Director Non-Commercial Sales, Foodservice

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At Lactalis in the USA, we're committed to providing meaningful opportunities for our people to learn, grow, and thrive-whether you're just starting your journey with us or looking to take the next step in your career. From day one, we offer the tools and support to help you succeed.

As the world leader in dairy, Lactalis is a family-owned company with over 85,000 pragmatic and ambitious professionals across the globe. Each day, we're proud to produce award-winning dairy products that bring people together.

In the US, we proudly offer an unrivaled house of beloved brands, including Galbani Italian cheeses and ricotta, President specialty cheeses and butters, Kraft natural and grated cheeses, Breakstone's cottage cheese, Cracker Barrel, Black Diamond cheddar, and Parmalat milk. Our yogurt portfolio includes siggi's, Stonyfield Organic, Brown Cow, Oui, Yoplait, Go-Gurt, :ratio, Green Mountain Creamery, and Mountain High, along with a growing family of ethnic favorites like Karoun, Gopi, and Arz.

At Lactalis, we live by our core values-Ambition, Engagement, and Simplicity. We foster a workplace where innovation thrives, diverse perspectives are celebrated, and everyone's unique background and ideas are valued.

Even if you don't meet every qualification, we encourage you to apply. We want to hear about your PASSION, your STORY, and how your EXPERTISE can help us shape the future of dairy.

From your PASSION to ours

Midwest Yogurt, part of the Lactalis family of companies, is currently hiring a Director of Non-Commercial Sales, Foodservice, preferably based in Minneapolis, MN or Buffalo, NY.

This role is a pivotal, national-scope leadership position responsible for maximizing our Lactalis U.S. Yogurt market share, revenue, and profitability within the entire Non-Commercial Foodservice segment across the United States. This leader will own the strategic direction and execution for all national Food Management Companies (FMCs) such as Compass, Aramark, and Sodexo; lead negotiations and partnership development with all major Group Purchasing Organizations (GPOs), including Vizient, Premier, Foodbuy, HPSI, Hilton, and Marriott; and establish the national bid strategy for the highly critical and regulated K-12 Channel. This role requires a proven commercial leader who can manage, motivate, and develop a team of four direct reports while consistently delivering profitable growth through complex, multi-stakeholder relationships.

From your EXPERTISE to ours

Key responsibilities for this position include:

Strategic Leadership & Execution (40%)

• Develop and champion a multi-year national strategy for the Non-Commercial Foodservice channel, aligning all initiatives with overall Foodservice portfolio objectives.
• Own the P&L for the entire Non-Commercial segment, ensuring financial targets (revenue, volume, contribution/LB, and trade spend ROI) are consistently met or exceeded.
• Lead the K-12 national bid strategy, from bid strategy by region to field-level Broker execution nationally, ensuring maximum school district penetration of our portfolio and profitability.
• Anticipate and capitalize on complex market dynamics, including segment trends (e.g., Healthcare, B&I, Education, Senior Living), competitive activity, and evolving GPO/FMC structures.

Key Account & Contract Management (35%)

• Serve as the primary leadership contact for C-Suite and senior leadership within top-tier FMCs and GPOs.
• Lead, negotiate, and finalize complex, multi-year national contracts and programs, focusing on long-term profitable partnerships and compliance.
• Collaborate cross-functionally (Marketing, Finance, Supply Chain, R&D) to develop customer-specific solutions, innovation pipelines, and promotional programs that drive mutual growth.
• Manage and strategically deploy the trade investment budget for the segment, ensuring best-in-class ROI tracking and governance.

People Leadership & Development (25%)

• Manage, coach, and mentor a team of four sales professionals, fostering a culture of high performance, accountability, and continuous professional development.
• Establish clear KPIs, performance objectives, and development plans for the team, ensuring alignment with corporate goals.
• Act as a strong internal advocate for the Non-Commercial team, securing necessary resources and aligning internal stakeholders to support account execution.

Metrics & Success Criteria

You will be measured against specific, quantitative & qualitative KPIs such as:

• Pound volume growth, margin improvement in the Non-Commercial channel
• Share gains (by channel, operator / segment) vs. competitive set, reported through Circana SupplyTrack
• ROI on trade, contract spend
• Team performance: retention, mentorship / development of direct reports; execution accuracy; Foodservice operator & distributor intelligence and empathy

From your STORY to ours

Qualified applicants will contribute the following:

• Bachelor's degree in business, Marketing or a related field, MBA preferred. Culinary background a plus!
• Minimum of 15+ years of progressive Foodservice sales experience, with at least 7 years focused specifically on the Non-Commercial segment (FMCs, GPOs).
• Demonstrated track record of complex contract negotiation at the national account headquarters level (FMC and/or GPO preferred).
• Excellent communication, presentation, storytelling-able to build internal buy-in and externally represent the company.
  

At Lactalis, we offer a comprehensive Total Rewards Program with a variety of affordable benefits and coverage options. We support insurance costs significantly, contribute generously to retirement plans, and offer Paid Time Off from day one. We are committed to your professional growth, providing training and development opportunities, including Education Reimbursement. Join us and grow your career.

Lactalis is an equal employment opportunity employer. We will not discriminate against applicants with regard to any legally-recognized basis including, but not limited to: veteran status, race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, marital status, sexual orientation, and physical or mental disabilities. Further, any division of the Company that is an Affirmative Action Employer will comply with all related legal obligations.