the future.
• Sustainable Results – Guided by purpose, we are focused on delivering results for our grower-owners.
• Integrity Above All – We are ethical, doing the right thing for our grower-owners, customers, consumers and each other
• Inclusive Teamwork – We build diverse and inclusive teams that strengthen our cooperative.

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.