Lighting Distributor Jobs in Chicago, IL (NOW HIRING)

About Keystone Technologies:

Founded in 1945, Keystone Technologies is a third-generation, family-owned business headquartered in the Greater Philadelphia area. A national leader in the commercial and industrial lighting industry, Keystone reaches customers across the U.S. with its mission of "Light Made Easy."

Who We Are:

We’re not your typical lighting company — and we like it that way. At Keystone, we move fast, think big, and challenge the status quo to deliver on our promise of Light Made Easy®. Our team thrives on new ideas, supports one another, aims high, works hard, and laughs often. And we always put people first — whether that’s our customers, partners, or each other. If you’re passionate about growing, collaborating, and making a difference, you’ll feel right at home here.

Our Core Values

• Wow Customers: Every interaction is an opportunity to show how much we care and appreciate all our customers, internal and external, so we create unique experiences that go above and beyond their expectations.

• Grow Passionately: We embrace growth through creativity, curiosity, and an eagerness to learn. Our work isn’t just about achieving more; it’s about evolving personally and professionally, transforming at every opportunity.

• Do Right: It’s not just good ethics to do the right thing; it’s good business. We uphold the highest integrity, and we do the right thing even when it’s hard. Why? Because trust is our most important currency.

• Value People: We come from a range of backgrounds, affiliations, and experiences. We honor everybody’s story and build lifelong relationships, whether with colleagues, customers, or partners, because to reach our fullest potential means empowering people to thrive.

• Challenge Convention: We refuse to blindly accept the status quo. With agility, courage, and tenacity, we continuously improve — asking tough questions, looking beyond surfaces, and not stopping to rest on our accomplishments.

What we offer:

Our benefits include medical, dental, vision, voluntary life insurance, employer-paid group life insurance, short-term disability, a 401k plan with company match, paid time off, and philanthropic opportunities.

The Opportunity:

The Director of Sales- ESCO is responsible for leading, managing, and developing Keystone’s ESCO sales channel. This role is a business director and people leader accountable for sales strategy, team performance, budget discipline, field execution, and customer growth across ESCOs, performance contractors, and distribution partners. This leader will provide clear direction, coaching, accountability, and day-to-day management to ESCO Territory Manager(s), ensuring each team member receives the appropriate level of guidance based on experience, tenure, territory needs, and performance goals.

Your Impact:

• Lead and manage the ESCO Territory Manager team, providing direct oversight, clear expectations, coaching, and performance accountability.
• Translate ESCO channel strategy into actionable sales plans, territory priorities, performance goals, and business routines for the team.
• Provide differentiated coaching and guidance to Territory Manager(s) based on experience level, tenure with Keystone, territory opportunity, and individual development needs.
• Review and guide territory-level budget management, business investment, travel planning, and time-in-field expectations.
• Monitor team performance through CRM activity, pipeline reviews, sales reporting, customer engagement, and market feedback; identify risks, gaps, and opportunities for improvement.
• Partner with Territory Manager(s) to strengthen relationships with ESCOs, performance contractors, distributors, and other channel partners through consistent customer engagement and exceptional service.
• Ensure Territory Manager(s) are effectively training and supporting ESCOs, performance contractors, and distributors on new and existing Keystone products.
• Provide leadership direction on pricing discipline, market positioning, competitive intelligence, and project strategy within the ESCO channel.
• Develop and maintain a strong understanding of channel dynamics, competitor activity, customer needs, product applications, and lighting market trends.
• Collaborate cross-functionally with Sales leadership, Product, Operations, Finance, and Customer Experience to resolve issues, remove barriers, and support profitable channel growth.
• Other duties as assigned.

What you bring:

• Bachelor’s Degree in Business or related field preferred.
• Minimum 7 years of sales, business development, account management, or channel management experience within the lighting industry required.
• Lighting industry experience required.
• Minimum 7 years of sales management or people leadership experience required, including direct oversight of sales professionals.
• ESCO, performance contracting, or energy solutions channel experience preferred; however, strong sales leadership and business management experience will be prioritized over ESCO-specific experience.
• Demonstrated success leading sales teams, managing territory performance, coaching employees, and driving sales execution through others.
• Proficient with Microsoft Office Suite
• Experience with Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems and Power BI.
• Exceptional sales leadership, people management, and team development skills.
• Demonstrated ability to achieve results through others
• Strong business management skills, including sales planning, budget oversight, activity management, pipeline review, and performance accountability.
• Ability to provide clear direction, practical coaching, and effective feedback to employees with varying levels of experience and tenure.
• Strong ability to perform sales, territory, market, and business analysis to identify opportunities and drive decision-making.
• Exceptional verbal and written communication abilities, with the ability to influence internal and external stakeholders.
• Strong collaboration skills and ability to partner across functions to support customer needs and business outcomes.
• Uphold and implement Keystone’s Core Values, consistently aligning actions and decisions that reflect the core principles
• Travel: Frequent travel required to support team field coaching, customer meetings, trainings, presentations, rep engagement, and distributor visits.

Please note that we do not accept unsolicited resumes from recruiters or employment agencies.