Rip Van is a food innovation company. We exist to improve people’s lives by inventing better convenient foods. We are committed to improving the nutrition, taste, and design of our products by launching product improvements in two-year cycles, as well as launching new innovation over time..

Rip Van snacks are available in over 20,000+ locations nationwide. This includes Foodbuy, Google, SSP America, DOT Foods, Disney and Canteen plus a growing list of regional and national account wins! The company has made both the Inc & Forbes 30 under 30 lists, won numerous business awards and has been featured in publications such as TechCrunch, Entrepreneur, Bon Appétit, and The New York Times.

Role Overview:

The Food Service Sales Manager - Central US, will consist of maintaining our current food service business, as well as actively seeking out and developing new business opportunities. You will be expected to maintain strong relationships with our broker and distributor partners, as well as our end users, to execute plans that deliver objectives of growth, profit, optimal product mix, pricing and promotions. To be successful in this role, you’ll need to be strategic, proactive, creative, and have a strong understanding of how the Foodservice ecosystem operates. There will be emphasis on managing major broadline distributors, GPOs, and their operators. You are an excellent planner, well organized, and a highly skilled communicator who is willing to dive in and do what is needed to achieve our goals.

You have 4+ years of relevant experience, yet you remain a continuous learner and improver. You’ll be joining a rockstar team of core team members who value making quick and informed decisions,

achieving and celebrating wins, and executing with a ‘can do’ attitude!

What you will do:

• Achieve net sales targets by expanding distribution through existing and new accounts
• Utilize internal data and analytics provided to prepare and present client presentations
• Leverage your professional network to secure key meetings within your targeted channels to support business growth
• Build effective partnerships with brokers and customers
• Track and report call progressions. Build a sales funnel and execute on ‘lowest hanging fruit’ opportunities to most effectively meet KPIs
• Conduct broker, distributor and GPO training sessions via phone, webinars and on site/in-market visits
• Manage broker relationships for foodservice business. Ensure broker’s accountability for
• HQ call and operator-level penetration.
• Display effective trade budget and financial management
• Work cross functionally within Rip Van, to ensure the success of your accounts and your channel of business
• Be responsible for a sales forecast. Leverage relationships with brokers and customers to drive forecast accuracy in collaboration with Finance and Operation teams.
• Attend trade shows
• Occasionally conduct product demonstrations

Core Attributes to Succeed:

• Results Driven
• Relationship Builder/Storyteller
• Independence/Self-Motivation
• Teamwork
• Tenacity
• Excellence
• Mindset

Job Requirements:

• Bachelor's Degree or relevant work experience
• At least 4 years experience in food service/culinary sales, focused on the non-ingredient channels, with a track record of success and increased responsibility
• Excellent communication, and negotiation skills
• Experience working with and launching regional and national Food Service broadliners
• Experience working with brokers and industry buyers
• Ability to execute trade promotions that drive profitability and increase trial of Rip Van portfolio
• Strong capability to analyze data, work with spreadsheets and create presentations. We use Google Suite, so familiarity with Sheets and Slides is a plus.
• Flexibility with travel, including overnight stays, up to 50%
• Comfortable preparing for and exhibiting at trade shows
• Ability to work remotely and meet deadlines
• Sophistication in time & expense reporting
• High sense of urgency and responsiveness, with ability to prioritize and thrive while multitasking
• Must be self-motivated, curious and comfortable with ambiguity typical of a young and growing company

Physical Requirements:

• Requires full range of body motion including walking, standing, stooping, bending, and lifting, manual and finger dexterity and eye-hand coordination
• May require sitting, standing and walking for extensive periods of time.
• Occasional lifting and carrying items weighing up to 40 pounds
• May require irregular work hours and travel
• Occasional high stress situations may occur in dealing with customer