Director of Sales - Grocery

Your Role : The Director of Sales – Grocery is responsible for building, scaling, and optimizing Simply Protein

for Pets’ grocery channel across national and regional banners. This role owns the commercial execution and P&L

performance of the grocery business, with an immediate mandate to turn around and accelerate growth at a key

national account, scale an already strong national grocery partnership, and expand distribution into new national

and regional grocery customers.

This is a hands-on leadership role requiring deep grocery expertise, disciplined execution, and strong broker and

distributor management. The Director will operate as the primary owner of grocery execution while partnering

closely with the VP of Sales to influence channel strategy and long-term growth sequencing. Success in this role

will establish the foundation for expanded channel ownership as the company scales.

About SPFP: Simply Protein for Pets (SPFP) is a leading provider of high-protein, natural pet nutrition solutions. Our mission is to deliver clean, functional products that promote healthier, longer lives for pets everywhere. Trusted by major retailers and loved by consumers, SPFP combines advanced sourcing, rigorous quality standards, and data-driven innovation to create treats that meet the highest expectations for safety, taste, and performance. We’re redefining pet wellness through science-backed nutrition and a commitment to sustainable, transparent growth.

Grocery Channel Execution & Growth

• Own full P&L performance for grocery accounts, including base business, promotions, incremental growth, and profitability targets
• Design and manage the grocery trade architecture, ensuring disciplined investment, clear guardrails, and strong ROI across customers
• Lead account-level forecasting and demand planning in partnership with Finance and Operations, ensuring accurate volume, revenue, and trade forecasts aligned to financial targets
• Partner with Finance to improve contribution margin performance and inform pricing, promotion, assortment, and investment decisions

Category Strategy, Resets & Innovation

• Own a rolling 12–18 month view of grocery category resets and line reviews across priority accounts
• Lead reset strategy development, including assortment architecture, SKU rationalization, shelving, pricing strategy, and innovation timing
• Align new product launches and brand extensions with retailer-specific reset windows and category strategies
• Ensure flawless sell-in and shelf execution for all resets and new item introductions

Financial Ownership & Trade Management

• Own full P&L performance for grocery accounts, including base business, promotions, incremental growth, and profitability targets
• Design and manage the grocery trade architecture, ensuring disciplined investment, clear guardrails, and strong ROI across customers
• Lead account-level forecasting and demand planning in partnership with Finance and Operations, ensuring accurate volume, revenue, and trade forecasts aligned to financial targets
• Partner with Finance to improve contribution margin performance and inform pricing, promotion, assortment, and investment decisions

Broker, Distributor & Account Leadership

• Directly manage grocery brokers, including onboarding, performance expectations, scorecards, and ongoing accountability
• Influence broker selection decisions and provide recommendations on broker changes as needed to support growth and execution standards
• Influence distributor selection strategy and own distributor onboarding and activation for grocery
• Lead contract reviews with grocery customers and distributors, identifying risks, opportunities, and renegotiation priorities

Go-To-Market & Cross-Functional Leadership

• Own grocery-specific go-to-market execution, partnering cross-functionally to deliver: in-store merchandising and activation, retail media and digital programs, and off-shelf displays and seasonal promotions
• Collaborate closely with Marketing, Product, Operations, and Supply Chain to ensure seamless execution from strategy through shelf
• Build scalable tools, templates, and reporting to support repeatable grocery execution and long-term growth

Leadership Expectations

• Operate with full ownership and accountability for grocery performance, treating the channel as a personal P&L
• Maintain exceptional preparation and discipline across customer meetings, resets, line reviews, and internal planning
• Demonstrate a strong bias to action, moving quickly to test, learn, and scale
• Provide confident, credible executive presence with national grocery customers and broker partners
• Lead change decisively, including resetting expectations with brokers, distributors, and customers when required

Success Measures (Year 1)

• Successful improvement and continued scaling of grocery accounts through velocity gains, improved trade efficiency, and strong innovation acceptance
• Expansion into multiple new national and regional grocery banners
• Establishment of disciplined reset calendars, trade architecture, broker scorecards, and repeatable grocery GTM playbooks

Essential Qualifications And Experience

• 8+ years of senior sales leadership experience within grocery-focused CPG environments
• Expert-level experience managing national grocery retailers, including Kroger and other major U.S. grocers
• Proven track record owning end-to-end category resets, trade strategy, and P&L performance
• Deep experience managing brokers and distributors with clear accountability frameworks
• Strong financial acumen, including trade ROI analysis and contribution margin management
• Experience scaling brands in grocery; adjacent CPG categories acceptable
• Proficiency with syndicated data and customer performance analytics

Other Requirements

• Builder mindset with the ability to scale and optimize complex grocery businesses
• High integrity, strong follow-through, and results-oriented operating style
• Excellent communication skills with executive-level polish
• Passion for building brands and delivering disciplined commercial execution
• Background in CPG businesses

Simply Protein for Pets is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity in all its forms and are committed to building a team that reflects a wide range of backgrounds, perspectives, and talents. We believe diverse teams create better ideas, stronger brands, and healthier outcomes for pets and the people who love them. We may use artificial intelligence (AI) tools to support parts of the hiring process, such as reviewing applications, analyzing resumes, or assessing responses. These tools assist our recruitment team but do not replace human judgment. Final hiring decisions are ultimately made by humans. If you would like more information about how your data is processed, please contact us.

Eligible for annual performance-based bonus and long-term incentive program.