Key Account Representative, Customer Development

Aspire Bakeries is a North American baking company with a leadership position in specialty frozen baked goods. Formed from leading bakery companies, its innovative food portfolio includes breads, artisan breads, buns, cookies, donuts, muffins and pastries from beloved brands like ®, ®, and ®. With 13 bakeries in North America, we are committed to driving innovation, predicting upcoming consumer trends and flavors, and exceeding our customers’ expectations. Aspire Bakeries champions the values of Integrity, Ownership, Customer Focus, Creativity and Care to help us deliver on People Safety, Food Safety, Quality and Collaboration.

The Key Account Representative is responsible for the planning and execution of foodservice channel objectives in the territory, broker engagement and training, managing and growing purchases thru sales activities in the non-commercial, street, independent and chain operator segments, developing incremental business opportunities with local distributors, and providing effective and timely communication to internal and external customers. The Key Account Representative will report to the Sr Customer Development Manager and support the objectives of the Emerging Chain, Corporate Accounts, Convenience Stores and Non-Commercial channel, as well as those from shared functional resources (Analytics, Operations, Customer Marketing, Category Management, R&D, Marketing, and Finance). The Primary functions of the Key Account Representative is to develop long-term relationships with existing customers as well as secure new business in the market.

**Responsibilities**:

- Work in conjunction with Sr Customer Development Manager to implement programs for new business growth, and region financial management. Works to obtain and exceed current budget and profit goals.
- Develop, implement, and manage broker sales strategy and tactics. Work in partnership with the Region Manager and broker sales team to deliver sales objectives for the territory.
- Managing existing business through pricing negotiations, contract extensions, RFP’s, new item placements, etc.
- Prospecting new customers and business. Manages product development process and commercialization with internal cross functional teams.
- Represent Aspire Bakeries at tradeshows and Customer Conferences as needed.
- Maintain customer correspondence and price quote files and ensure that we have the correct financial documentation and back-up.
- Develop knowledge of our Bakeries, Capabilities, Categories, and Food handling. Communicate those attributes through training and interaction with customers and brokers.
- Interact with other departments in the organization to ensure the proper management of customer requirements.

**Qualifications**:

- Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing, Business, Communication, Culinary or related field, or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
- Must have foodservice experience with a proven track record of success Broker, Distributor, or Operator level. Must have customer intimacy and experience with assigned accounts within the territory footprint.
- Proficient in MS Office, specifically PowerPoint, Word, and Excel.
- Must have excellent communication skills and be able to collaborate well with others.
- Previous, demonstrated success in achieving incremental product placement with major accounts resulting from specific initiatives.
- Broker management experience is a plus.
- Prior Bakery experience and or a culinary background preferred. Excellent interpersonal and written and spoken communication skills needed.
- Ability to survive and thrive in an opportunistic, but fairly unstructured, environment.