Senior Manager, Sales Commercial Strategy & Execution

Looking for a job that can grow into a lifelong career?

At Lactalis USA, we believe in promoting from within and giving our employees meaningful opportunities to learn, grow, and thrive. Whether you're just starting out or bringing years of experience, we'll provide the tools and support you need to succeed.

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

In the US, we 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 sour cream and a growing family of ethnic favorites like Karoun, Gopi, and Arz.

At Lactalis, we live by our core values-Ambition, Engagement, and Simplicity. We're building 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 make an impact.

From your PASSION to ours

Lactalis Midwest Yogurt is seeking a Trade Marketing Manager to oversee our Trade Strategy, Category Management and Internal Sales Commercialization team. This dynamic and high-visibility role will manage the commercialization strategy, annual planning, revenue growth management, and trade investment optimization for the market, while collaborating closely with the broader Sales and Business Unit leadership teams.

We are looking for a strategic, influential, and agile leader who can balance long-term planning with in-year execution while building strong partnerships internally and externally.

This role is located in Minneapolis, MN.

From your EXPERTISE to ours

Key responsibilities for this position include:

Commercialization Leadership

• Lead strategy development, commercialization, and execution for the retail market
• Partner with Field Sales, Finance, Revenue Growth Management, Category Management, and Brand leadership teams to influence business decisions and optimize go-to-market strategies.
• Serve as the primary commercialization leader for trade plans, pricing, and category management, and promotional strategy.
• Manages a team of individuals across Category Management, Sales Operation and Sales Commercialization - including coaching, development, and prioritization.

Annual Planning, Strategy & Execution Leadership

• Lead annual planning processes, including customer planning, distribution planning, revenue and trade investment targets, and in-year business optimization.
• Facilitate key engagement meetings across Sales and BU Leadership.
• Drive Revenue Growth strategies for pricing, mix management, and promotional effectiveness across the customer base.

Financial Management - Trade & Merchandising

• Oversee the Annual trade release to ensure fiscal responsibility and alignment with sales leadership.
• Lead development and execution of quarterly merchandising targets and trade investment strategies.
• Collaborate with Finance to manage a $300M trade budget, ensuring disciplined financial stewardship.

People Leadership & Development

• Provide leadership, coaching, and development for direct and indirect reports.
• Foster an inclusive, high-accountability environment with a focus on continuous learning, resiliency, and performance.

KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES

Sales Commercial Expertise

• Manage development and execution of sales priorities and initiatives.
• Collaborate with the business unit and sales leadership to build customer-focused trade strategies, drive distribution, and resolve execution challenges.
• Identify white space opportunities and lead development initiatives to fuel growth.

Influential Leadership

• Serve as a key strategic thought partner for Sales LT, BU XLT, Revenue Growth Management, and Finance.
• Consistently influence decision-making at the Sales Leadership Team level and across the organization.
• Act as a go-to leader for trade strategy, promotional ROI optimization, and trade investment governance.

Problem Solving & Analytics

• Lead Strategic Revenue Management workstreams to optimize trade efficiency, evaluate pricing strategy, and enhance promotional ROI.
• Partner with Finance and Revenue Management to manage trade spending, analyze commercial investments, and unlock incremental opportunities.

Engaging People Leader

• Model inclusive leadership behaviors and build a high-performing, collaborative culture.
• Mentor, coach, and develop direct and indirect reports while promoting career growth within the broader organization.

From your STORY to ours

Qualified applicants will contribute the following:

• Bachelor's degree
• Minimum of 12+ years of experience in sales, trade marketing, category management, shopper insights, account management, analytics, or trade management
• Experience working cross-functionally in a matrixed organization with Finance, Marketing, Legal, Supply Chain, and Sales
• Strong analytical and financial acumen with experience aggregating data from internal and syndicated sources (e.g, IRI) to drive decision-making
• Demonstrated leadership capability in motivating and developing teams
• Strategic thinker with strong planning, decision-making, and negotiation skills
• Self-starter with high resiliency, attention to detail, and comfort in a fast-paced environment
• Proficiency in Microsoft Excel, PowerPoint, and data visualization tools

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

• 15+ years of experience in CPG sales or trade marketing
• Deep understanding of industry dynamics and customer engagement at senior levels
• Prior people leadership experience, including managing direct reports and cross-functional influence
• Experience navigating complex trade funding models, revenue management, and promotional evaluation

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.