Market Development Manager- Chicago, IL

Who We Are  

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.  

UFS is accelerating its digital transformation to fuel growth through data driven and technology enabled Go-to-Market (GtM) capabilities. Our global ambition is to reach 3 million operators by 2030 via an online & off-line contact strategy. Within the US, the focus of UFS Customer Development and Marketing is to engage with customers in unique and specific ways to generate demand for our professional brands and create long term value for our partners.  

Pay: The pay range for this position is $86,080 to $129,120. Unilever takes into consideration a wide range of factors that are utilized in making compensation decisions including, but not limited to, skill sets, experience and training, licensure and certifications, qualifications and education, and other business and organizational needs.  

Bonus: This position is bonus eligible.  

Long-Term Incentive (LTI): This position is LTI eligible. 

Benefits: Unilever employees are eligible to participate in our benefits plan. Should the employee choose to participate, they can choose from a range of benefits to include, but is not limited to, health insurance (including prescription drug, dental, and vision coverage), retirement savings benefits, life insurance and disability benefits, parental leave, sick leave, paid vacation and holidays, as well as access to numerous voluntary benefits. Any coverage for health insurance and retirement benefits will be in accordance with the terms and conditions of the applicable plans and associated governing plan documents. 

Purpose of the Job 

The Market Development Manager will lead CD resources within the defined 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 restaurant operators. This role will require development and execution of annual plans aligned to both the strategic agendas of key accounts and UFS.  

Main Responsibilities  

• Leading, coaching and developing CD team within geography 

• Strategically targeting and executing new business prospects (Operator, 70% of time and Distributor, 30% of time) 

• Full execution of UFS Annual Operating Plan and quarterly initiatives  

• Lead and train team to expand reach to Regional Restaurant Chains (2-39 units), commissaries and healthcare accounts  

• Cultivating relationships with distributors to better promote Unilever Food Solution’s products 
  Lead and train team to partner with restaurant executives and chefs to develop and grow their business 

• Lead and train team to partner with Distributor to accelerate their market growth through training & collaborating with their Sales teams and executing marketing programs. 

• Manage Trade funds’ investments (Distributor Marketing Programs & Operator Purchase Programs) 

Who You Are & What You’ll Do 

• You’re a born leader: You will deliver the region’s sales activity plans. 

• You’re a strategy guru: You will develop local plans aligned to 2020 Strategy; You will create Join Business Plans with strategic accounts and have full activity planning and execution responsibility. 

• You love to win, and have fun doing it: You will be evaluated against team’s annual incremental sales aligned to operating plan; Team’s annual / quarterly execution targets; Team’s specific customer acquisition targets 

• You’re a teacher: You will coach and develop the CD team to achieve results and build talent for future leadership roles; You will build a foundation in appropriate district for long term profitable growth; You will drive the team to deliver highly active market presence by achieving calls per week.

What You’ll Need to Succeed 

• 5+ years sales experience in foodservice or equivalent required 

• Branded Executional Experience 

• Bachelor's degree preferred  

• Proven track record of sales growth 

• High Degree of Business & financial acumen 

• Continuous Improvement Mindset 

• Disciplined execution 

• Coaching 

• Negotiation (trade and operator) 

• Sales analysis 

• Inspirational leadership 

• Developing senior-level customer relationships 

Our Culture  

• Caring Deeply  

• Positive Tensions for Bigger Outcomes, Fairness and Transparency, Performance AND care  

• Staying Three Steps Ahead of the Market  

• Build Future While Delivering today, Think Big simplify, commit, Lead Shape Disrupt Mkt   

• Delivering with Excellence  

• Pride in our Execution, Best in Reality, Developing Breakthrough solutions  

• Focusing on What Matters Most  

• Fewer Bigger Things, Fight for What matters most, Challenging and Debating Right Choices 

What We Can Offer You      

Culture for Growth | Top Notch Employee Health & Well Being Benefits | Every Voice Matters | Global Reach | Life at Unilever | Careers with Purpose | World Class Career Development Programs | Check Out Our Space | Focus On Sustainability     

Unilever is an organization committed to diversity and inclusion to drive our business results and create a better future every day for our diverse employees, global consumers, partners, and communities. We believe a diverse workforce allows us to match our growth ambitions and drive inclusion across the business.     

Equal Opportunity / Affirmative Action Employer Minorities / Females / Protected Veterans/ Persons with Disabilities    

For office-based, Research & Development, and remote positions, proof of COVID-19 vaccination is required to be eligible for employment. Religious and/or medical accommodations will be considered on a case-by-case basis.  

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Unilever is an organization committed to diversity and inclusion to drive our business results and create a better future every day for our diverse employees, global consumers, partners, and communities. We believe a diverse workforce allows us to match our growth ambitions and drive inclusion across the business. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, national origin, or protected veteran status and will not be discriminated against based on disability. For more information, please see Equal Employment Opportunity Posters  
 
Employment is subject to verification of pre-screening tests, which may include drug screening, background check, credit check, and DMV check.  

If you are an individual with a disability in need of assistance at any time during our recruitment process, please contact us at [email protected]. Please note: This email is reserved for individuals with disabilities in need of assistance and is not a means of inquiry about positions or application statuses.