Market Development Manager – Chicago, IL
Location: Remote – Chicago, IL
Unilever Food Solutions (UFS) is the €3bn+ foodservice division of Unilever. It leads the dynamic Food Service market across its categories and has ambitious growth objectives, marketing a range of professional food and beverage products and services to operators across 72 countries. UFS prides itself on creating value for its customers through culinary solutions and improving the food experience for everyone from distributors and operators to diners and consumers.
Pay: $86,080 – $129,120
Bonus: Bonus eligible
LTI: Long‑Term Incentive eligible
Benefits: Health, dental, vision, retirement, life and disability insurance, parental leave, paid vacation, holidays, voluntary benefits and more.
Purpose of the Job
The Market Development Manager will lead CD resources within the city to achieve growth targets by guiding the team to leverage quarterly operator and distributor initiatives to grow with existing restaurant operators and expand reach to new operators.
Main Responsibilities
- Lead, coach and develop the CD team within the geography
- Strategically target and execute new business prospects (Operator 70% of time; Distributor 30% of time)
- Execute the UFS Annual Operating Plan and quarterly initiatives
- Lead and train the team to expand reach to regional restaurant chains (2‑39 units), commissaries and healthcare accounts
- Build and nurture relationships with distributors to promote UFS products; partner with restaurant executives and chefs to grow their business
- Partner with distributors to accelerate market growth through training, collaboration with their sales teams, and marketing programs
- Manage trade funds’ investments (Distributor Marketing Programs & Operator Purchase Programs)
Who You Are & What You’ll Do
- Born leader: deliver the region’s sales activity plans.
- Strategy guru: develop local plans aligned to 2020 strategy; create joint business plans; hold full activity planning and execution responsibility.
- Winning mindset: evaluated against team’s annual incremental sales, operating plan, quarterly execution targets, and customer acquisition targets.
- Teacher: coach and develop the CD team to achieve results, build talent for future leadership, and deliver a highly active market presence.
What You’ll Need To Succeed
- 5+ years sales experience in foodservice or equivalent
- Branded execution experience
- Bachelor’s degree preferred
- Proven track record of sales growth
- High degree of business & financial acumen
- Continuous improvement mindset
- Disciplined execution
- Coaching skills
- Negotiation (trade and operator)
- Sales analysis
- Inspirational leadership
- Developing senior‑level customer relationships
Equal Opportunity
Unilever is an Equal Opportunity Employer and an affirmative action employer. We welcome applicants from all walks of life and are committed to creating an environment where everyone can thrive and succeed. All qualified applicants will receive fair and respectful consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, national origin, or protected veteran status.
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