Commercial Director - Food Ingredients

Location: United States | Remote with Travel
Salary: $230,000 - $280,000 Base + Performance Bonus
Industry: Food Ingredients Manufacturing
Employment Type: Full-Time | Permanent

About the Opportunity

An established and growing ingredients manufacturer is seeking an experienced Commercial Director to lead its commercial strategy, accelerate revenue growth, and drive continued expansion across the North American market.

This is a senior leadership opportunity for an accomplished commercial professional with extensive experience within the food ingredients manufacturing industry. The successful individual will be responsible for developing and executing commercial strategies, leading a high-performing sales organization, strengthening strategic customer relationships, and identifying new opportunities for sustainable growth.

The business is seeking a commercially driven leader who combines strategic thinking with a hands-on approach to sales leadership, customer engagement, and business development.

Key Responsibilities

Commercial Strategy & Business Growth

• Develop and execute a comprehensive commercial strategy aligned with the company's long-term growth objectives.

• Drive revenue growth through new business development, strategic account expansion, and increased market penetration.

• Identify emerging market opportunities, industry trends, and potential areas for portfolio expansion.

• Establish commercial priorities, sales targets, and performance metrics to support continued growth.

• Work closely with senior leadership to shape overall business strategy and commercial direction.

Sales Leadership & Team Development

• Lead, mentor, and develop an established sales organization, fostering a high-performance and results-driven culture.

• Provide strategic direction and accountability across regional and national sales activities.

• Implement effective sales processes, forecasting methodologies, and performance management frameworks.

• Support the development of commercial talent and strengthen overall sales effectiveness.

• Ensure collaboration and alignment across the wider commercial function.

Strategic Account Management & Business Development

• Build and maintain strong relationships with major food manufacturers and strategic customers.

• Oversee key commercial negotiations, pricing strategies, and long-term customer agreements.

• Identify and secure new business opportunities across existing and emerging markets.

• Drive a balanced commercial approach focused on both customer retention and new customer acquisition.

• Represent the organization at relevant industry events, customer meetings, and commercial engagements.

Cross-Functional Leadership

• Partner closely with R&D, technical, operations, and supply chain teams to ensure commercial objectives are aligned with manufacturing capabilities.

• Support the successful commercialization of new ingredient solutions and customer-led innovation.

• Provide market intelligence and customer insights to guide product development and strategic investment decisions.

• Collaborate with executive leadership on commercial planning, budgeting, and growth initiatives.

Candidate Requirements

Essential Experience

• Extensive commercial leadership experience within the food ingredients manufacturing industry.

• Direct experience working for an ingredients manufacturer is essential. Candidates with exclusively distribution or brokerage backgrounds will not be considered.

• Proven track record of developing and executing successful commercial growth strategies.

• Demonstrated experience leading and developing sales teams, ideally across multiple regions or a national market.

• Strong understanding of B2B ingredient sales to food and beverage manufacturers.

• Established experience managing strategic customer relationships, negotiating commercial agreements, and securing significant new business.

• Ability to operate strategically at a senior leadership level while remaining actively involved in commercial execution.

• Strong financial and commercial acumen, including revenue forecasting, profitability management, and sales performance analysis.

Preferred Experience

• Background in functional or specialty food ingredients.

• Experience managing geographically dispersed or remote sales teams.

• Proven success driving organizational growth, market expansion, or commercial transformation.

• Strong technical understanding of ingredient functionality and customer applications.

• Experience collaborating with R&D and manufacturing teams to develop customer-specific solutions.

Ideal Candidate Profile

The ideal candidate will be an established senior commercial leader with a successful track record within an ingredients manufacturing environment.

They will bring a combination of strategic sales leadership, strong industry relationships, and the ability to translate commercial opportunities into measurable business growth.

A proven ability to lead teams, develop new markets, and build lasting partnerships with major food manufacturers will be critical.

This position will suit an ambitious, commercially astute individual seeking the opportunity to make a significant impact on the growth and future direction of an established ingredients manufacturing business.

Compensation & Benefits

• Base Salary: $230,000 - $280,000 annually

• Performance Bonus: Additional annual bonus opportunity

• Competitive executive benefits package

• Remote working flexibility with business travel

• Opportunity to influence commercial strategy and long-term business growth

• Senior leadership position with significant commercial responsibility