Head of Sales, US Strategic Grocery Foods

ABOUT UNILEVER

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JOB PURPOSE

The Head of Sales, US Strategic Grocery, leads the development and delivery of Unilever Foods' customer growth strategy across a portfolio of the most strategically important grocery retailers in the United States. This leader is accountable for driving volume, share, profit, and customer partnership objectives across an approximately $800M Foods portfolio representing nearly 70% of the Foods business. The role leads a large, matrixed organization and is responsible for accelerating profitable growth, strengthening customer relationships, and shaping the long-term commercial strategy across multiple strategic grocery customers.

WHAT WILL YOUR MAIN RESPONSIBILITIES BE

As the US Foods leadership team accelerates growth and transformation, the Head of Strategic Grocery will:

• Lead Unilever Foods' strategic grocery business across key customers including Kroger, Albertsons, Ahold Delhaize and other major grocery retailers, representing approximately 70% of Foods volume.
• Develop and execute customer strategies that deliver sustainable, profitable growth through Joint Business Planning, strategic negotiations, and customer-specific growth initiatives.
• Partner closely with Marketing, Customer Strategy & Planning (CSP), Category Management, Shopper Insights, Supply Chain, Finance, and Revenue Growth Management teams to build and deliver winning customer plans.
• Establish a scalable operating model across multiple customers, balancing enterprise priorities with unique customer needs and opportunities.
• Drive portfolio growth through category leadership, omnichannel execution, promotional effectiveness, assortment strategy, and revenue growth management.
• Lead senior-level customer relationships and top-to-top engagement strategies, building strategic partnerships that create long-term mutual value.
• Manage customer P&L performance and investment decisions to optimize growth, profitability, and return on investment.
• Lead, develop, and inspire a high-performing organization while building future leadership capability across the team.
• Champion Unilever's purpose-driven growth agenda by delivering winning outcomes for customers, shoppers, consumers, and the business.

You’re a born leader: Develop and deliver joint business planning activities with customers, constantly optimizing the P&L, creating value and finding truly sustainable mutual ground through active JBP management

You’re a strategy guru: Develop and execute a scalable, multi-customer growth agenda across strategic grocery retailers. Create resource allocation, investment, and portfolio strategies that maximize profitable growth while establishing common commercial disciplines that can be deployed across diverse customers and market conditions.

You’re a teacher: Dedicated people leader and bench developer, able to attract, motivate, develop and retain talent cross functionally through clarity, connectivity and celebration of success.

You’re a master negotiator: A skilled negotiator that sets the example to successfully navigate and influence senior leadership at the customer independently, effectively getting to resolution.

You’re a paradox navigator: Successfully balance enterprise priorities with customer-specific business needs while leading a complex, matrixed organization across multiple strategic customers. Build alignment across Sales, CSP, Marketing, Category Management, Supply Chain, Finance, and Revenue Growth Management to deliver winning outcomes.

You’re a culture & change champion: Develop a winning team for current and future performance

WHAT YOU WILL NEED TO SUCCEED

Experience & Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree required; MBA preferred.
• Minimum 15 years of progressive CPG commercial leadership experience, including significant Strategic Grocery and/or large-scale customer leadership responsibility.
• Proven leadership of large, complex customer portfolios with direct accountability for sales, profit, trade investment, and customer P&L performance.
• Deep experience leading strategic partnerships with major grocery customers such as Kroger, Albertsons, Ahold Delhaize, Publix, Wakefern, Meijer, or comparable retailers.
• Demonstrated success developing and executing Joint Business Plans, pricing and promotion strategies, revenue growth management initiatives, and omnichannel growth plans.
• Strong enterprise and matrix leadership skills with a track record of influencing across Marketing, Finance, Supply Chain, Category Management, Shopper Insights, and Sales organizations.
• Proven ability to build and develop high-performing teams while leading through organizational change and business transformation.
• Strong financial acumen with deep understanding of customer P&L levers including pricing, promotion, assortment, distribution, omnichannel strategy, and investment allocation.
• Experience leading large organizations and developing leadership talent pipelines.
• Strong executive presence with demonstrated success influencing senior customer and enterprise stakeholders.

Role Scope

• ~$800M Foods portfolio
• Represents approximately 70% of Foods volume
• Responsibility across 8 strategic grocery customers
• Leads a team of approximately 35 associates across customer teams, category management, and supply chain support functions
• Reports to SVP, Foods Sales, US

Pay: The pay range for this position is $ 221,100 to $ 386,925. Unilever takes into consideration a wide range of factors that are utilized in making compensation decisions including, but not limited to, skill sets, experience and training, licensure and certifications, qualifications and education, and other business and organizational needs.

Bonus: This position is bonus eligible.

Long-Term Incentive (LTI): This position is LTI eligible.

Benefits: Unilever employees are eligible to participate in our benefits plan. Should the employee choose to participate, they can choose from a range of benefits to include, but is not limited to, health insurance (including prescription drug, dental, and vision coverage), retirement savings benefits, life insurance and disability benefits, parental leave, sick leave, paid vacation and holidays, as well as access to numerous voluntary benefits. Any coverages for health insurance and retirement benefits will be in accordance with the terms and conditions of the applicable plans and associated governing plan documents

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At Unilever, inclusion is at the heart of everything we do. We welcome applicants from all walks of life and are committed to creating an environment where everyone can thrive/succeed. All applicants will receive fair and respectful consideration, and we actively support the growth and development of every employee.

Unilever is an Equal Opportunity Employer/Protected Veterans/Persons with Disabilities.

For more information on your federal rights, please see Know Your Rights: Workplace Discrimination is Illegal

Employment is subject to verification of pre-screening tests, which may include drug screening, background check, credit check and DMV check.

If you are an individual with a disability in need of assistance at any time during our recruitment process, please contact us at NA.Accommodations@unilever.com. Please note: This email is reserved for individuals with disabilities in need of assistance and is not a means of inquiry about positions or application statuses. The Protected Veterans or Individuals with Disabilities AAP narratives are available for inspection by any employee or applicant for employment Monday through Friday during normal business hours at establishment.

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