National Account Manager II - Small Format na Darigold

Darigold is seeking an experienced & motivated National Account Manager II to join our growing team! The National Account Manager (NAM) II of Small Format, is responsible for creating value for our Farmers and Customers, by delivering volume, share and margin growth, through the execution of Darigold’s brand and business development plans, to include, but not limited to, the execution of strategic sales plans with key national and regional customers, delivering new product distribution and improving operating margins through effective merchandising, pricing, promotion management and effective sales planning and forecasting.

This role will be a key member of the B2C Sales team, reporting to the VP of B2C Sales.  It requires exceptional organizational skills, analytical acumen and strategic channel development. The ideal candidate will be customer first focused and have a passion for learning to maximize total enterprise value with customers across several channels, categories and product offerings for branded growth. 

This role must effectively lead and manage C-store and Drug customers while developing the go-to-market strategy for these classes of trade. This leader will need to drive organizational performance through the implementation of uniform processes and disciplines like customer segmentation, strategic account planning, sales planning and forecasting while acting as a strong individual contributor.

This role will directly manage complex customer and distributor relationships and should be capable of facilitating contract negotiations and new business RFP bids, with coaching and support from Commercial and Business Development teams. To succeed in this role, the ideal candidate will be self-motivated and self-directed with a passion to grow the business and a skilled internal collaborator who possesses demonstrated success partnering with cross functional teams to drive optimal results. This key role will partner and collaborate with a diverse group of stakeholders, leaders and teams across our business, including Marketing, RGM, Operations, Supply Chain, Finance, Legal, IT, HR and the Northwest Dairy Association Field Team.

Darigold is the fifth largest dairy cooperative in the United States based on milk volume and one of the largest privately held organizations headquartered in the state of Washington. Since 1918, our producers have taken pride in producing dairy products with unsurpassed quality. Today, we are one of the nation's largest agricultural cooperatives, producing over 8.5 billion pounds of milk every year. Through innovative technology and our efficient, flexible production capabilities, we deliver value added products and customer-driven solutions. Darigold is now known throughout the world for bringing fresh, wholesome dairy products and ingredients from the Northwest to people all around the globe.

 What You Will Do:

• Deliver volume, margin, share, objectives for assigned customers and channels which may include and evolve:
  • C-store (Regional and National Distributors and Retailers)
  • Drug (Walgreens and CVS)
  • Dollar
• Execute Darigold’s customer and business development plans, for core branded and private label products as outlined in the AOP, DSMP’s and Price and Trade Architecture, to include:
  • Drive assortment through both distributor and retailer.
  • Effectively negotiate and manage distributor fees and contracts.
  • Drive product distribution at retail.
  • Deliver quality merchandising and efficient pricing and promotion management.
  • Provide accurate sales and trade planning and forecasting.
  • Facilitating effective customer service and order fulfillment.
  • Ensure effective execution of invoice accuracy, deduction management and enforcement of credit policies, terms and conditions.
• Execute Darigold’s brand to consumer plans to include:
  • Drive new products distribution both in depth and breadth at Key Retailers.
  • Leverage brand and channel marketing programs and promotions to maximize new item velocities.
• Become the voice internally and externally to Darigold’s ambitions and growth within Small Format:
  • Partner with Marketing on New Product launches and new routes to market.
  • Own and create the strategy.
  • Develop and create a broker network to facilitate Darigold’s national brand opportunity.

What You Will Bring:

• Bachelor’s degree required.
• 5+ plus years of Consumer Products Sales and Small Format account management experience. Branded Dairy sales experience is a plus.
• 2+ plus years of Convenience Channel experience is preferred.
• Must be willing/able to travel up to 25-50% of the time.
• Experience managing multiple strategic customers, with understanding of customer margin management, order management and fulfillment.
• Customer Savvy: Leading with clarity, to cultivate a relationship of mutual trust and respect to gain expert understanding of the customer’s structure, cultural ways of working, category expectations and business requirements, to create sustainable value and growth for the customer and Darigold. Customer expert looking to uncover all opportunities and to grow with the account and to understand the competition. Own and develop JBP for growth with key strategic accounts.
• Execution Excellence: Planning thoroughly, collaborating and delivering the results that Darigold and the retailer expect while having an adept ability to drive contingency planning.
• Negotiating Skills:  Skillfully navigate tough situations with both internal and external groups; can settle differences and win concessions without damaging relationships, Darigold’s reputation and P&L; can manage strategic account relationships that elevate above transactional pricing and trade. 
• Business Acumen: Owner mindset and a clear sense of accountability based on being knowledgeable and current on internal and external business conditions, trends and competitive activity.
• Functional Skills: Effective user of Microsoft Excel, PowerPoint, Word and can navigate company and third-party databases, customer portals and possesses strong written and verbal communication skills.
• Analytic agility: Synthesize customer, consumer, category, competitive and company insights into executable winning customer plans and tactics that drive mutual wins for the retailer, Darigold, and our end consumer.
• Organizational agility: Knowledgeable about how the enterprise works and is effective at getting things done through formal processes and informal relationship building. Must be able to handle ambiguity in a start-up type company culture.
• Attention to detail: Detailed focused and organized. Must be able to meet customer timelines and complete all customer contracts.
• Presents and communicates effectively: Develops and delivers multi-mode communications that convey clear understanding to multiple types of audiences and influences others to act.
• Problem solving and opportunity searching: Anticipate obstacles and dig for answers to solve issues. Must have the drive to find new business opportunities in existing accounts and find new ways to drive the business forward.
• Leadership: Action oriented, focuses on driving results, acts with integrity and alignment when leading self and others, embraces the company vision of leading Dairy forward and facilitates productive and positive interactions with teammates that drives results.
• Stewardship: Demonstrates an enterprise value mindset that includes creating value for our farmers, employees and customers, acts as a responsible steward of Darigold’s assets including our reputation and advocates as a champion of dairy farming and the Northwest Dairy Association.
• Perseverance: Sets high standards and goals for self and others, demonstrates resourcefulness in the face of obstacles and challenges, maintains a solution-oriented mindset, realistic and possesses optimism when facing market volatility and dynamics.
• Co-Op Spirit: Puts the whole of our Co-Op before its parts.

Benefits of Working at Darigold:

We understand that as an employee, benefits that support you and your family in and out of work are important. We’re proud to offer eligible positions a competitive total rewards package – that includes:

• 401k competitive employer matching
• Comprehensive medical, dental & vision benefits
• Employer paid life & disability coverage
• Paid time off and paid holidays
• 8 weeks paid parental leave
• Education assistance
• Employee assistance program
• Flexible hybrid working arrangement where it applies (up to 2 days/week after initial 90 days and approval by hiring manager and HR)
• Compensation range: $106,144 - $187,313 (individual wage based on previous experience, knowledge and skills)

Our Commitment to Diversity:

Achieving our vision to Lead Dairy Forward requires cultivating and supporting a team with varying backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives. We are committed to providing a workplace based on mutual respect where all employees feel included and can bring their best and authentic selves to work every day. We are proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer and Affirmative Action Employer. We welcome all qualified applicants without regard to race, color, national origin, sex, gender identity and expression, age, sexual orientation, veteran status, disability, marital status, creed, religion, genetic information, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local law. As a condition of employment applicants offered a role will be required to successfully pass our pre-employment background screen, receive a negative drug screen result & confirm eligibility to work in the U.S. We participate in E-Verify - please follow the links for details, English / Spanish & view our Right to Work Statement, English / Spanish.