Area VP, Merchandising

ARE YOU A CURRENT US FOODS EMPLOYEE? PLEASE APPLY DIRECTLY THROUGH OUR INTERNAL WORKDAY CAREER SITE. Join Our Community of Food People OUR FOUNDATION: THE US FOODS WAYThe foundation that allows us to deliver on our strategy is The US Foods Way, which describes How We Live, through our Cultural Beliefs; How We Work, through our commitment to Continuous Improvement (CI); and How We Lead, through our Leadership Behaviors.Our Cultural Beliefs are the pillars that define how all associates at US Foods Work. We team up to engage the right people at the right time in the right way, talk straight in our communications, walk the talk in taking accountability to deliver on our commitments, take action to eliminate waste every day and care for my-coworkers to enable their success and make winning fun because You Matter.Our Leadership Behaviors define the leadership skills we expect of people managers. Leaders at US Foods set clear direction, act like an owner, drive continuous improvement and build high-performing teams to drive our strategy forward. BASIC PURPOSE Fosters the development, implementation and successful execution of innovative category and "Go to Market" (GTM) strategies. Maintains lead role in implementing strategies, ensuring they adhere to overall national category strategies, while meeting Area needs. Partners with Sales & Marketing on area marketing activities to support category strategy. Facilitates product assortment for the Area based on customer needs and partners with pricing to ensure we are competitive within the categories . Identifies segment growth opportunities within the Area's and markets. Partners with cross functional Area leaders on opportunities such as market marketing, brands management, culinary solutions and other specialists. Due to multiple sites within Area (including Hub and market DCs), this position requires virtual leadership in order to effectively cover the sales volume and labor force effectively. ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
Partner with corporate and region personnel on the development of customized merchandising, marketing and category strategies for the assigned AreaLeadership of merchandising field support within the Area Hub based in the DCs and partnership with Area Replenishment leadership. This includes coordination and consistent execution of merchandising initiatives across multiple sites.Provide leadership and oversight with the implementation of day-to-day initiatives within the Area, including product assortment changes, aimed at driving Area sales performance, market share growth, and GP3 (purchase allowances + selling margin, less deviations).Closely monitor Area performance as it pertains to category initiatives, segmentation, sales performance, as well as localized and national market trends. Adjust strategy accordingly based on analysis, driving success and ensuring alignment with core US Foods strategies and local Area needs and strategies. Oversee deployment of plays to, and turnaround of, poor performing markets within the Area. Share best practices from better performing markets to facilitate improvement.Monitor and direct department's activities to ensure attainment of Area profit and loss (P&L) goals, including oversight on purchase allowances and cash discounts. Maximize profitable sales growth through product assortment, partnering with pricing and marketing to drive category performance .Manage GTM strategies to drive sales, profit, and net new account growth.Manage prioritization of Area category initiatives, coordinating resources for execution and leading the overall Area-wide implementation.Manage relationships with Area-specific vendors and coordinate funding with region and local suppliers.Monitor and review Area product assortment across categories, with the aim of reducing duplicate and underperforming SKUs. Review and approve new-to-Area SKUs, as well as exception SKU's and provide feedback to region on SKU performance and opportunities. Ensure alignment with overall category strategy and drive EB penetration across Area customer base.Partnering with Sales to plan and facilitate local promotions, customer events and general marketing activities.Assist in the development, execution, and ongoing maintenance of the Area product training schedule.Serve as key point of contact for new customer on-boarding, one-off-bids for existing customers, as well as coordinating requests through Area's Save-Our-Sales (SOS) program.Coordinate new customer on-boarding and exit processes.Cross functional collaboration with sales leadership to coordinate sales-based activities and direction of sales' solutions and other Area-specific Specialists, such as Chemical and Beverages, Equipment and Supplies, etc.Manage and direct the product sales support team. QUALIFICATIONS
Education/Training :
Four-year college degree in business or related field, or equivalent related field experience required. Related Experience/Requirements
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Management experience and a minimum of 10 years of category management, marketing and/or purchasing experience required, preferably from foodservice or food manufacturing industries.Ideal candidate has experience that includes collaboration in a functional matrixed environment and virtual leadership across multiple sites.Overnight travel may be required to participate in training, meetings, or other company events. Knowledge/Skills/Abilities :Must possess the ability to operate successfully within a matrix organization, working effectively with multiple groups.Excellent management skills, negotiation skills, verbal and written communication skills, as well as solid quantitative and analytical skills required.Demonstrated history of utilizing skills of influence, persuasion, and effective negotiation to further goals required, as is the ability to work in a team setting, drive organizational transformations, and support change management within the organization.Must effectively provide fact-based recommendations across a variety of management levels resulting in buy-in and improvement in category performance.Must be self-directed and highly motivated, possessing a strong business acumen, sound interpersonal skills and excellent presentation skills, with the ability to efficiently communicate to multiple levels in the organization.Intermediate proficiency required in the use of Microsoft Office, especially Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook. Prior experience with Microsoft Access a plus.Proven leadership and experience managing direct reports required.The following information is provided in accordance with certain state and local laws. Compensation depends on experience, geographic locations, and other factors permitted by law.
The expected compensation for this role is between $125,000 and $165,000.
This role is also eligible for an annual incentive plan bonus.
Benefits for this role include health insurance, pre-tax spending accounts, retirement benefits, paid time off, short-term and long-term disability, employee stock purchase plan, and life insurance.
To review available benefits, please click here: https://www.usfoods.com/careers/benefits.html .***EOE Race/Color/Religion/Sex/Sexual Orientation/Gender Identity/National Origin/Protected Veteran/Disability Status***